Miami to audit all other cities in street closure fight with county
Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo wonders why 32 street closures in Coral Gables have gone unchallenged by Miami-Dade County while barriers on a few streets in the Silver Bluff neighborhood were cause for a surprise court date.
Earlier in the month, Miami road crews placed temporary concrete barriers on side streets off Coral Way and Southwest 17th Avenue in response to residents’ pleas for help in eliminating the immense drive-through traffic from thoroughfares into their quiet neighborhood. Soon after, crews from the county’s Department of Transportation and Public Works came to remove the barriers but were stopped by Miami police. The stalemate came to a head when the county sought a court order, claiming Miami did not undergo the proper process before erecting the barriers.
“The county did something unprecedented by bringing the City of Miami to an emergency hearing on a Sunday,” said Mr. Carollo. “The county alleged people’s lives were at risk because we closed a few streets at the extreme ends on a temporary basis and emergency vehicles could go in and out.”
Mr. Carollo said he finds the county’s claim hard to believe, given he found a minimum of 32 street closures just in Coral Gables. The difference, he said, is that the closures in Silver Bluff were in response to a traffic problem and the others were because residents didn’t want outsiders coming into their neighborhood.
“This is a major thoroughfare on small residential streets on a daily basis,” Mr. Carollo said. “We’re tried various measures but nothing has solved the problem. When neighbors came to us with a petition, we closed streets on a temporary basis as we believe we are allowed to do by law.”
“If the county had the nerve to treat us this way,” he said, “I hope they understand by their defeat in court that they were wrong and we are independent from them.”
He asked City Attorney Victoria Mendez to place a public request on every city in the county for all their street closures, when they were done, and if they had county approval.
Commissioner Manolo Reyes said he lent his support to the investigation 100% and asked the county the same question why “we can’t close a street when Coral Gables has done it. The county said in order to close a street, you have to go through a process,” Mr. Reyes said. “I have asked what the process is and how many parts of the county have gone through the process. I want to know if these other streets went through the process that we’re supposed to go through.”
Joe Burns
March 17, 2021 at 9:33 pm
I live Sunset & SW 82nd Ave .Crazed and reckless drivers cut through from Miller to get to Sunset and vice versa. Some drive 2-3 times the speed limit and run the stop signs. No sidewalks for pedestrians. Very dangerous.
Instead of closing off streets consider multiple speed humps to slow the loco mofos
Resident Silver Bluff
March 20, 2021 at 12:39 pm
The commissioner has referenced the petition many times, but it’s no where to be found. It was never filed. It’s not public record!
Resident of Silver Bluff
March 22, 2021 at 12:13 pm
Mr. Burns, we have everything that the County requires. Why doesn’t the County provide police enforcement?
TFR
March 25, 2021 at 11:34 am
I live in the impacted area. First, a petition is not all that should go into a street closure decision. As an urban planner, I know that traffic counts at various intersections, predictive traffic modelling, and other measures that have been used for decades should contribute to proper information-driven decision making. This is all any of us opponents are asking for. So for our councillor to cite a single petition and some supposed past measures (that none of us recall seeing) as his rationale smells fishy.
Second, the “petition” the councillor cites is suspect, to say the least. Respondents were cherry picked (I and many other residents were never approached), and as I understand, it includes names of people who don’t even live in the neighbourhood. There is another petition circulating now, with more names, solely of area residents, OPPOSING the closures . I hope it gets at least as much attention.
Meantime traffic on my street section is infinitely worse.
Resident of Silver Bluff
March 27, 2021 at 10:55 am
I live in the impacted area and had never seen or been approached with a petition to close the streets. The street closings had made it more cumbersome and time consuming to drive to the supermarket or go to work. Now I have to drive several extra blocks and make more lefts to get to the other side of Coral Way. Also, as mentioned in the previous post, traffic in surrounding areas is now worse. These closings, instead of increasing my safety have accomplished the opposite.
Another Silver Bluff Resident
April 20, 2021 at 7:18 pm
Another Silver Bluff resident here. Not directly impacted one way or another. But support it sincy we need to curtail traffic all over. If you’re driving, you’re part of the problem.