2021 Safe Streets Awards - Nominees
The Safe Streets Awards are an opportunity to highlight individuals and jurisdictions that have led by example in creating better streets for all users. Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties will each select one individual Complete Streets Champion Award winner and one Complete Streets Community Award winner. Conference attendees will be voting to select the recipient of the 2021 People’s Choice Award! Be sure to join us at the Safe Streets Summit and root for your local champions!
WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE 2021 SAFE STREETS AWARDS NOMINEES!
COMPLETE STREETS CHAMPION AWARD
COMPLETE STREETS COMMUNITY AWARD
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST PROJECT
COMPLETE STREETS CHAMPION AWARD
Awarded to an individual who has been an exceptional leader and catalyst in advancing Complete Streets in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach.
(Nominees Listed in Alphabetical Order)
Miami-Dade County
- Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor, Miami-Dade County District
- Meg Daly, Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Friends of The Underline
- Raymond Freeman, Project Manager, Florida Department of Transportation, District 6
- Matthew Gultanoff, Founder, Better Streets Miami Beach
- Irene Hegedus, Chief of Transportation Enhancements, Project Manager for The Underline, Miami Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works
- Elijah Stiers, Founding Principal, Stiers Law, P.A.
- Collin Worth, Bicycle Coordinator/Special Projects Assistant, City of Miami Capital Improvements and Transportation Program
Broward County
- Ben Porritt, Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs, Brightline
- Ken Reinhardt, Volunteer Lead, AARP Florida Livable Communities
- Sheila Rose, Director of Sustainable Development, City of Coconut Creek
- Sarely Tejeda, STRIDE Coordinator, Florida Department of Transportation, District 4
Palm Beach County
- John David Corey, Founder, Palm Beach Walks and Friends of Lake Drive Park
- Charles Kane, Law Enforcement Liaison, Florida Department of Transportation, District 4
- Christina Lambert, District 5 Commissioner, City of West Palm Beach
- Sherryl Muriente, Manager of Urban Placemaking, West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority
- Juan Orellana, Founder and Managing Director, UpCycle
- Joanna Peluso, Project Director, Healthier Jupiter
- Chelsea Reed, City Council Member, City of Palm Beach Gardens
- Andy Thomson, City Council Member, City of Boca Raton
COMPLETE STREETS COMMUNITY AWARD
Awarded to a local government or organization in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach that has significantly contributed to the implementation of Complete Streets including doing an outstanding job engaging the community.
(Nominees Listed in Alphabetical Order)
Miami-Dade County
- City of Miami Beach Transportation & Mobility Department
- Friends of The Underline
- Miami-Dade Age-Friendly Initiative (AFI)
- Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works
- Village of Palmetto Bay
Broward County
- City of Hollywood, FL / Hollywood, FL CRA
- The MASS District (Music & Arts South of Sunrise)
- City of Weston
Palm Beach County
- City of Boynton Beach
- North Shore Neighborhood Association
- Palm Beach Gardens
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST PROJECT
Awarded to a project that has helped advance Complete Streets efforts in Miami-Dade, Broward, and/or Palm Beach. Projects can include quick-build or permanent and long-term projects. Safe Streets Summit attendees will have an opportunity to vote for the best Complete Streets focused project.
(Nominees Listed in Alphabetical Order)
1) Andrews Avenue – Complete Street Project - City of Oakland Park
The City of Oakland Park has taken the implementation of Complete Streets principles, ideas and practices to heart as it transforms itself into the Complete Streets champion of Broward County.
2) Augmented Reality to Select Community Design Features Pilot Study – City of Miami
This innovative and collaborative project between FIU’s Physical Therapy, Interior and Landscape Architecture, Environmental and Urban Design, and Computer Science departments worked to study how using Augmented Reality could help redesign Miami’s Underline Park under the Metrorail to be more “age-friendly”.
3) City of Miami Beach COVID-19 Open/Slow Streets Pilot Program
One of the City's initiatives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was the Open/Slow Streets Pilot Project Program.
4) Dining on the Spot (DOTS) - City of West Palm Beach
Sherryl Muriente, the Manager of Urban Placemaking for the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority acted quickly to modify new zoning to allow restaurants and other WPB Downtown businesses to operate safely during this COVID19 pandemic.
5) Hard Rock Stadium Pedestrian Bridge and Tunnels - City of Miami Gardens
The opening of the pedestrian bridges and tunnels at Hard Rock Stadium in January 2020 represented an important moment for the safety of pedestrians around the stadium and in the surrounding community of Miami Gardens.
6) Hollywood Sun Shuttle Powered by Circuit – City of Hollywood
The Hollywood Sun Shuttle by Circuit was designed to reduce car dependency and promote mobility. The program has done that and far more.
Circuit, the shuttle operator, worked with The City of Hollywood and the Hollywood CRA to design, promote and manage the Sun-Shuttle - a free, all-electric, on-demand, shuttle service. The group engaged the community initially and throughout the year to double ridership from the previous fixed route trolley service. This boost effectively reduced the Cost Per Rider by over 60%. More rides helped to reduce costs while also promoting mobility, economic activity and engaging the community.
Circuit’s program aligns perfectly with the Safe Streets goals. By offering a safe, reliable, low-speed, accessible, equitable and affordable transportation option, people are able to move about the community more freely and connect with local businesses and other forms of transportation easily. Single occupancy vehicles are a problem for cities and the environment, so by offering well-divided, safe, shared rides, Circuit was able to move over 15,000 riders in January. Safe Streets require multiple modes of flexible transportation and the Sun Shuttle was quickly a part of this mix.
When ridership slowed during the lockdown, Circuit’s team went to work, implementing safety procedures, delivering groceries for Feeding South Florida, working with local restaurants, and contributing to community programs like the MPO’s on the Scavenger Hunt. Our goal is to promote mobility and reduce congestion and Circuit has provided an accessible option for the entire community to enjoy. This year the teams at the City, CRA and Circuit worked together to make the most out of a difficult situation; helping the community and promoting mobility and Safe Streets initiatives. The drivers have the outcome: More Rides, More Jobs, Lower Costs, Zero Emissions.
7) Miami-Dade's First Scramble Crosswalk – City of Miami
Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) has installed a new diagonal crosswalk to better enhance the pedestrian experience in downtown Miami.
This new scramble crosswalk in the heart of Miami’s downtown is a major step forward in making our Vision Zero goal a reality by eliminating traffic-related deaths and injuries, and a model that we will seek to build on countywide.”
The diagonal crosswalk, also known as a scramble crosswalk, is located at the intersection of NE 1st Avenue and NE 2nd Street in downtown near Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus and New World School of the Arts. The intersection was selected for this inaugural crosswalk due to its high pedestrian volumes and its proximity to various public transportation options. A scramble crosswalk allows pedestrians to cross the street both perpendicularly and diagonally through the intersection. All vehicles, including right lane turns, are stopped until pedestrians safely cross the street in whichever direction they please. This unique crosswalk design allows for pedestrians to be given the right-of-way at an intersection and helps to enhance foot traffic flow.
The downtown scramble crosswalk – the first of its kind in Miami-Dade County – includes new pavement markings, signage, and pedestrian signal heads. It’s important to note that not all intersections are suited to be converted into scramble crosswalks; therefore, by marking this first diagonal crosswalk the department will be able to analyze and identify which other intersections in the County can be converted to scramble crosswalks.
https://www.miamidade.gov/releases/2020-12-04-dtpw-crosswalk-launch.asp.
8) Miami-Dade Protected Bike Lane Demonstration Plan (Cutler Bay, 211th St) – Town of Cutler Bay
One of many exceptional projects as part of the 2017 Miami-Dade TPO's Protected Bike Lane demonstration plan.
9) NE 13th Street - Complete Streets Project - City of Fort Lauderdale
This ½ mile project along a local arterial street was designed in 9-months, constructed in 10 months within the $1.85 million dollar budget to provide a project that has reimagined a street into a place for people.
The project already has had an impact on the corridor with the construction of Warsaw Coffee Company and Mr. B’s Specialties which has already created a new vibe along the street. This proves that a complete streets project not only impacts the streetscape but the overall economy of the corridor that it transforms.
In addition to the new bike lanes, roundabout, and wider sidewalks, the project also incorporated many features for resiliency and public art to create a street unique to this neighborhood. The project includes bioswales/green infrastructure, permeable brick pavers, and extended medians to capture additional storm waters, reduce flooding/ponding, and create a greater shade canopy for pedestrians and reduce heat island effects. Public artwork was also integrated into the project through the use of several artistic statues placed within the median and a large “Unity Beacon” within the center of the roundabout. The Unity Beacon was designed by local artist in coordination with local community members to construct a public art piece made for and by the people of the neighborhood.
NE 13th Street serves as a great example of partnership between local agencies, creative design practices to utilize every inch of public right-of-way to serve people, and community support to implement a project for the people on time within the constraints of time.
10) NW 44 Street - Complete Street Project - Safe Route to Parks! – City of Sunrise
The NW 44th Street project in the City of Sunrise was part of the MPO's 5-year approximately $300 million dollar commitment to planning and funding Complete Streets projects across Broward.
The project includes a separated bike lane, first of its kind in Broward County. The innovative design incorporates meandering behind large, shaded trees to maintain the qualities of the corridor and advantages of existing shading.
The project connects existing destinations such as the western corporate park areas in the City of Sunrise and the City of Tamarac; provides direct access to the Hiatus Road C-42 Canal Bike Trail and the Broward County Greenways System, as well as provides residents a safe and fun way to visit three of the most utilized city park facilities (Sunrise Athletic Complex, Welleby Park, and the new 44th Street Passive Park) for picnics, sporting events, and other recreational activities.
The NW 44th Street Bike Lane Project includes the construction of a 2.25-mile long and six-foot wide colored concrete bicycle lane within the existing swale areas, along both sides of NW 44th Street from Pine Island Road (east) to the Sunrise Athletic Complex. Additional landscaping was added in the right-of-way to enhance the streetscape.
11) Spruce Avenue – Advisory Bike Lane - City of West Palm Beach
When the City of West Palm Beach sought to make significant improvements to Spruce Avenue, a local residential roadway in the Old Northwood and Northboro Park historic districts, it selected Erdman Anthony to provide engineering design services.
Inspired by the Dutch CROW, this project brought an innovative lane-sharing concept to motorists and bicyclists alike. Erdman Anthony worked closely with city staffers and introduced the first Advisory Bike Lane (ABL) to the city’s bicycle infrastructures.
Spruce Avenue serves as frontage to many historic homes, and it provides safe passage to parks, beaches, places of worship, shopping, dining, and an elementary school, all in downtown West Palm Beach. It is a natural place to be part of the City’s bicycle infrastructure which is further connected through 36th Street to North Flagler Drive to the east and Australian Avenue to the west. With so many destinations to visit, the project presented many opportunities to provide a slow, safe route to other city connectors.
Since safety was at the design improvements’ forefront, roundabouts were reconstructed to accommodate pedestrian crosswalks and bicycle and vehicular movements, including emergency response vehicles’ movements. The avenue was ideal for implementing the Advisory Bike Lane concept because of the slow-low volume of traffic, and high community support. The roadway was resurfaced and restriped with a two-way 16-foot travel lane and 5.5-foot shared bike lanes on either side. Sidewalks were replaced with 5-foot concrete sidewalks to facilitate pedestrian mobility. Adding community-minded signage, pavement markings, and ADA-compliant curb ramps helped emphasize these traffic-calming elements. The city has invested in their community in a way that not only benefits users of all ages, abilities, and modes of transportation, but encourages its own interconnectivity to the community’s attractions. All contribute to making the city a terrific place to live, work, and do business.
12) Wilton Drive - Complete Street Project – City of Wilton Manors
The City of Wilton Manors have been working on offering more options to people to move around in their City. Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors’ main thoroughfare underwent an extensive construction and revitalization project.
13) Wynwood Walls – City of Miami
The Wynwood Walls was conceived by the renowned community revitalizer and placemaker, the late Tony Goldman in 2009.