#BTACTICAL QUICK-BUILD NE 3rd Avenue

The Pilot Project in the City of Deerfield Beach will make NE 3rd Avenue - between NE 44th Street and Sample Road – safer for everyone.

BMPO

The six months of data collection ended! Overall, the new street configuration contributed to improving safety along the corridor. Speed, Vehicle volumes, Crashes and other data was evaluated to get to this conclusion. The City is currently pursuing grant opportunities to implement permanent improvements within the project area. The final report will be made available soon!

NE 3rd Avenue project is a recipient of the 2022 Smart Growth Excellence Awards. "SGP appreciates communities and projects that have successfully used the principles of Smart Growth to preserve and enhance quality of life while helping to protect public health and the environment."

Overview

In February 2021, local governments submitted project ideas to the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization as part of the  #BTactical Program , aimed to increase multimodal safety, accessibility, and connectivity in Broward region through the implementation of Quick-Build projects. The BMPO selected NE 3rd Avenue located in the City of Deerfield Beach to be implemented as the first pilot project in 2021.

The corridor is an important route for pedestrians of all ages who regularly walk or bike to different destinations including four schools (elementary, middle and high school) within a half mile radius; Broward Health North, a 409-bed hospital; a nature preserve; churches; and other community assets.  

Corridor Characteristics

The NE 3rd Avenue Corridor runs south to north in the Tedder neighborhood.

The project borders two bundle areas identified as locations that are concentrations of historically vulnerable populations and in high demand for multimodal infrastructure.

In addition, the segment proposed overlaps the Broward High Injured Network (HIN) at three different locations along NE 3rd avenue, on NE 44th Street, NE 41st Street and Sample Road (FL 834).

The HIN* highlights streets with a high concentration of traffic collisions that result in severe injuries and deaths.

The segment is within the NE 3rd Avenue corridor which is an undivided major collector road with two southbound and northbound lanes.

Over the past five years, there were 496 reported traffic crashes. These collisions resulted in 117 injuries and 3 fatalities.

The proposed improvements include a lane repurposing between NE 39th Court and NE 44th Street with temporary center turn lane and sidewalk extension (approx. 0.4 mi), three new crosswalks and five enhanced crosswalks.

What is a Quick-Build project?

Quick Build projects are short-term, temporary projects installed with relatively low cost materials used to evaluate design alternatives prior to making long-term capital investments. Cities across the country are using Quick Build projects to deliver public benefits faster, and create more informed permanent projects. By using this methodology, the City of Deerfield Beach, Broward MPO, and the community will be able to experience a "rendering in real time" of Complete Streets improvements! 

This pilot project could use materials like traffic paint, durable plastic planters, delineator posts, and artistic asphalt elements, with no excavation of the existing roadway. This means that raised barrier elements would be used to represent potential future concrete curbs, for example, and existing curbs will not be altered.

See the images below for what some Quick Build projects look like!

 

Examples

Street elements of the Pilot project

The purpose of the project is to increase visibility of people through safety improvements and slow down traffic through traffic calming solutions.

Timeline of the project

PROPOSED DESIGN - PILOT PROJECT

Check out the proposed quick-build designs below to learn how we are planning to address safety issues and other accessibility concerns identified in the various public workshops and surveys developed to collect feedback from the Community at Tedder neighborhood. To view the design options, use the sliders to compare the existing conditions with the proposed design.

Intersection at NE 44th Street - Segment

Improvements proposed: Added enhanced crosswalks with art, curb extensions and pedestrian refuges at the intersection; narrowed lane width to slow down traffic and protect bike lanes through sidewalk extensions.

From NE 43rd Street to NE 42 Street - Segment

Improvements proposed: Added sidewalk extensions where most pedestrians cross, added additional signage and markings at crossings. Sidewalk extensions help buffer the sidewalk and bike lanes.

NE 41st Court to NE 40th Court- Segment

Improvements proposed: Added 2 new crosswalks and additional signage at crossings; added curb extensions to shorten pedestrian crossing distances and slow turning speeds of cars.

NE 40th Court to NE 39th Court - Segment

Improvements proposed: Enhanced crossings with art. Added sidewalk extensions to reduce speeding and dangerous lane changes. Added Cross-bike markings to provide a designated place for bikes to cross intersections and driveways.

NE 39th Court to NE 38th Street - Segment

Improvements proposed: Added midblock crosswalk with art to make the corridor more accessible; added additional signage to highlight spaces for pedestrians.

Intersection at Sample Road- Segment

The lane reduction ends north of the Broward Health North hospital.

INSTALLATION COMPLETED! Thanks to all the volunteers that helped making this project a reality.

01 / 07

NE 44th Street -Intersection improvement.

Added enhanced crosswalks with art, curb extensions and pedestrian refuges at the intersection to improve visibility of vulnerable users of the road.

NE 42nd Street - Crosswalk enhancement.

Enhanced existing crossings with art. Crossing is regularly used by students of the schools located in the neighborhood.

NE 41st Street - Intersection improvement.

Added 2 new crosswalks and shorten pedestrian crossing distances.

Sidewalk extensions!

Sidewalk extensions help buffer the buffer the sidewalk and bike lanes, and provide more pedestrian space.

NE 38th Street -Midblock crossing.

Addition of a new pedestrian crosswalk near Broward Health North and Bus stop.

Protected bike lanes!

Dedicated space for people on bikes with a physical separation from other vehicle traffic. delineators help delineate vehicle traffic from bicyclists.

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Tell us what you think about the project! please access the survey here:  https://arcg.is/00aGa0 

Your feedback is important! Be part of the transformation, provide comments, participate in the various workshops scheduled and/or be a volunteer, help us paint the Street!

COMMUNITY BUILD DAYS! December 8-11, 2021

Thanks to all the volunteers that came out and help paint the street! please take a look to the gallery of photos in the link below. The City of Deerfield Beach will recognize the hard work of the volunteers in the upcoming commission meeting. stay tuned.

Saturday, November 6, 2021

Thursday, August 26, 2021. Public Workshop.

Saturday, June 5, 2021. WALK & TALK In-Person Workshop.

Check out a recap video from the June 5 Walk & Talk event below! 

MPO Walk & Talk June 5, 2021.mp4

Wednesday, June 9, 2021. Virtual Workshop.

Spread the Word! Please share this webpage with your friends, neighbors and colleagues.

Thanks for visiting! For more information about the BMPO Tactical Urbanism program, visit:  https://www.browardmpo.org/tactical-urbanism 

THE TEAM:

This project is brought to you thanks to the partnership between  The Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization  ,  The City of Deerfield Beach  and  AARP .

This project was funded in part by a grant from AARP. The AARP Community Challenge is a grant program to make tangible improvements to communities that jump-start long-term change. It is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods and rural areas to become great places to live for people of all ages. To learn more, visit  aarp.org/Livable .

CONTACT US!

Are you looking for more information? Please contact Priscilla Cygielnik at  pcygielnik@deerfield-beach.com  and/or Stephanie Garcia at garcias@browardmpo.org