MHCP
COLAB
Making cities better.
Little Havana Pedestrian Priority Zones
City Unveils 25mph Speed Limit Signs in Residential Neighborhoods
Little Havana's Citrus Grove and Riverside neighborhoods residential street reduced speed limit sign locations
25mph Sign Installation
The City of Miami is installing 25mph speed limit signs in Little Havana's Citrus Grove and Riverside neighborhoods as the first phase of implementing Pedestrian Priority Zone improvements.
Project Description
The City of Miami has created 4 pedestrian zones within 1/4 mile of local schools in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood to make it safer for children and parents to walk to school in partnership with the City of Miami and Health Foundation of South Florida. The initiative was created by MHCP COLAB.
Pedestrian zones are a way to work with municipalities and transportation agencies to make safety improvements for people walking and especially children and seniors who are more likely to be hit by cars.
Download the Study
Five-year Pedestrian Crash Data: Shows concentrations on main arterials around schools
Why is a Solution is Needed?
Little Havana has the highest number of pedestrian crashes in the County according to the Department of Highway Safety Motor Vehicles provided by the Florida Department of Transportation crash data.
“...while traffic deaths impact every community in the United States, states and metropolitan areas across the southern continental United States, older adults, people of color, and people walking in low-income communities bear a higher share of this harm.”
--Smart Growth for America, Dangerous by Design.
Citrus Grove: Children crossing busy arterial midblock to closest school entrance, with no crosswalk or signal.
Riverside Park: Adults take matters into their own hands to cross this major intersection to Riverside Park and beyond to Ada Merritt K-8 School.
Design Criteria
These design criteria have been adopted by the City of Miami and will be implemented in the four Pedestrian Priority Zones:
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Intersection treatments
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Greenway landscape and paving plan
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Pedestrian signals
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Midblock crossings greater than 300’ from a traffic light
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Sidewalks
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No right on red light
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25 mph on residential roads
Community Benefits
The pedestrian zones in Little Havana will support roadway improvements to make it safer for children and parents to walk to school.
They will be located within a ¼ mile radius of four main schools: Citrus Grove Elementary and Middle, Miami Senior High School, Riverside Elementary and Ada Merritt/Riverside Park/Jose Marti Park.
Miami Senior High School: MHCP COLAB observed students were using this island to cross before reaching the light. FDOT agreed to redesign the intersection for safer crossings by next year.
Riverside Elementary: This child prefers to cross outside of the crosswalk and further away from the busy street, but crossing at the stop line creates another safety risk.
Accomplishments
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Adopted into City Code of Ordinances, December 2020
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Established partnership with District 3, Commissioner Carollo who is spearheading construction improvements and funding.
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FDOT is designing improvements at Miami Senior High School’s Flagler Street and SW 24th Avenue crossing.
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Miami Dade County Department of Transportation + Public Works (DTPW) is restriping faded crosswalks and stop lines and installing new signs.
Intended Results
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Design and construct Priority one projects through the Capital Improvements Program starting FY 21/22.
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Priority two, three and four will be constructed according to the City's Capital Improvement Plan.