MIAMI MIRROR TRUE REFLECTIONS

SOUTH BEACH TRAFFIC

Beware! Dangerous!
Seventh and Euclid I heard a metallic crash behind me and a muffled thud as I conversed with a woman on the sidewalk near the corner of Euclid Avenue and 7th Street. Ay! she exclaimed, the truck hit him! I turned around and saw the nose of a big red pickup truck in the crosswalk. A man and a bike were down in the street in front of the pickup. He was writhing in pain, and then went limp. Someone was already calling 911. A female passenger got out of the vehicle and hurried away. Wheres she going? I asked. Shes illegal, the woman replied.

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Or theres a warrant out on her. Hes illegal, Ill bet, said I, noting that the man sprawled supine on the pavement appeared to be Hispanic and dirt poor. Being undocumented is no big thing: probably over half the people in the neighborhood are here illegally; they are needed to work for low wages in the expensive hotels and restaurants on the beach. The cops and an ambulance showed up in four minutes. The hapless man was taken away. We listened to the driver tell a cop that he did not run into the man, that the bicyclist hit his truck and bounced off it after he had stopped his vehicle at the corner. Hes lying, I said to the woman. He hit the guy in the crosswalk; that much is obvious. Si, said the woman who saw the bicyclist hit at 7th and Euclid, he lies. Tell the cop for his report. No, no, I cannot do that. Yes, please tell him what you saw. Wait, Ill tell him you saw what happened. She wheeled around and hurried away. So she was probably illegal too, or was wanted by the police. As a matter of fact, local drivers seldom stop before they get into the crosswalks around South Beach; they often do not come to a complete stop at a stop sign but roll through, sometimes giving people in the intersection the wrong impression that they are slowing down to stop. Not only bicyclistsmany of whom do not observe the traffic laws themselvesbut pedestrians as well risk their lives travelling around South Beach, which used to be pedestrian-friendly. Pedestrians are often careless themselves, walking in front of cars, against the lights, or they jaywalkdo not tell anyone, but jaywalking in the middle of a residential block on a street with two lanes can be safer than crossing at the corner if one is careful. Cars turn right and left right and come right at pedestrians, missing people in crosswalks by inches, and may even swerve into the oncoming traffic lane to avoid hitting them when going straight ahead. Drivers get into plenty of crashes among themselves. Drivers familiar with South Beach avoid the intersecting side streets and avenues, which are broad, some having a series of all-way stops; others have two-way stops that provide some throughway wherein the right-a-way and breadth of the streets encourages drivers to speed up and believe they have a legal right to be incautious. Many local drivers prefer to stay on Alton Road, the main artery for north-south traffic, which has all-way traffic lights set relatively far apart, intraffic cops refer to it as a raceway. Alton Road, however, is exceedingly dangerous to pedestrians. Scant media attention is given to traffic crashes on South Beach hence reports are usually anecdotal and word-of-mouth. There was a customary hit-and-run accident several weeks ago in front of Whole Foods, severely injuring a woman who works at the second-hand store. Rumor has it that she is suing the first hospital she was taken to, for allegedly refusing to admit her due to lack of insurance. Another person was recently rundown a few blocks away. Bus stops on Alton Road or anywhere else on the beach for that matter provide no refuge to pedestrians from the onslaught, but rather expose them to incautious drivers who might plow into them unexpectedly.
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A driver on Alton Road ran a red light and almost struck me yesterday in that crazy crosswalk in front of CVS Pharmacy, where pedestrians have to wait so long for the green light that they tend to risk their lives crossing against it. She had her cell phone to her face and was not paying attention to the stop light or the other cars stopped for it. She honked repeatedly and grimaced at me. So I decided to return on the side streets, and I was nearly struck by car on Michigan Avenue alongside Flamingo Park. I was well within my rights but was lost in thought, thinking that the number of black gum stains per square yard on sidewalks might be a good indicator of neighborhood quality, so I did not see the care coming. This driver also blasted her horn furiously at me, much to the amazement of another driver who saw the whole thing happen. Although Orlando is now the most dangerous city for pedestrians in this free country of ours, Miami, ranked about number four in pedestrian fatalities, and the city has a reputation for having the rudest drivers in this great nation, and is proud of it despite the few courteous and cautious drivers on the road whom we should glorify instead. I have seen many instances of drivers intentionally aiming their cars at people in such a way that, if a cop were the target, s/he would be authorized to shoot the driver for attempting homicide; alas that non-officer victims are actually blamed for being struck. Poor people i.e. people without cars hence walk more, are most likely to be struck down. One time I thought South Beach had magically changed because people were stopping before they got to crosswalks; some even let others leave intersections before they entered them. Then I noticed many tags from out of statea crowd, apparently unacquainted with our local mores, had come down for the Super Bowl. We are really not so special, but I attribute the negligence of our drivers to the mass narcissism plague. After all, Greater Miami, on the east end of the Implant Belt, has just been ranked the vainest city in the country by Mandala Research LLC, a tourism marketing firm. Sixth and Euclid BOOM! The crash resounded throughout the same block about a week later. A taxi carrying two tourists ran a stop sign at the four-way stop at Euclid Avenue and 6th Street, striking a car at a relatively high speed. He must have been a new cab driver. Locals should know to slow down there because people including many city employees stop to get coffee at the popular Las Olas Caf on the corner, sometimes double-parking their cars. That corner is an especially dangerous for pedestrians because drivers in a hurry to get their coffee or get to work often ignore them in the crosswalks. A tall UPS truck sometimes parks on the corner, blocking sight of a stop sign. Irate pedestrians can often be witnessed giving the finger to or yelling at rude drivers. An ambulance arrived to treat the tourists. Neighbors gathered to watch the scene, which went on over an hour, and to discuss how dangerous the back streets are. I related how my friend Liz and I regularly took taxis from the Publix over to her place on Lincoln Road: one of the cab drivers kept nodding off when he stopped for traffic, so we had to prompt him to come to and continue. Another driver not only stopped at stop signs but also stopped in the middle of streets to let people cross over. We wished we could somehow quality drivers before we got into their cabs. Seventh and Meridian

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Lo and Behold! There was a serious accident on a third corner of my block, resulting in an overturned car at Meridian and 7th Streets the very next week. Although it is a two-way stop, the intersection has sight-distance issues that require an all-way stop. As it is, motorists unfamiliar with the intersection may think there are stop signs on all four corners. Accidents are waiting to happen. WHAM! A car flips and rolls. Sixth and Meridian I figured that an accident on the fourth corner of my block, on Meridian Avenue and 6th Street would be in order for a months worth of accidents, but no dice. For one thing, stop lights preside over that corner. The fact that the stop light on 6th gives pedestrians only 8 seconds to stop does present a problem due to the volume of foot traffic from businesses and the day care center. However, the main infractions there are committed by the pedestrians and bicyclists, much to the annoyance of drivers. When I hollered at a bicyclist who ran the light and came right at me, she gave me the finger and yelled, You stupid ahole! Bicycles dont have to stop!
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Sixth and Jefferson Many accidents are waiting to happen in the intersection just a block west, on Jefferson Avenue and 6th Street, which sports stop signs for 6th, and an overhanging, blinking yellow light cautioning cars on Jefferson. Many elderly folks cross there from the community center on the corner; Meridian Food Market in the middle of the block on 6th gets plenty of pedestrian traffic, and there is the busy Walgreens down the block. Now I have never taken the test for the Florida drivers license, but judging from what I have seen everywhere on South Beach, yellow means speed up, or look for cars and ignore pedestriansthe law states that the purpose of a steady yellow light is to give drivers ample time to stop before the signal turns red, while a blinking yellow light advises caution, however that word might be interpreted. Everyone except the engineers know this intersection should be an all-way stop, by stop signs if not by traffic lights. Three months back, a man was knocked down on that corner by a traditional hit-and-run driver he ran stops signs as he fled west. And I saw a bicyclist call the police the other day after a delivery truck banged into him there. Further, when Liz and I were in a cab again, the driver stopped at the sign there, then proceeded; a car nearly broad-sided or T-boned us. I would have been badly hurt since I was on the passenger side. We were naturally a bit shook up; we both prefer not to drive in South Beach; we both walk with a great deal of trepidation; she bicycles ever so cautiouslyI fear for her safety. In fact many residents perceive an apparent upturn in pedestrian hit-and-runs, going back several years to the guy who actually got out of his car and took a mans body of the hood, heaved it on the curb like a bag of garbage, got back in his and kept going. The media does make an effort to report the worst accidents on Miami Beach, yet more attention should be given the subject including publication of annual traffic statistic reports. Now all the accidents on the corners of the same block within a short period of time are perhaps not a representative sample of what goes on all over South Beach. I planned on sending my photos over to Jorge Gonzalez, the City Manager, and Matti Herrera Bower, the Mayor, but hesitated to do so since they have not been responsive to my concerns in the past. Seventh and Meridian Again

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Lo and Behold! Again! Yes, another car rolled at Meridian Avenue and 7th Street and wound up on its top a tad from the corner, where it struck two parked cars. Firemen showed up to prevent a fire. Of course an ambulance was there; amazingly, no-one was seriously hurt. A man who was apparently in the upturned car was complaining about how he saw several people in front of him running stop signs before his accident. I had a bystander take photos for me, resolving to at least write up a story about South Beach traffic, and to see if Captain Mark Causey, who is in charge of the South District, would shed some light on how the police department analyzes crash information and allocates resources for traffic law enforcement in South Beach, how it collects and reports traffic incident data, and what its input into a comprehensive traffic management plan for Miami Beach might be. I am standing by for his response. Sir, I approached a uniformed man who was standing by a squad car doing nothing, does the Police Department have a traffic division? He gave me what I can only call a hateful lookI noticed he was not a cop but was with Parking Enforcement. I repeated my question. No! he gruffly responded. So all units are responsible for making traffic stops? He did not answer, turning his back on me. There was another gentleman in the intersection, in plain clothing, apparently watching over the scene. I approached him and addressed him, but he did not respond either, except to also turn his back on me. There are many public employees including top public officials in Miami Beach who do not really work for the public. Fortunately, there are others, most often than not in the lower ranks, who are more than eager to serve. I found a friendly police officer, and noted that there had been another car overturned there a few weeks prior. They dont stop at the signs, he said knowingly, shaking his head.
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Quite a crowd had gathered around the scene, taking photos, speculating on whether the car had rolled several times, and so on. The cop said people dont stop at the signs, I offered by way of understatement. Why should they? one man said. There are no consequences for breaking the laws until you have an accident around here. When was the last time that you ever say a cop giving a ticket on the back streets for running a stop sign? They run the signs themselves. Good point, I said. When cars do stop they stop in the crosswalk so you have to walk around them. Thats because they cant see far enough either way to see if a speeding car is coming, a woman said. Some signs are not visible. Not all have signs on both sides of the streets either. All they give a damn about is towing. Theyre the f---ing mafia here, a neighbor added. I guess towing illegally parked cars is a more cost-effective way of raising money, I remarked. Yeah, right, and think about who gets paid off, and how much the tow drivers steal from the cars. My dad got a ticket at a stop sign on Jefferson, volunteered a gentleman. He did not come to a complete stop. Hes very careful about that now. Im sad for your dad but glad for us, I said. How long have you lived in this area? All my thirty-six years. Do you know of anyone else getting a ticket for not completely stopping on these back streets? No. Maybe if the cops handed out tickets like candy, people would eventually be a lot safer, someone said. Never happenthat would cut down on towing charges, a man joked. Maybe if Jack Nicholson gets killed crossing the street, something will be done. I saw him around the other day. Whos in charge of traffic management? I asked Who knows? The morons who run the city. Sometimes they change the two-way stops to fourway stops, and then there are even more accidents as people blow through the new stops.

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I returned to my place to write up a story. I certainly did not want to say that South Beach is an entirely unsafe place to park and relax. A homeless neighbor of mine regularly slept off his booze in a private parking space behind a building on that very corner. I thought he was a hopeless case, but the last I heard he had sworn off the Old Milwaukee and has a job and a room of his own. Maybe something can be done to improve the dangerous traffic situation too. The steps taken should include improved enforcement of traffic laws. Citizen activism is the main reason that cities increase enforcement of traffic laws; absent public pressure, if the issue is left with appointed police chiefs and city managers, and elected mayors and commissions, enforcement will likely slacken. Many police departments allocate far more resources to homicides than to traffic fatalities although they later may exceed the former. A war against traffic violations might be waged periodically and publicized by the media to educate the public and augment the perception of enforcement. We only have seven motorcycle traffic cops on each shift; additional units would earn the city more revenue than they cost. And police officers assigned to responding to calls and going after bad guys should be more proactive in enforcing traffic laws although writing tickets is a hassle. More bad guys would be apprehended too, as is evident from the arrest of a Bronx man who was illegally parked at 9th and Washington one afternoon last week. He was sporting NYPD paraphernalia including clothes, a badge, and handcuffs. The officers discovered he was not a police officer, searched the car, and found a machine gun loaded with hollow-point 9mm bullets along with a bag of marijuana. We are awaiting word from Capt. Causey as to the identity of the man and other details, but that information does not seem to be forthcoming anytime soon if at all. I contacted one of the so-called morons who run the city, Hilda Fernandez, a talented, skilled and hardworking assistant city manager who does much of the heavy weightlifting for Jorge
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Gonzalez, a task that has naturally fashioned her into a somewhat calloused but caring and communicative bureaucrat. I sent her a preliminary draft of the above, which included some critical remarks about the old crony system that runs the city, and offered that she might be able to prevent injuries and deaths and save the city from liability for negligence in not attending to reported problems. I also asked to be directed to the citys comprehensive traffic management plan; if there is one, I supposed should be online somewhere. As far as I am concerned, the city should also have an interactive online map that displays where accidents have occurred, and summary reports of incidents should be posted regularly. Ms. Fernandez responded immediately, stating that she had forwarded my observations to the Public Works Department for their response. However, and as I am sure you may be aware, traffic stops, etc., are regulated by Miami-Dade County, not the City. As such, the City works with the County to identify solutions where there may be any issues. Through the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association, there have been discussions about the traffic conditions in the area you describe below. The County is already conducting warrant analyses for all the intersections in the Flamingo Neighborhood without multi-way stop control. To date, MDCPWWM has completed the studies north of 11th Street and has issued work orders for the installation of multi-way stop controls at Michigan Avenue and 13 Street, Lenox Avenue and 13 Street, Lenox Avenue and 14 Street. The remainder of the studies between 6th and 11th are due to be completed by the end of January. The State of Florida uses the Federal Highway Administrations Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices as its guideline for warrants (standards). Local agencies that do not consider the MUTCD warrants may expose themselves to legal liability for neglecting them. Average traffic volume per hour is one consideration for installing stop signs and signals. My particular concerns at this time may not meet the volume criteria. Another consideration is the number of crashes at a location, where the volume of traffic may be lower than the ordinary warrant for installing a device. We are now waiting for three more serious crashes over the next nine months, perhaps some involving serious injuries and fatalities, on one corner of my block, in order to meet the standard of five crashes over a year, providing that the traffic volume criteria is met. And then there is the special circumstance; that of poor sight distance, which might warrant a control device to enhance safety. I am advised by a resident that the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association, which many residents of my area are not aware of and do not even know they are part of the neighborhood itself, does in fact meet regularly with traffic officials and goes into excruciating detail over traffic issues. It is worth noting for balance that citizen requests for stop signs and signals are hardly unusual in the traffic business. Neighborhood residents tend to want a stop sign or light at every corner, and the indiscriminate placement of stops can actually result in more accidents for various reasons. Like medicine, a certain number of disasters are acceptable for the benefit of users; say, a certain ratio of crashes per million miles travelled. There must be some relative scientific standard for controlling traffic even though a uniform system also has its disadvantages wherever rules give drivers a right-a-way right to kill each other in lieu of the mutual forbearance of the old common law, that operators should look out for one another, control their vehicles, and avoid collision.
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As of this writing, I am standing by for a response from Public Works. I informed Ms. Fernandez that, due to a recent experience with Public Works, I was concerned about how long it might take to get actually something done once a decision was made act. I said that I was following up an allegation that someone had pleaded for a stop sign at one intersection following numerous accidents to no avail, and that rumors were circulating that a pedestrian was eventually killed there, which might leave the city liable for some portion of the negligence if that were true. Further, I expressed some doubt as to the efficiency of the neighborhood association because of a longstanding issue a stones throw from its headquarters, and further noted that my brief experience with the association led me to conclude that it was a quasi-public instrument of the city managers office and subject to the usual old cronyism. Beware of South Beach traffic. It is dangerous. Do obey the traffic laws but do not depend on them, for dependence on others to obey the law is one of the chief causes of accidents.

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