TRAFFIC

DID YOU KNOW? Sidewalk repair is the adjacent property owner's responsibility

If the City should determine that the sidewalk in front of your property is in an unsafe condition and therefore
in need of repair or replacement, they may send you notification that you must take care of the problem.
The repair or replacement must be performed to the standards established by the City engineer (a permit
is required) and at the property owner's expense.

As stated in the City Code of Ordinances - Section 25- 56 (a): It shall be the duty of each owner of abutting
property to construct or reconstruct, maintain and keep in good repair uniform and substantial sidewalks in front
of or abutting upon each parcel of his property within the City when so directed by resolution of the City Commission. Section 25-56 (b) states: It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of any lot or part thereof to permit any sidewalk in front of such lot or part thereof to remain in such condition as to prevent the convenient
and safe use thereof by the public.


SCHOOL TRAFFIC
March 2007

VPCA's Traffic Committee  recently met with the principal of Virginia Shuman Young Elementary School and members of St. Anthony's parish and school to address traffic conditions around the schools (7th to 11th Avenues between Broward Blvd and 3rd Street).  Our goals are to:

ensure student safety,
limit and slow cut-through traffic in Victoria Park by parents driving their children to school,
minimize the impact of school bus traffic in the neighborhood,
address morning and afternoon congestion near the schools, and
minimize school-related parking on neighboring properties.  

As part of this process we are exploring various proposals.  Some possible solutions are rerouting school bus traffic in the mornings down 7th Ave rather than 11th Ave and a four-way stop at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 2nd Street.  We also discussed the "school zone" signs and traffic on Broward Blvd.    St. Anthony's has proposed rerouting traffic on 9th Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets (between St Anthony's church and school) as their students frequently cross that street during the school day.  The following drawings represent a few possible options presented by St. Anthony's:

Option 1, converting the street into a pedestrian mall;
Option 2, making 9th Ave one-way with diagonal parking;
Option 3, two-way traffic with raised crosswalks and landscaped islands.  

At this point these are simply proposals.  There are pros and cons to each option (as well as the status quo).  Any change will require City approval and perhaps County permission too, so nothing is scheduled to occur right away.  The Traffic Committee would like to hear any comments or ideas from residents of Victoria Park.  Please email us with your suggestions or concerns.   



Deja Vu All Over Again
Entryway Accident 15th Ave and 9th Street
September 26, 2006

Our entranceway monument and plantings at the southeast corner of 15th
Avenue & 9th Street were the victim of a drunken driver at 4 a.m. Thursday,
September 21st. The VPCA monument, plantings including a mature palm tree,
decorative metal guard poles, and the fire hydrant were damaged or destroyed
by a 1998 Buick sedan out of Charlestown, MA. The inebriated driver
abandoned the car and was captured shortly afterwards while trying to break
into an apartment two blocks south of the accident scene. There were no
other vehicles involved and the driver, alone, was not injured although his
car was totaled.

The City's utilites department, Fire/Rescue acting chief, public services
department (our own Hal Barnes), City Assistant Manager (Dave Hebert), and
police department (Auto Theft Sergeant Larry Abrams) were individually
contacted to effect a prompt cleanup. Because of the close proximity of
homes, apartments and condominiums, the temporary loss of the fire hydrant
generated a reply from all concerned that there are sufficient fire hydrants
nearby to cover the area until repairs are made to the demolished hydrant.

Unfortunately the owner of the Buick carried no proof of insurance. He was
arrested for driving on a suspended license, leaving the scene of an
accident, no insurance, and failure to use due care. We may be able to
pursue the driver for reimbursement of our costs to make repairs to the
entranceway.

There must be something attractive to some people about our entranceways: we
just concluded subrogation proceedings for the June 26, 2005 accident to the
southwest corner monument at the same intersection.

Ted Fling, Chair
Traffic Committee



Status Update on Traffic Signs in VP  
August 16, 2006

Ever since last year's hurricanes decimated our traffic control
and street identification signs, I have been working with the Traffic
Operations engineer at Broward County who has the responsibility for
repairs.

In mid-July of this year it did not appear that much was being done by the
County to alleviate the situation. Despite communications (verbal, e-mail,
personally, and memo format) to our County commissioner (John Rodstrom), City
commissioner (Charlotte Rodstrom) and City manager (George Grestas), we
still have 45 locations with missing signs, bent poles, etc. in Victoria Park

The latest report from the County (August 16, 2006) reads:

"The contractor and our in-house crews are still finishing up work from
previously issued work orders. Our staff has reviewed the area in consideration of
your previously transmitted list, and the repair work will be completed as expeditiously
as possible. Please bear with us a little longer."

Please feel free to communicate with the Traffic Committee if you have any questions about this subject.

Ted


Parking Update on NE 7th Avenue
August 15, 2006

Those who attended the July General Membership meeting will recall a presentation by Diane Alarcon about City plans to install parking meters along NE 7th Avenue (between 2nd and 4th Streets). The membership asked the City to delay any installation of parking meters until the Traffic Committee could meet with residents of nearby Victoria Mews.  The committee met with residents in early July and proposed that the City continue the "No Parking" designation along  the east side of 7th Avenue, and permit unmetered parking along the west side.  The City agreed to this as an "experiment" until the General Membership can meet to discuss the situation again.   The new signs and striping are currently in place.  Here's the email conversation.  (For more information on VPCA and the City 's future Design Guidelines for Northeast  7th Avenue)

-----Original Message-----
From: Diana Alarcon [mailto:DAlarcon@fortlauderdale.gov]
Sent: Friday, July 14, 2006 3:41 PM
To: JT Fling
Cc: thornie@jarrett.com; Charlotte Rodstrom; Stephen Scott; John
Hoelzle; Brian McKelligett
Subject: RE: NE 7th Avenue Parking Matters


Mr. Fling,

After visiting with John this afternoon, we both agreed that we should
move forward with your request of marking the spaces on the west side of
7th Avenue and placing proper signage on the east.

I look forward to meeting with you in approximately six week to discuss
the findings. It will take us about two weeks to get everything set up.


Please let me know if you should have any additional questions.

Diana

-----Original Message-----
From: JT Fling [mailto:jtfling@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 2:41 PM
To: jhoelzl@fortlauderdale.gov; Diana Alarcon
Cc: thornie@jarrett.com
Subject: NE 7th Avenue Parking Matters


John/Diana: As you know from our Association meeting on July 5, 2006, I
was to contact the neighbors in in the vicinity, particularly the
residents in the Mews condo complex.

That has been done and yesterday we reviewed Diana's presentation and
the consensus is only, at this time and until the Association 09/06/06
meeting, to request the City to install NO PARKING AT ANY TIME and TOW
AWAY ZONE signs on the east side of 7th Avenue between 2nd and 4th
Streets.

As an experiment, we can use this six week timeframe to observe
reactions and usage of the west side of the roadway. It would be helpful
to have white striping outlining parking areas on that west side also.

There remains the constant dislike of any parking meters in this area
since it is primarily residential.

For what it's worth, the cutout parking spaces on the north side of 3rd
Street east of 7th Avenue are not usable because of standing water and
no drains. Yesterday and today the cutouts are full with standing water
four to five inches deep.

We will appreciate any comments you have on this matter. Thank you.

Ted

TRAFFIC COUNTS

ID#
LOCATION
LANDMARK
2006
Daily
Peak Hour (p.m.)
9673
Broward Blvd @ NE 11th Ave
Virginia Shuman Young
18,600
1,665
7364
Broward Blvd @ NE 16th Ave
EDSA
6,400
696
9056
Victoria Park Rd @ NE 3rd St
Annie Beck Park
6,200
669
9283
NE 15th Ave @ Broward Blvd
Pine Crest
5,600
509
7374
N Federal Highway @ NE 2nd St
Waverly
35,000
3,320
9235
NE 6th St @ Federal Highway
4,200
318
5157
N Federal Highway @ NE 8th St
Holiday Park entry
40,000
3,790
445
Sunrise Blvd @ NE 9th Ave
King Motors
63,000
5,970
209
Sunrise Blvd @ 16th Ave
Keyes Realty
60,000
5,690
7357
NE 15th Ave @ NE 9th St
Hustler
11,700
1,062
9608
NE 20th Ave @ NE 9th St
Gateway
7,500
723
9285
SE 15th Ave @ Las Olas
Floridian
12,400
1,128
7365
NE 6th St @ Andrews
6,000
618
9319
NE 15th Ave @ NE 11th St
Publix
17,900
1,471
5298
E Sunrise @ Middle River
Borders
31,000
5,900
7373
S Federal Highway
Tunnel
54,500
5,170
24
Broward Blvd
Baptist Church
37,500
3,150

source: Broward County Transporation Planning, 2006   daily map  peak map  count details

Excel spreadsheet of traffic counts: daily counts 1990-2006 and peak hour 2000-2006