Dear Neighbors,
While there is much good happening in our wonderful City, I am obligated to advise you of the incredible problems with the $100+ million West Avenue project and ask for your help. Resiliency is so important that we must dynamically course correct our approach to these infrastructure and street improvement projects which will ultimately touch all of Miami Beach.
Critical Concerns
As an Engineer and Commissioner who takes my oversight obligation extremely seriously, I want to summarize my most critical concerns from the project’s start 6 years ago:
- Jeopardizing lower-lying private properties with a dogmatic one size fits all Road Raising approach
- Recommending individual property harmonization contracts and then spending years to secure only 4 incomplete agreements
- Proposing the elimination of 279 parking spaces with no mitigation plans in place
- Spending $23 million with not even a shovel in the ground; currently burning $180,000 / month with insufficient progress
- Paying insufficient attention to a low-level parking lot on West Avenue (north of the Post Office) which currently floods
- Imperiling the neighborhood with aging water/ sewer infrastructure – some as old as the 1930s
- Conducting many meetings but not truly listening to residents
“It is clear that a number of residents in the Lincoln Road corridor did not have any information about the pump station”
Miami Beach Inspector General Report, 8.17.20
- Struggling recently at the DRB and being admonished by a Board member: “presentation was a bit of a mess”
- Not providing much-needed visuals to residents, Commissioners, Design Review Board and others so they can truly understand neighborhood impacts
- Alarming the City Commission sufficiently to necessitate a unanimous request for our Inspector General to intervene
- Failing to truly embrace crucial lessons from other projects including Indian Creek, Palm Hibiscus, Venetian Islands, etc
Call to Action
While this is all terribly troubling, I believe we can still right the ship by Not Raising Roads where it will jeopardize private properties and improving overall planning and execution. Indeed, this is absolutely in line with the engineering recommendations from Jacob’s Engineering and the resulting Commission action.
Thankfully, there are currently 3 strong Commission votes in support of putting #ResidentsFirst, and I am optimistic we will soon have a majority.
You can help by:
- Sharing your experience and opinion of the current approach to “Road Raising”
- Expressing your support to advance the project by Not Raising Roads where it will place vulnerable private properties at risk
- Providing your feedback and ideas for the project
- Attending the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club meeting on 3.8, 8:30 am at CAO Bakery
The best way to make your voice heard is to email the City Manager and Commission.
City Manager AlinaHudak@miamibeachfl.gov
Mayor DanGelber@miamibeachfl.gov
Commissioner StevenMeiner@miamibeachfl.gov
Commissioner Kristen@miamibeachfl.gov
Commissioner Alex@miamibeachfl.gov
Commissioner RickyArriola@miamibeachfl.gov
Commissioner DavidRichardson@miamibeachfl.gov
Yours in service,
Mark Samuelian
