It’s a City Street, Not a Superhighway

From the Biscayne Times out of Miami, this is an article regarding traffic-calming along Biscayne Boulevard and the on-going fight with FDOT regarding revamping the roadway to encourage lower speeds and fewer accidents. There are parallels in this discussion to the situation that we face on Dixie Hwy. Part of the reason the properties along the street are not thriving is that the thoroughfare is not pedestrian friendly and there is no on street parking south of the West Palm Beach/Lake Worth line. Click title for link to article. Here is a bit:

Known as the MiMo Streetscape Visioning Plan, it was drawn up by two University of Miami architecture professors. Its purpose: Find ways to slow down traffic along Biscayne Boulevard, between 61st and 77th streets, in order make it safer for pedestrians to cross the street, and to increase business for local merchants operating in that area.
At first it seemed the street improvements were a done deal. Engineers from the Florida Department of Transportation, the official custodian of Biscayne Boulevard, appeared to be receptive. (See “Boulevard Vision: Slow Down, Park, Shop,” August 2010.)
But FDOT ultimately rejected the plans. Their main objection was the installation of medians, which engineers argued would obstruct local residents trying to drive out of their neighborhoods.
“The department conducted a study to evaluate the placement of medians on the corridor,” FDOT spokesman Brian Rick says in an e-mail to the BT. “The study concluded there would be impacts that would result in additional travel distances for residents who live east and west of Biscayne Boulevard.” Rick says the medians would have other detrimental consequences as well, but by deadline did not address FDOT’s objection to additional parallel parking.