Following a series of meetings with Miami-Dade County officials, the Village of Palmetto Bay has reached an agreement with the county to install a temporary crosswalk at SW 82nd Avenue and 148th Street after the county removed the eastbound/westbound stop signs at the intersection.
Citing safety concerns for pedestrians crossing the intersection, village officials conduted several meetings with county staff to identify a solution. As a result of this action and through the help of Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava, the county has agreed to the following:
• A public meeting will be conducted at Village Hall on Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss methodology.
• The county will allow Palmetto Bay to put in the temporary crosswalk consisting of pavement markings and temporary signage while they review and analyze the installation of a permanent crosswalk.
• In the future, the county will provide advance notice of at least 10 days to the village and to affected residents of any roadway project, including the removal of signs or signals.
Miami-Dade County recently removed the stop signs after determining that they did not comply with federal and county policies. In an email from Darlene Fernandez, assistant director of Traffic Services for the Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works, she explained that it is the county’s policy to “not have unwarranted signs, pavement markings, traffic calming devices, etc…throughout the county.”
Although the village council and administration were informed that the intersection was being reviewed, the village was not advised that the removal of the stop signs was imminent. The issue was to be discussed at the council meeting of Sept. 12.
Information presented to the residents from sources other than the village stating that the request to remove the stop signs came from Palmetto Bay officials is entirely inaccurate. There was no request from any Palmetto Bay official to remove the signs and there was no prior notice given to the village before their removal. The decision to remove the signs was made by the county. This was affirmed in a followup email sent by assistant director Fernandez.
Work on the new temporary crosswalk was expected to begin before the end of September.
