All of us on the Islands want you to know that the city and the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Office are eliminating the 2-way on Island Avenue North, and making it a one-way, forcing all traffic to pass in front of the Spa regardless of the level of activity.
As a result of the reduction in the residents ability to exit either direction, residents will experience considerable difficulty in travel past on already congested area in front on the Standard Hotel. For instance, at the present, the parking department can not keep up with all of the cars blocking the lanes of travel on Island Avenue – North. The reduction to the flow of traffic on Island Avenue – North was never discussed at any of the community workshops. The CIP website (www.cmbprojects.com) indicates that this meeting occurred on July 27, 2004, and includes a link to the summary of the meeting’s minutes. The minutes do not reflect any discussion related to the proposed one-way on Island Avenue – North. You might have been at that meeting, but never heard or read about these proposed changes.
All of us on Belle Isle recognize that the CIP Office projects are vital for upgrading our current infrastructure, but the residents’ safety should be the first priority. The safe flow of traffic plays an important part in the quality of life in South Florida and has long-term impact on our community. The Miami-Dade County Public Works Department representative on the Venetian Causeway project, Jeff Cohen, stated that the decision was made by City of Miami Beach and the CIP Office, and the county’s input was brought in afterwards. If you share our concern about the dangerous proposed change in the traffic flow, we would like to recommend:
IMPORTANT PLEASE CONTACT AND VOICE YOUR CONCERNS TO:
• Carla Dixon at The CIP At (786) 412-9537,
• Jorge Chartrand, Acting CIP Director, at (305) 673-7071
• Jeff Cohen at Miami-Dade, (305) 375-2746
And get involved. Please join one or all of the local homeowners associations.There are three; the Belle Isle Residents Association headed by Herb Franks at (305) 674-9296, the Venetian Island Homeowner’s Association with Colgate Darden (305) 613-7843, and the Venetian Causeway Neighborhood Alliance with Barbara K. Bisno, at (305) 374 2566.
Thank you for your concern and caring about the quality of life for all of us in our community.