Another Pedestrian Hit in Brickell; No Ticket Issued to Driver (Again)

Written by & filed in Community, Cyclists & Pedestrians, Quality of Life.

On Friday June 29th at around 5:30 p.m. a pedestrian was hit on South Miami Avenue while crossing the street in the crosswalk. According to the victim (pedestrian), she was crossing east in the south crosswalk at SE 14th Street and South Miami Avenue and a Jeep was turning left onto South Miami Avenue while driving west on SE 14th Street. As the Jeep turned left the driver hit the pedestrian in the crosswalk.

A pedestrian was struck in this intersection, yet no ticket was issued to the driver, even though there were witnesses.

The manager of Segafredo called the Police and Fire-Rescue. The pedestrian was lucky to walk away with only a bruise and the driver stayed at the scene. But this is where the story gets crazy….

According the victim (the pedestrian) the Police officer believed that she was at fault because she had her cell phone in her hand and was “distracted”!?!  Are you kidding me? Drivers need to yield to pedestrians-it’s the law. There is no question that the driver should have been issued a ticket.

This whole story sounds absurd to me, but it isn’t a first, so I’m not surprised.  About a year ago I witnessed a driver hit a pedestrian on Brickell Avenue and wrote about it for Transit Miami.  The story is eerily similar and it seems that the Miami Police Department does not want to be bothered with issuing tickets to drivers that hit pedestrians even though there are multiple witnesses.  The buck stops here…. Mayor Regaldo and Commissioner Sarnoff what are you going to do?

Picture of the Day: Naughty Urban Planning

Written by & filed in Picture of the Day, Scene on the Street, Urbanism.

The jackass that signed off on this should be fired. Who puts a traffic signal post in the middle of a sidewalk? The County Public Works and Waste Management Department that’s who.  This is just terrible and I can guarantee that it does not meet ADA requirements. This abomination of urban planning can be found on NE 79th Street and NE 7th Avenue. Is this some sort of bad joke? No common sense was used in the placement of this traffic signal post.

NE 2nd Avenue Sees Redevelopment Action

Written by & filed in Development Pipeline.

Looks likes there’s some action happening around the area of NE 2ndAvenue between NE 23rd and NE 24th Street.  The tenant improvements for the new Mia Piccolo Montessori School are well underway; a clear sign that the demographics in the area are quickly changing.  Two other buildings up the street appear to have recently undergone a renovation as well. These is great for the neighborhood. There are some bad-ass older buildings on this street and it looks like developers have taken notice and are investing.

New Montessori School coming to NE 2nd Avenue

Nice Paint Job!

Recent Renovation

Historic Firehouse #2 Coming Alive; North Miami Avenue Not Business-Friendly

Written by & filed in Commercial, Community, Development Pipeline, Retail.

1926- Fire House #2. Source-Wikipedia

The 1926 Historic Fire House #2 is coming alive thanks to the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).  The Omni CRA funded the $3.3 million renovation using proceeds from its special Omni taxing district. The agency will then set up their office on the second floor of the building and they expect to lease the ground floor to a restaurant. The CRA is also funding the ongoing reconstruction of Fourteenth Street, which includes new water lines and wider, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks. According to the Miami Herald the firehouse was designed by August Geiger, among the most prominent of early Miami architects. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Firehouse #2 making a comeback…

There are some great buildings at the intersection of North Miami Avenue and NE Fourteenth Street and I see the potential to redevelop this small neighborhood. Unfortunately, an opportunity was lost at this intersection and all along North Miami Avenue that would have helped the CRA achieve its goals of sparking redevelopment in this area.

 

North Miami Avenue should have been converted to a two-way street with parallel parking on both sides of the street. There is nothing business or pedestrian–friendly about a one-way road with three wide lanes that encourages speeding.  As a business owner why would I want to establish a business on a street that only has cars speeding through in the morning? Any smart business owner would want morning and evening traffic driving by their store at much slower speeds.

It is difficult for retail businesses to sustain themselves on a one-way road with very little traffic and no on-street parking. By keeping North Miami Avenue business and pedestrian-unfriendly, the Miami Dade County Public Works and Waste Department is doing a disservice to the CRA and to potential business owners that would consider investing in the area.