HomeMy WebLinkAboutArticle - Miami HeraldC I ond (lables lowerino residential speeds to 25 to protect pec esh-lans I Nfiaml I ferald 11�age I of 7
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MII!AMI-DADE COUNTY SEPTEMBER 116, 2016 7:37 PM
For edestrians sake uables lowering
P
neighborhood speeds to 2i5
(D
BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI
It's a stark, little-known set of facts: A pedestrian tirilticky enotigh to be hit by a ca,r
0
or truclu going 25 miles an hour stairds, a good chance of surviving and escaping
serious injury.
licit art: a mere five mplltaster ? Better have good hospitalization coverage and life
tnrSt:irance, because the chariees of crippling injury or even. death ftl]:'11] liah.-raising.
Which is why Coral Gables is a bout to drop spe&d Bisalts across much of the city
below 30 rnph, joining an sa fe-s tree Ls- tbrou.gb-slo w -speed movement that ranues
from New York and Boston to London and Paris,
The City Beautiful is set to lower speed limits on its residential streets to, 25 mph
w,)d 20 IIIPII the latter in gated llcila c. oods like Gables Estatesand Cocopluni,
wfi.ose streets are public) froni the state (. efiRlIt 30 "'PlItbat applies in places
02357577.1and 9/28/2',O16
C'ord: I Gables lo",cring residential speeds to 25 to protect pedestrian,., N/fianu Herald Page ?cif' 7
wi tho u t posted signs . The 6 ty cornln.] ssion alrc.,�ady endorsedthe idea in a
P"Thill-ir'KIr'Y 4-1 vote and will v(�)te f(,,)r a second and finial tirrie as soars zis later this
Inolith.
ADVERI]SING
frfl`Zead hwented by Teads
A difference of five milli may not, seeill like 1111,101, hent the benefits eot.,tkl, be big it'l
terms of lives ancl limbs saved, experts say. Studies clearly show that 30 tnpli can be
the diviclinol," line between lifc-� and deatli, or grave mitiry, f6r peAestrians StrLtek by
rtiotor vehic-les, At that speed of inipact, about half will be seriously itkjured arid one
in, five will die, a study by the AAA. Foundation for,rraftic Safety shows, Above that:,
the odds of survival or escapirig, crippling in.jury dwindle very rapidly, the study
Shov"S.,
'"Me facts are urideniabl(--!," said Gables Comnjissioner Vinc(-. 1,, Ago, who h, -is been
pushir)gflee idea fi,)r two years. "Ttie lower speed limits create s,.ufer envit-onni(,!nts
for our children to prosper, Tbere is also a big COMMUrlity of individuals in Coi:al
Gables kvIlo ei�joy walking and. biking. Lowering the speed litrift is key to all(-.)Wlllg
tlia:t quality of life."
M
I 023575771itnil 9/28/2016
(onal (Jahles, lowering.- residential speeds to 25 to protect pedestrians �Nfianl�, Herald Paoe '-") of'7
Source: Bri�an Tefft, AAA, Foundation for Traffic Safety
MARCO RUIZ tnruiz,' rurriarnheraldxorn.
'r f"I'le'low-speed proposal, whictihas been approved by trafficregulators at Miarni-
Dade County, is part of a larger plan by the affluent suburban city of about 5o,000
to encourage more of its residents to w'.-flk or cycle for short ja UrntS instead of driving
by makirig fts streets more inviting for people who are not in curers®
'17he Gables lias set itself a goal oft -educing its pedestrian aild cyclist il.rJffies in
collisions with cars by io percent a year. For a city with a reputatiori for tranquil
living, those numbers are riot.hing to dismiss: Between 2011 and. 2015, 323
pedestrians and cyclists across the Gabl, ruck by cars, ffi�e oftlherri fatally,
s oe s,�iccdingto fiuresrded bktkin orthAme.iica, an engineering firm
rvorking on a new comprehensive. tratisportation plan for the city.
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Coml Gables lowering residential speeds 'to 25 to protect pedestrimas y Miami I lel'ald Page 4, (A'7
Alid while the fatalities occurred. on. I)usy thoroughfares like Bird an,d Le,h,�tme
roads, NvIfich are not stilaicct to the new speed finaits, the crashes liappened all across
die city:, including on its farnously quiet, tree shaded residential, streets --- AVflere
niany residents coniplain that inotorists I'OLItinely blow through at speeds Well above
'the 30 ma la. speed limit.
"They're occuj.-ring in ffie neighborilloods," L,ago said of the collisions, ':'T, saw those
figures, and. it really lift home."
'Enacting the nieaKtre would put the, Gables among to select group ofeities, that have
dropped speed limits below the icy nipli standard in the past two yem-s:, thougli niost
have gOIIE� even further, imposing ne", rE,Stl'iCtiOns across the board. '111 2013, the
Londonborough crf Islington Nvas the first tca pass bhanket 20 mph speed limits; the
restriction was later extended. across die Brifish capital, iIICILIdiIIg tO some of the
city's busiest thoroughfares, Paris and Milan axe imposing new, speed caps ol`,,j(,..)
kilometers per hour, or ig inp[i, arid Spain MR aPPIY 3o kpfi litnits in most urban
areas across, the country,
New York was the first Anierican city to do so when Mayor Bill de Btasio imposed a
25 111pli speed limit cit ywideill, 2014 tIO CUL (IOW11 on traffics duadis. Boston is now
working tolower the city speed,. lifflit to 25 rnpli,oared Seattle this week began rolling
otit a plart to IoNver speed IiniitS tO 25 111ph on main thorougiffares and 2(,,) IIIPII ill
neighborhoods.
Ln Miarni-Mide, the tiny Niflage of Biscayne Park reduced speed limits across most
of the 11111fliCipality to 25 mph ire 2009, Cotinty public works officials, could not say
F'riday whether any other m.m.,iicipalities, had done the sa.niebefore the Gables won
tlie ageney's approval earlier this year,
'I'lie 1,-�)roposal seenis, to enjoy support among Gables residents. Lago and otber
coniniissioners say residents' associations have been asl�.-irig f.'(,,)r lower speed limits
for years. This week, 68 of 86 residents responding to to survey &.ring several open
liouses onthe transportation plan said they were in favor ot'lowering speed limits,
citing safety as the reason, said consulturret JCason . King, of Dover,, Koh.1 & Partners,
calling that to solid saniple for a citythee of the ao's
lAes., "I'lle m-minst cited fear of
getting speedirig ticke[.s, lie said. 6 G
I 02357577.1itml 9/28/2016
Coral Gables lovveriiig residewial speeds to 25 to prolect pedestrians � Miami I lerald Page 5 of 7
1"he one comniissioner to vote agziirist the measure, Jeannett Slesnick, said she,
wanted to see! a plan to enforCE� it fil'St something city administrators say they're
working on.
As itwould roll out the new speed limits and new posted signs, the C"'Y'ables WOUld
also embark on an informational and enforcement campaign, saidCity Manager
Cathy,Svvatison-l�.ivei�aha ,:lt°k.'(.Jii('Ier its budget For next fiscal year, the city plaris to
beeftip its policing of traffic lawsand wottld strictly enforce the lower speed linfits,
she saki. The city would also have to find nioney for scores ofriew sigtis, though the
cost hasn't been determined yet.
Sorri(.0 of that beefed. -up enforcenient will beaimed at speeding COM111LIter's who Use
C'rables streets to bypass congested thoroughfares — a practice elected officials and
many, residents plainly hol-,)e that lower diced limits -would discourage. A
disproportioriate nuin.bel, of t1w speeding tickets handed out by Gables police go to
drivers wlio are not city'residents, Gables Police Chief Ed Fludak told the
C0111111issioll.
Once it adopts the new speeds limits, sorne the city stiould post
signs at ("'cables entrances warning rnotoi:ists that, in effect, the rules are difTerent
here — just like the adjacent, suburb of pirlecrest, notorious for its en4(,,)rCerllelit of
traffic laws, does.,
"We need tohave the Pinecrest effect, sothat once they've collie ilitothi,; City,
they're inu-nediately bral6rig," Swanson-Rivenbtilt k to coninaissioners.
If the Gables call in -fact get people to adl.lere to 25 11"ph., or even close to it, one
traffic -safety expert said, it shou Id see a reductionin those i.nJ it ry num bers. I 'here
are other proven benefits, too, said Brian Tefft, author of the oft -cited AAA
1 4
"oundation. study: Traffic flow illi lar because cars move at a inifforill, pace,
But, he added, public edL1Cc1tiOn,,abOL11 tllC', reasonsfor the lower speed limits is
cr,itical,
"When. correctly set and applied, lower speed limits not only improve safe�ty, but
improve mobility and respect for the law," lie said, "In general, you need
e�tif`orcenient, along with education aboAtianges in, the speed Ihnit and the reasoris
for the clian.ges in the speed firnit:, so the public understands this is being done for
safety reasons, and not simply to ine.rease reverixte froin speeding tickets,"
Q/28/20 16
Coral Gables loweritig residential speeds, to 25 to protect pedestriaiis � Nliaiiii Her,,fld Page 6 of 7
L� t"
nfl L. said the data on the danget, that, speeds above 30 niph pose to a pedestrian are
cl(�.Iar. It's as consequence of basic physies and the way the hunianbody, reacts when
struck by as vehicle at different speeds, At collisions bel01V 25 niph, there is lass risk
011 j grave i ii ii
* 7 because uirs niake contact with pedestrians hi -the legs, al jills or
trunk. Above 3o niph, though, pedestrians tend. to be knocked to the ground or be
sent flying over the car, striking their heads hard on the asphalt orthe cars
witidshield, lie said.
Experts also note that lower speeds increase the chance of avoiding as collision
altogether. 11raveling athigher speeds shortens reaction time and pl"O(lUcc�s a kind of
tunnel Vision fil. 11lotorists that reduces their effective field of vision, ilotes Gables -
based planner Victor Dover.
1lacer e's an enforcerrient twist: (Alief Hudak said police usually don't ticket drivers
instil seven rnph over the posted speed limit because that's what courts accept.'I'hat
mea,ns Gables police now dont ti&et d.rivers in 3o niplizones until they hit about
37. tea the 25 mph zones that WOUld COver niost oft ue cit -y, motorists woul(']. have to
hit 32 iriph to earn a citation . ...... though city officials eniphasize th,clt the goal is, to get
people as close as possible to 25
11i,,it's nulch better than. the present fix, when illotorists can al,)proach, the speed at
which all I)ets are Off — 40 mph, wher) half of pedestrians StrUCk will die -- NVAIIOUt
getting a ticket, Lag,o said,.
1, want to get people to ease offthe gas pedal," said Lago, who fives near the
University of Miami and complairis, that, motorists often blast by at 40 niph. "At 20
niph, you have opportunity to react.. At 40, one miscue, one look away to grab a soda
or a phone, can PeSUlt ill the loss of a life."
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Coral Gables lowerink, residential speeds lca 25 to protect pedestrians I Miami I ter�fld Page 7 of'7
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