CURB EXTENSIONS MAKE THIS CROSSWALK SAFER FOR ALL
Kudos to these pedestrian friendly, super wheelchair accessible curb extensions.
They calm traffic while providing an
excellent route for people with disabilities across Meridian Ave. at Lincoln
Lane and just north of Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach.
Every Miami Beach official embrace this and bring it to hundreds of other intersections.
People with disabilities
depend on safe crosswalks.
BAD THINGS HAPPEN BECAUSE PEOPLE BLOCK RAMPS WITH EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN
Wheelchair access ramps are NOT:
Places to park scooters or bikes.
Storage for extra chairs & tables.
This is what happens when ignorant cities let lazy architects design segregated entrances for people with disabilities.
It also is the fault of cities that are not proactive in regulating micromobility.
A THIRD OF A CENTURY AFTER THE PASSAGE OF
THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
There is no call button.
The Ocean Drive vacation rentals building could be a perfect location for wheelchair users to roll to many Miami Beach Attractions.
But the entrance is
locked.
This is what happens
when ADA is viewed as onerous instead of inclusive.
UNIVERSAL DESIGN PROVES OUT TO BE COST EFFECTIVE EVERY TIME
Universal Design and wheelchair access are NOT expensive.
An apartment entrance that used to have a couple small steps down.
Now it has a gently graded accessible
concrete path.
With a tiny investment, everyone can
visit the building.
HUGE BUS SHELTER ADD BLOCKS VISION
RIGHT AT A SIDEWALK PINCH POINT
This may be the world’s worst giant
opaque advertising sign placement in history.
It creates a blind spot right at a
narrow pinch point of sidewalk.
A cyclist who couldn’t see me crashed
into me here on Alton Road just south of Lincoln Road.
This advertising revenue generator,
masquerading as a bus shelter, provides no vision — for northbound cyclist — of
what is coming southbound.
Miami Beach must fix this even if it’s
a state road.
A wheelchair user could get killed.
BUT EVERY 10TH STREET HAS A POORLY DESIGN, TERRIBLY BUILT AND HORRIBLY MAINTAINED SIDEWALK
More than half of this sidewalk in a heavily pedestrian part of Miami Beach has a severe angle that makes it treacherous for people with disabilities.
It is on 16th St. at Lennox Ave. in Miami Beach.
Wheelchair mobility is virtually impossible.
Not only is the more level part closer to street (worse for pedestrian safety) but it also is an impossible route for wheelchair users -- because outside dining, valet stands and other obstructions block the pathway.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
The ground-mounted system will be
built and operated by Madison Energy through a power purchase agreement with
Fairfax County.
John Morrill, Fairfax County’s
director of the office of environmental and energy coordination, said the
county’s Department of Housing office building was made more efficient and
sustainable with rooftop solar panels.
The building retrofit adds a new life
to the structure and the energy savings — about $75,000 per year — will pay off
the total cost of its capital improvements in 15 to 20 years.
“Beyond cost savings, there are
environmental benefits. Reducing emissions at the power plant helps air quality
for everyone,” Morrill said.
The county replaced a gas boiler with
a heat pump plus solar at a large recreation center.
In addition to being more efficient,
the upgrade reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
The county is in its fifth and final
years of converting its streetlights to LED.
While the bulb investment is about $8
million total, Morrill said the more efficient bulbs allow the county to avoid
about $3 million per year in energy costs to operate the more than 50,000
streetlights.
As the price of energy continues to
soar, the cost avoidance could be even greater.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
Morrill said the goal in Fairfax
County, Va., is to make energy efficiency self-funding.
In June, the county broke ground for
the construction of a five-megawatt solar array on a closed landfill.
When operating in spring 2026, the
solar is expected to provide about five percent of the power needed to operate
more than 500 county buildings and over 50,000 streetlights in Fairfax.
The growing county of about 1.2
million has set ambitious goals of getting 25 percent of its electricity from
renewable sources by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
Making sure new facilities are built
energy efficient and spending capital dollars to improve efficiency is a way of
saving power expenses, Morrill said.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
In the center of the $42-million park,
a one-acre lake was created to retain stormwater.
A future phase will connect the
surrounding neighborhood’s drainage system to the park, providing extra
capacity during heavy rains.
Maurice Gibb Park was completely
rebuilt with a living shoreline of mangroves, raised seawall, native trees and
increasing drainage capacity.
Brittany Bay Park on the Intracoastal
Waterway uses a living shoreline to protect the community from storms and
sunny-day flooding.
In July, Miami Beach adopted a Sea
Level Rise Adaptation Plan.
It was funded by a $454,000 Resilient
Florida Grant and another $100,000 in matching city funds that were dedicated
to compound flood modeling.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
Though its land mass is less than
eight square miles, the densely populated luxury living and resort town has a
total taxable value of more than $56 billion.
All that valuable residential and
commercial real estate sits only four feet above sea level.
With Biscayne Bay on its west side and
the Atlantic Ocean on its east, the city is vulnerable to both sunny-day tidal
flooding and paralyzing flooding simply when it gets heavy rains.
Miami Beach is planning to invest
upwards of roughly $1 billion on resiliency.
A 2018 general obligation bond brought
in more than $439 million — with most of it earmarked for resiliency.
Using utility fees and other
resources, the city is adding water pumps, improving its stormwater network and
rebuilding parks that can control flooding.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
Since the devastation of Hurricane
Andrew in 1992, Florida has had the top disaster response capacity of any
state.
Perez noted that FEMA is widely
acknowledged as one of the world’s leading agencies in coordinating logistics
and immediate disaster response, particularly in situations that exceed the
capacity of individual states.
While FEMA will continue to play a
critical role in disaster response, states will likely need to assume greater
responsibility for longer-term recovery efforts.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
While that may be a difficult
adjustment for some states less accustomed to frequent disasters, it’s grounded
in the U.S. Constitution.
Perez explains that, under our system
of federalism, states hold primary responsibility for disaster response and
recovery.
“Think of Katrina in New Orleans and
Lahaina in Hawaii.
They were so severe and overwhelming,
the states had to request federal assistance, including from FEMA,” he said.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
The current administration is in the
process of revamping FEMA, putting more burden on the states.
BRIC, which stands for Building
Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, is a FEMA hazard mitigation grant
program launched in 2020.
Many states used BRIC grants on green
infrastructure meant to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.
Recently, FEMA canceled the BRIC
program.
It may come back in a new, reduced
form, but for now the roughly $750 million in annual funds is frozen.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
To plug the gap -- Darren Olson, the
engineer leading the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE), 2025 Report
Card for America’s Infrastructure is vice president and assistant department
head of the Water Resources Department at Christopher B. Burke Engineering in
Chicago -- hopes many municipalities sell bonds.
He notes there is a side benefit as
America rapidly ages.
Retirement-age people get a safe
investment when they buy muni bonds.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
He believes the federal government
still has a significant role to play in funding infrastructure, especially
sustainability.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
“When we are looking at a highway and
budget for a transit lane, that is more expensive now, but it pays off over
time,” he said.
“When we repair a road or make it more
resilient, we also need to add more space for pedestrians and biking.
We need to make sure we’re not leaving
anybody behind, that we are improving society when everybody is more mobile and
more active.”
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
The ASCE urges that the momentum must
continue, especially with resiliency.
“Thirty years ago, very few realized that much of our infrastructure is over 100 years old. Back then, few contemplated that the climate was going to change,”
said Darren Olson, the
engineer leading the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE), 2025 Report
Card for America’s Infrastructure is vice president and assistant department
head of the Water Resources Department at Christopher B. Burke Engineering in
Chicago.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
He said the bipartisan Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act plus the Inflation Reduction Act provided more than a
trillion dollars for much-needed infrastructure, while also supporting myriad
jobs.
Investing in infrastructure keeps the United States competitive in the global economy, Olson said.
He noted that safe
inland waterways and great ports allow things like grain and soybeans to be
shipped overseas, keeping this nation competitive against other producers such
as Brazil.
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
This year’s grade was C: the highest
overall grade ever awarded. ASCE credited increased investment at the federal
and state levels for elevating the nation’s infrastructure grade above 2021’s
C-minus.
“Infrastructure — it’s not a red thing
or a blue thing — it improves life if we have clean water, safe sanitation and
the commute to work is easier,” Olson said.
“Transit and broadband affect
everything we do.
The digital transformation/AI is a
huge topic.
Without infrastructure, there is no
AI, no massive data centers.”
MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
“In the near term, it’s possible that
states with smaller budgets will see far greater challenges in responding to
disasters without the access to federal dollars that they’ve had in the past,” said
Drew Myers, policy representative, State and Local Issues, Advocacy Group,
National Association of REALTORS®.
