Coconut Grove Chamber Of Commerce: Serious Traffic Calming Comes To The South Grove

Press release from Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce:

October 15, 2021

During yesterday’s lightning-fast City Commission meeting, most of the time was taken up by public comment. The actual agenda flew by, and the meeting ended close to noon so the Commission could take a lunch break before coming back for an afternoon hearing that culminated in the firing of Police Chief Art Acevedo. The Commission voted on several important items in the morning with little or no discussion. One of them, the South Grove traffic calming program, which passed unanimously, has important implications not just for Coconut Grove but the entire city.

Launched in April 2020, the South Grove program involved a comprehensive review of cut-through traffic in an area bounded by Franklin, Kumquat, and Loquat Aves. to the north; Battersea Rd. to the south; Douglas Rd. and Main Highway to the east; and Le Jeune Rd. to the west. The morning and afternoon (read after-school) rush hours see huge amounts of frenzied east-west traffic in the area. It’s been a problem for many years. The City’s consultant, Kimley-Horn, used the study as the basis for a comprehensive traffic calming plan introduced to the public in May 2021.

Now, with passage of the plan, a solution to the problem is in plain sight. The South Grove traffic calming program has the potential to make a dramatic difference in cut-through traffic in the area. Implementation will begin immediately, proceeding in three major phases. When the project is completed, at a total estimated cost of $2.5 million, as many as 60 traffic calming devices will be installed in the South Grove.

Stop signs are not part of the package. Residents surveyed as part of the study said motorists basically ignore them. Instead, we’ll see devices such as speed tables (similar to speed humps but longer), raised intersections, and textured pavement. Noteworthy for their absence in the plan are the intersections of Douglas Rd./Ingraham Highway and Douglas Rd./Main Highway. The plan clearly states these are the purview of Miami-Dade County.

Normally every one of the proposed traffic calming devices would require a vote of the neighbors. It’s standard procedure and a process that could require decades. Instead, Commissioner Ken Russell, whose district includes the South Grove, pushed for a decision to adopt the entire south Grove traffic program as a whole, bypassing the usual item-by-item balloting. “While neighborhood-wide traffic studies are common,” says Russell, “this is the first-time balloting has been waived on this scale.” The only cases involving a poll of neighbors will be intersections where the property owners on each corner will be asked to give written permission.

Phase 1 will begin over the course of the coming year. This will include about 20 traffic calming devices deployed on the busiest streets of the South Grove.

When the project is complete, what will be the outcome? “Calmer, safer streets,” says Russell. “My priority is safety. We know that traffic calming measures are necessary. This process allows us to move forward on implementation.”

During the public comment period, three speakers protested the plan. Each one compared it to Communist Cuba. Russell responded to the third one, Elvis Cruz, an activist in the Morningside neighborhood, saying, “This is the third time a speaker is likening putting in a speed hump to communism.”

“It’s not speed humps,” said Cruz. “It’s voting—voting on whether the people want to have speed humps. You’re doing away with a process that’s been in place for decades. The people should be allowed to vote.”

“We may just simply disagree on this,” replied Russell. “When it takes me more than six years to put in traffic calming that can save lives, some things are about popularity and what everybody wants, and some things are about what’s needed to save lives. The vote happens on on election day.”

Visit the project web page here. Download the City presentation, which contains detailed maps showing the proposed installations in the three program phases, here.

This press release was produced by Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.