Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Traffic topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
South Miami reviews citywide traffic‑calming plan, cites 140 crashes on US‑1 over five years
Summary
At a June 9 workshop the City Commission reviewed a new citywide traffic‑calming approach that divides the city into four zones, captures county‑acceptable traffic counts, and ties several Safe Streets and Reconnecting SOMI projects to regional approvals; staff noted roughly 140 crashes on US‑1 in five years, including 15 severe and two fatal crashes.
The City of South Miami on June 9 reviewed a new, citywide approach to traffic calming that staffs said will replace one‑off interventions with zone‑based studies and coordinated design work. Mayor Fernandez opened the workshop and asked staff to present the first block of projects, prompting a detailed walkthrough of projects 1–8 and a proposal to divide the city into four study zones.
The presenter said the city collected traffic counts ahead of the summer so that, if the Reconnecting SOMI at‑grade study (project 8) moves forward, staff will already have the data needed for engineering and permitting. "We started collecting the data that we need — the traffic counts — so we don't have to wait over the summer," the presenter said, framing the effort as a holistic traffic management plan rather than a series of isolated fixes.
The presentation linked the Safe Streets program to U.S. DOT and county coordination. Staff highlighted US‑1 corridor projects identified by the city’s Safety Action Plan and flagged federal grant opportunities for the study phase, but cautioned that implementation will still require local matches and county or DOT approvals for turn lanes and signal work. "Over the last five years, 140 crashes on US‑1, 15 severe, 2 fatal," the presenter told the Commission, noting the figure likely omits a recent fatality not captured in the dataset.
Commissioners pressed staff on methodology and outcomes. One commissioner asked whether the city’s own counter equipment is sufficient; staff replied the counts the county will accept for permitting typically come from specialized traffic‑study firms. Commissioners also asked how prior studies affected the new zone approach: staff said previous, project‑level studies produced some local improvements but that the zone method aims to capture spillover effects on side streets so recommendations are data‑driven and defensible to the county.
Several existing projects — including the long‑running 64th Street/Tunic Drive work and Twin Lakes requests — were discussed. Staff clarified that prior work would be re‑examined in the zone framework and that projects started after the last adopted CIP may not appear in the current plan but are still under study. The Commission instructed staff to procure additional count estimates where commissioners requested new crosswalk or study lines and to return with recommendations after further design and stakeholder engagement.
Next steps include completing zone counts and studies, continuing coordination with Miami‑Dade and U.S. DOT on corridor and at‑grade work, pursuing available grants for study phases, and returning to the Commission with site‑specific recommendations supported by engineering data.
