The public safety crisis impacting pedestrians in greater Miami shows no signs of relenting, with pedestrians severely injured in two separate crashes within miles of each other over the past 4 days.
WPLG reports that on Monday, a pedestrian was struck and seriously injured in the aftermath of 3-car collision in Coral Gables. The victim was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Further details are unavailable but we will continue to follow any developments.
Aftermath of the crash on Bird Road. Photo by WPLG.
The crash sounds eerily similar to a previous tragedy in Coral Gables at almost the same location last June. Olatz Conde Salcedo, who was head of human resources for Nextel in Bilbao, Spain, was struck and killed by a vehicle that went off the road following a collision at LeJeune and Bird road. 3 other pedestrians were also injured in that wreck.
On Friday morning, WSVN reports a University of Miami student was hit while crossing South Dixie Highway along Southwest 57th Avenue. The motorist did not stop and authorities are searching for a silver-gray Mercedes Benz E-320.
Here are some other headlines from our broken streets in south Florida last week:
May 1 – Lake worth man who died after his bike, SUV collided in Palm Springs identified
April 30 – Officer injured after being struck by taxi in Miami Shores
April 29 – Pedestrian badly injured in Ft. Lauderdale hit and run
April 29 – Two pedestrians struck, one killed, crossing State Road 7 in Broward County
April 29 – 18 vehicle collisions on Miami highways before noon on Sunday
April 27 – Davie police chief to take driving class after colliding with teen on bicycle
Enough is enough! Feel the same way? Check out Safe Streets Miami and get involved to help end the public safety crisis.
18 Responses to South Florida’s Public Safety Crisis – Pedestrians Struck in Separate Crashes Near Coral Gables
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US 1 and 57th Street, where the student was hit, is frequently used by UM students and others to cross to Downtown SoMi, and Coral Gables busineeses such as Whole Foods, Wendy’s, etc. SoMi is bisected by US1, making it difficult to cross by cyclists and pedestrians, unless crosswalks and countdown intersections occur at all intersections (67th Ave, 80th St, to name some that don’t have crosswalks) AND slow traffic speeds to 35mph. Can Safesteets help make this possible?
Meant to say, “SoMi is bisected by US1, making it difficult to cross by cyclists and pedestrians, unless crosswalks and countdown SIGNALIZATION occur at all intersections..”
I use that area to get to school several days a week and I am constantly in fear for my life at that intersection.
I contacted an employee at FDOT who is responsible for accepting speed limit review requests and performing studies to see if they are necessary. Basically the response I got was that the speed limit, no matter how high, is staying the wat it is as long as 85% of traffic is within the limit. They have no interest in altering street designs in order to bring down the average speeds to make it more friendly to pedestrians and cyclists, like lane narrowing or lane elimination, which I asked about. According to the response, it would reduce the mobility in the county.
Meant to say “the way* it is”
Thanks for the follow-up with FDOT Brandt. Lower speeds would have a significant increase in safety and a negligible impact on overall trip durations. What’s more important?
For about 5 years I lived nearby, walking every day across the Northside of Sunset and across US 1 to the S. Miami Metrorail station. At first, it was a nerve wracking ordeal to cross US 1, and then one day they changed the traffic lights to their present configuration, moving the traffic lights from the far side of the intersection, to the near side. In other words, Bringing the light just forward and above the pedestrian crossing, as opposed to 75 feet away on the far side of the intersection,a feature which perhaps allowed for slightly better auto traffic flow, at the expense of drastically reduced pedestrian safety.
Alas, I can assure you that this particular crossing is an anomoly, and that if they did the right thing at this particular crossing, it was by coincidence, and not by design. In fact, I recall a conversation with a county traffic engineer shortly after this insight (mind you a man who was on the Citizens Transit Advisory Committee, CTAC) He was a nice fellow who I recall fondly, but from his reaction to my observation, and my question about pedestrian safety considerations in general, Well, it is safe to say that such a concept was one he was unfamiliar with.
Even so, the crossing at US 1 and Sunset to S. Miami Metrorail is one of the safest; it probably helps that east-bound turns from Sunset to North US 1 are prohibited, another happy coincidence for the locals.
There was a pedestrian over pass planned at some point from the South Miami metrorail station to next to Sunset Place. I haven’t heard about it in years. Probably dead due to lack of FDOT funding. The much hyped pedestrian overpass at the UM metrorail station never materialized either.
Here is the County’s link on the South Miami pedestrian overpass:
http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/library/fta_quarterly_reports/2007-2008-1st_quarter/24_Pedestrian_Overpass_at_South_Miami.pdf
Here is a link from 2010 on the UM station overpass. Of course it was shelved because of reduced FDOT funding.
http://www.themiamihurricane.com/2010/04/18/still-no-bridge-over-troubling-intersection/
I think pedestrian overpasses are no substitute for simple pedestrian safety measures, like crossing signals, well marked crosswalks, near-side placement of traffic signals, and the occasional cop on a motorcycle with rader in hand at the interesection. In South Miami I think an overpass that went directly from the train over to Sunset Place might actually get used enough to be worthwhile, But as a rule I think the existing overpasses are a waste of money as well as an eyesore. But that’s just me, I never take the long way when a shortcut is available…………
Having signalized crosswalks at all US1 intersections, with ample time for folks to cross, and lowering traffic speeds will help at US 1 in South Miami. Ours is the only city with a main street along US 1 in Dade County. (I think there is a bridge currently in the works at the UM metro station.) Also, cars must also yield to pedestrians and cyclists in crosswalks. Many times I’ve seen cars maneuvering left and right turns, bullying their dominance over pedestrians and cyclists in the crosswalks.
[...] Transit Miami article highlights the continuing public safety crisis in South Florida and the need for complete streets. [...]
Personally I like the idea of overpasses because I don’t have to wait 3 minutes for the lights to change, then have only 30 seconds to cross, while looking out for a gap between cars turning right (although cemera-enforced no-turn-on-red would help greatly with that). With an overpass or underpass, I controll how long it takes to cross. Especially important if I’m trying to catch a train, and I would be very tempted to jaywalk instead of waiting.
US1 through South Miami is always going to be a major commuter throroughfare because there is no viable alternative. BTW the Viscaya overpass is hardly an eyesore…and US1 in SoMi is not very scenic so there’s no scenery to “ruin” with overpasses. Of course, surface crossings are still useful at some parts, and they should be zebra, flashing ones with no turn on red, especially the bikeway crossings.
Finally, would the pedestrian injuries/deaths have been prevented if the speed limit were 35 instead of 40? I doubt it… I think we can all agree, the key is preventing collisions in the first place! Design is more important than speed per se. Ideally, vehicles need to be going ZERO mph when pedestrians are crossing, not going 35 or 40 or turning at 10-20 mph.
Overpasses to me mean that one has conceded to the perpetuity high speeds in urban conditions, and value cars above all else. FDOT has a new playbook, http://www.dot.state.fl.us/rddesign/FloridaGreenbook/May2011DRAFT.pdf
In South Miami, an overpass on Sunset Drive would mean the elimination of a main street building. How much of our cities have already been irrevocably damaged and eroded for the sake of cars? We value our main street, and we value safety. Why not slow speed limits and crack down on distracted driving? Enough of the gold plated solutions. More effective use of our tax dollars should go for a more connected bike infrastructure immediately, as well as a more effective transit system.
There is a plan to build a pedestrian overpass by UM over US-1 at a cost of 3.5 MILLION dollars. Here’s the rub….these kinds of overpasses are usually failures because they tend to ignore one basic premise – human behavior. People simply don’t like to be treated like a hamster and made to climb up, down and around to merely cross a street. For a far lower and more reasonable cost, we can make the intersection safer using a variety of proven methods like raised crosswalks and “All cross” signal phases. The fact of the matter is, for 3.5 million, we’ll still see people crossing at grade level (as they should. it is the public realm after all) and wind up with a massive failure and waste of money.
Interstate highways are also the public realm, and it is surely ok to ban pedestrians from them! It’s a continous spectrum from interstate to “main street” (e.g., Sunset Dr.). Overpasses across Sunset Dr. in SoMi would be totally inappropriate. However, everything can’t be a “main street” with raised crosswalks, narrow lanes, street parking, and “all cross” signals. US1 in SoMi is somewhere inbetween. In some critical areas (in particular, Metro stations) it is most practical to totally separate pedestrians and vehicles. Sure, some lazy people will try to jaywalk, which can be discouraged in various ways. but I bet most ordinary pedestrians would actually appreciate safe, dedicated (and shaded from the sun) facilities to cross US1, and they would not feel like a hamster. I bet many more people would feel safer and more comfortable walking between downtown SoMi and the Metrorail, increasing transit ridership and decreasing parking issues in downtown.
IMHO, it is more realistic to expect that US1 will always be a high-speed urban commuter corridor, and work from there to make it as safe as possible for pedestrians. It is not about putting cars first. It’s more about acknowledging that they have their place in any modern urban metro area.
I bet turning a main commuter throughfare like US1 into a slow-speed, narrow lane “main street” configuration would cost way more than $3.5M, in having to add capacity to alternate routes like Palmetto and Dolphin to accomodate commuters coming from the south. Not to mention loss of business and real estate value (if people can’t get to work, they won’t want to live down there anymore). Not to mention emergency vehicle access to the hospitals. I seriously doubt downtown SoMi could exist if US1 were more like Sunset Dr. To me US1 is a necessary evil, so deal with it!
Much of SoMi is an anomaly along US 1 because of the frequent intersections in the city. I was proposing bringing speeds down from 40mph to 35mph. Maybe someday it would be great to have it slower still, with frontage roads and main street businesses. That would really be nice.
As a long term public safety roadway advocate motorists, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians we are all unfortunately currently exposed to numerous inherrent design and safety issues which exists on all congested public roadways.
Many of these dangerous public safety roadways issues have been previously and repeatedly submitted to elected, roadway officials, and the Miami Herald Editorial Board as well however they (for whatever unknown reasons) seem very relucatant to effect the much needed changes in order to protect the public residents which would reduce the number of collisions,tragic fatalities and serious injuries occuring on the local public roadways many of them preventable.
I can assure everyone that, these public safety potential hazards issues although they can certainly be ignored they are not going to correct themselves on their own accord.
At this time all I can say to the motorists, use seat belts, always drive defensively and responsibly and be aware of your surroundings.
For the bicyclists make sure that, you are wearing a helmet, and anytime riding in the dark make sure that you have highly visible flashling lights front and aft.
Do not ride in the motorists blind spots and anytime a rider is approaching a driveway reduce speed (since there is always the potential to encounter a vehicle) and if a vehicle is noted make sure you make direct eye contact with the driver of the vehicle before you attempt to pass directly in front of them (or rather go behind them if possible).
For pedestrians never step on to the roadway ( even though the traffic light is red and the pedestrian crosswalk has been activated until such time the vehicles approaching have all completely stopped since we have many reckless, impaired and distracted drivers operating their vehicles on our public roadways with literally no traffic enforcement occuring.
The reality is that, unless funding is obtained to correct many of the existing safety issues occuring on local roadways ( as well as much needed traffic enforcement) they unfortunately will never become compatible for motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, bus riders as well to safely utilize which should be the common goal or objective which would be in everyones mutual best public safety interest.
Mike Arias