Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed electrical work being done on traffic lights and pedestrian crosswalk signals around the Brickell Area. Unfortunately, the contractors don’t seem to think that the pedestrian crosswalk signals are all that important. Last week the pedestrian crosswalk signals on Brickell Ave. and SE 14th Street did not work for almost an entire week. Two days ago they started working again.
The pedestrian crosswalk signals didn’t work for nearly a week at this busy crosswalk on Brickell Avenue and SE14th Street.
Today around 12:30pm I noticed contractors doing some work on the traffic lights on SE13th Street and South Miami Avenue. On my way back from work, at around 5:30pm, I noticed that all the pedestrian crosswalk signals at this intersection were not working.
Pedestrian crosswalk signal not working on SE13th Street and South Miami Avenue. South Side Elementary School is ½ a block away.
Pedestrian crosswalk signal not working on SE13th Street and South Miami Avenue. South Side Elementary School is ½ a block away
At around 6:00pm I called 311 and reported the problem. The operator was very helpful and he told me that it could take up to 30 days to fix the problem, but that he would flag it as an emergency.
My fingers are crossed that the pedestrian crosswalk signals are working by tomorrow morning. It just so happens that an elementary school sits about half a block away from this intersection. I see a lot of parents with children crossing this already dangerous and poorly designed intersection every weekday morning. I think that if we can keep our traffic lights working we can keep our pedestrian crosswalk signals working too.
I also think that the city could do a much better job of promoting the 311. Unless you are a Transit Miami reader you probably don’t know about it. Perhaps the city could start a public service announcement campaign by putting the 311 phone number somewhere above crosswalk buttons throughout Downtown and Brickell? This can be done very cheaply with something as simple as a sticker.
3 Responses to The 311 Experiment
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Weird, I thought 311 was pretty well promoted. I remember frequently seeing commercials for it on TV over the weekends. That guy walking through the streets, reporting… rocks and signs and stuff. Neighborhood Hero, I think they called him.
Yeah, I think 311 is pretty well known. Promotion is not a problem (and I doubt TM has anything to do with its success either.) I do like the idea of putting stickers suggesting people call at a variety of locations, though.
I became aware of 311 only about a month ago after someone posted a comment regarding 311. Perhaps it’s because I don’t watch much TV. I think a good place to advertise would be at bus stops, and metromover/metrorail stations too. FYI the pedestrian crosswalk signals were still not working as of 8:20am.