2015-0319 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes:Regular City Commission Meeting March 19,2015 City of Sunny Isles Beach,Florida Mayor Scholl said for the record that Nick should subcontract himself out to a lot of the developers, and that he did a great job in the presentation. Steven Hirsh of Ocean Four and a member of the Board of Directors said this proposal has positive impact on the community by increasing public safety for pedestrians, decreasing traffic flow into a very congested area along 174th Street, and most importantly it can be accomplished for a minimum cost. Most of the traffic impacting Winston Towers residents along 174'h Street is not from residents or visitors, they are drivers trying to go northbound to southbound on Collins Avenue and they are forced to eo down 174'h Street because of the "No U-Turn" sign. If this proposal is approved, those existing Oceanfront properties in the 17200 and 17300 blocks of Collins Avenue designed to go south will not have to go two blocks in, turn around and come back and make a right turn navigating pedestrians crossing the south crosswalk in order to eo south. Vehicles turning right from 174'h Street will no longer have the challenge of pedestrians crossing. The hundreds of residents and tourists from Collins beachfront properties will be able to more effectively exit their properties and make a U-turn to go south at 174'h Street without the competition of pedestrians. Pedestrians crossing solely from the north crosswalk as is done at 172"d Street would consolidate a single pedestrian crosswalk for vehicles to watch and be cognizant of versus the existing two crosswalks. The result would be pedestrian safety and less traffic congestion, and at no significant cost to taxpayers. It should be noted that the other day we were advised by a resident of Winston Towers that told us that they never cross Collins Avenue in the south crosswalk because it is simply too dangerous. Steven Hirsh said in closing, information provided by the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department indicates that within the last three(3)years there were approximately 100 traffic accidents at the corner of 174'h Street and Collins Avenue. Although they do not distinguish between solely vehicular accidents versus pedestrian accidents it would be difficult to believe a good number were not in fact pedestrian involved accidents. In recent weeks there has been a discussion about constructing pedestrian crossover bridges across Collins Avenue at strategic sites, one of which is the intersection we are talking about tonight. We may one day have a crossover bridge at this intersection as the Mayor has publically mentioned citing the need for pedestrian safety and traffic mitigation. However in the interim, until the pedestrian bridge can become a reality, this proposal is a low cost and effective change that will facilitate both of the above stated goals. Finally, we understand that there may be additional partners that may need to get involved in this such as the Florida Department of Transportation as this is a State highway, and possibly Miami-Dade County. It is further hoped that the Commission will be a strong advocate for this simple change that benefits so many City residents, and will encourage and facilitate this proposal to fruition. Tom Feeley who lives in Ocean Four and is the President of the Condo Association for Sole on the Ocean, and he is also the owner and hotel operator of Sole. He thinks this is a great idea for Ocean Four and Sole for their guests. Making three (3) U-turns to get off from Collins Avenue is a pain in the neck. We think it will be safer for pedestrian traffic from the west side of Collins Avenue, and we like it. Commissioner Goldman asked how the proposals of the pedestrian bridge or even alternatively underground tunnels would that impact this discussion? In other words, is the 3