Miami Beach committee explores Collins Avenue bike lane during FDOT resurfacing; will host community meeting with FDOT

The Miami Beach Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee discussed options to add a protected bicycle lane on Collins Avenue as part of an upcoming Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) resurfacing project on State Road A1A (Collins Avenue) between West 60th/Third Street and 70th/ Fifth Street.

Commissioner Alex Fernandez sponsored the item. Jose Gonzalez, Transportation and Mobility Director and interim Parking Director, summarized the city’s outreach and engineering considerations. Gonzalez said the city surveyed businesses along the project limits twice, receiving a total of 27 responses out of 277 businesses; “the vast majority, 74, 75 percent, on both, surveys voted against” eliminating parking spaces. Gonzalez said that based on that response he “cannot in good faith and conscience recommend 75 on‑street parking spaces to be eliminated.”

Gonzalez proposed an alternative that would use some of the existing sidewalk width to create a 5–7 foot bicycle lane without fully removing on‑street parking or travel lanes. He described the corridor cross‑section variability: west‑side sidewalks range “from about 6 to 15 feet,” and east‑side sidewalks “go from 8 feet to about 15.” Gonzalez said a 5 to 7 foot lane could be achieved by narrowing wider sidewalk sections and, where possible, adding a protective buffer.

City and FDOT constraints shaped the discussion. Gonzalez said FDOT’s current scope for the corridor is a milling and resurfacing project, which is constrained to striping and therefore would generally allow eliminating parking to add bike lanes but not reconstruct curb, gutter and drainage. “In order to achieve the cross section on the bottom of the page there… the curb, the gutter that affects the flow line, and that affects drainage. So it automatically becomes a reconstruction project,” Gonzalez said, adding that reconstruction would require additional FDOT budget and a different project scope.

The assistant city manager agreed to assess sidewalk conditions and document where reconstruction or repairs would be needed. The committee instructed staff to request that FDOT participate in a community meeting to present block‑by‑block cross sections and gather feedback before the committee forwards any formal recommendation to the commission.

Public commenters offered mixed views. Supporters including Charles Fisher and Matthew Volcanoff urged moving quickly to secure a bike lane; Fisher noted FDOT’s schedule and said, “if we're going to approve a bike lane, we need to let them know that, soon so they can redraw and reconfigure their plans.” Opponents emphasized parking needs; one commenter linked the parking discussion to a previously delayed garage project.

The committee did not change FDOT’s project scope at the meeting. Instead, members asked staff to coordinate a community meeting with FDOT to present the sidewalk‑narrowing alternative, assess sidewalk conditions, and return to the committee with community feedback and FDOT participation. Committee members indicated they would seek to bring a formal recommendation back to the commission after that community engagement, with the chair suggesting an April return for committee review.