Only Miami-Dade County has the ability to authorize the installation of traffic-calming devices like speed humps and roundabouts.
I often get complaints about cars speeding in our neighborhoods. Many residents, as a result, want to see the installation of such impediments. But everyone gets frustrated when I tell them no cities, including Miami Shores and Aventura, have the power to legally install devices on their own. Only our county government can do so.
With a new plan, North Miami is looking to improve the process, even if Miami-Dade still will have final authority.
At our city council meeting on September 12, 2023, we approved an agreement with Kimley-Horn & Associates for the development of a citywide traffic study. You can read it here: https://play.champds.com/ATT/northmiamifl/2023-09/dd332a271271c4beb8d522ba96ac4b0290bab553.pdf
This study will allow us to identify problem “hot spots” across the city. Then, rather than going back to the County in a piecemeal fashion, we can get one-time, blanket approval for improvements in those problem areas. It is estimated the study will take approximately eight months, but I’ve already reached out to Kimley-Horn to see what can be done to expedite it. This won’t be a perfect solution to our problems. Speeders will still cause currently unforeseen problems that we will have to address. But this is a great start to a coordinated effort, in addition to ongoing police enforcement, to relieving the issue.
The study will take approximately 8 months to complete. We will have preliminary results in approximate 3-4 months. We are currently working with staff to schedule initial kick-off meetings with residents and stakeholders in order to then get started with traffic data collection.
Kimley-Horn has set up a site where residents and stakeholders can provide their input related to traffic calming. They can provide input on the map to identify traffic issues and where they would like traffic calming improvements to be implemented. There is also information on various traffic calming treatments. See link below,
https://maps.kimley-horn.com/portal/apps/storymaps/stories/98adc8ad4a614ae9840e69cb6a1b72cc