Broward County to start safety upgrades on Northwest 20th Avenue; city highlights multi‑agency funding and timeline

Broward County and City of Oakland Park officials said the county’s recent multimillion‑dollar investments and additional planned work will make Northwest 20th Avenue safer and more walkable, and county staff told the commission construction on one element will begin next month.

The presentation on March 5, led by City Assistant Manager Andrew Thompson and Public Works Director Albert Carvin, summarized ownership, funding sources and capital work on collector streets in Oakland Park and focused on Northwest 20th Avenue between Oakland Park Boulevard and Commercial Boulevard. “This is categorized as a county collector, and it is owned and definitely not for sale by Broward County,” Andrew Thompson said.

Why it matters: The corridor links multiple municipalities and carries through‑traffic as well as local trips. Commissioners and residents have raised safety and speeding concerns for years. Officials said the county has invested in recent years and that those improvements have coincided with a reduction in crashes.

What officials said and what’s planned - County investment: Thompson told the commission the largest recent county project reconfigured Northwest 20th between Oakland Park Boulevard and Commercial Boulevard at a cost of about $7.2 million. Work included buffered bike lanes, replacement of the C‑13 Canal bridge, signal upgrades, new sidewalks, signage and medians. Public Works Director Albert Carvin described the project as “state of the art.” - Developer contributions: City staff said the Oak Tree (Pulte) development contributed roughly $3.13 million for nearby improvements — signal upgrades, left‑turn modifications and a linear park — and that the developer‑funded work included about $2.0 million for 20th/Prospect improvements and roughly $1.0 million for 40th improvements. - South‑side package on agenda: City staff described a second phase focused south of Oakland Park Boulevard with local contributions of about $2.6 million to extend treatments such as continuous green bike lane surfacing and landscape medians. The consent agenda later that evening included a city funding item for stamped asphalt intersections on Northwest 20th (agenda item 9). - Safety features: County engineers described traffic‑calming tools planned for the corridor: lane narrowing/channelization, median extensions and a raised midblock crosswalk with rapid‑flashing beacons and a new bus turnout. “The raised crosswalk is very similar to a speed table,” said Richard Toney of the Broward County Highway Construction & Engineering Division, noting the feature is being tested on this corridor. - Timeline: County and city officials told the commission one element — the raised crosswalk and associated features — will start construction next month and should be completed within about three months. “We are starting construction next month,” County Commissioner Robert McKenzie said, adding that the county would monitor performance and consider similar devices elsewhere if the measure slows traffic as expected. - Crash data and expectations: City staff shared Broward Sheriff’s Office data showing a 27% decrease in reported accidents on portions of the corridor between January 2022 and December 2024 following prior improvements. Staff said they expect further decline as new measures are installed.

Funding, jurisdiction and limits City staff and county representatives explained that road ownership and funding vary by segment. Major arterials are FDOT responsibilities; collectors such as Northwest 20th are Broward County; most residential streets are the city’s responsibility; and some newer subdivisions have private roads. Funding comes from multiple pools: competitive MPO grants (including the Complete Streets and Localized Initiatives Program), county surtax allocations, developer agreements and city general funds (property tax‑supported). Staff said partners covered roughly 80% of recent roadway project dollars for the city over the past five years.

Commission questions and outreach Commissioners asked about specific local needs (for example, Ninth Street near Fire Station 87) and about whether roundabouts were feasible. Staff responded that right‑of‑way constraints and the terms of grant awards limit major redesigns and that some changes are tied to the scope approved by the grantor. Multiple commissioners urged continued outreach to nearby residents as design advances.

What happens next City staff said outreach and final design coordination will continue as the county begins the next phase of work. The commission's consent agenda that night included a funding authorization tied to stamped intersections on Northwest 20th Avenue; that item was adopted as part of the consent agenda (see actions). City and county staff said they will monitor the raised crosswalk and consider extending similar measures if they reduce speeds and crashes.

Ending Officials framed the work as one component of a multiagency effort rather than a city‑only fix, and they asked residents to use upcoming public outreach to raise site‑specific concerns. Several commissioners thanked the county for its role and for promising to begin construction on the immediate safety elements next month.