Aerial view of Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach

A Message from the Mayor – September 2022

By Dana Robin Goldman, Mayor

(September 10, 2022) – Traffic safety and enforcement remains a number one priority for the City of Sunny Isles Beach and our stellar Police Department is stepping up in a big way.

Most recently, the Police Department has been working overtime to monitor our major thoroughfares four nights a week for five to six hours. This is all part of their new Strategic Traffic Enforcement Plan (STEP) to specifically target traffic violations. The City’s goal is to gain the reputation that we do not tolerate traffic violations on our roads. Similar to Bal Harbour and Golden Beach, we want Sunny Isles Beach to be recognized as a zero-tolerance city for reckless and distracted driving.

These additional traffic enforcement details are resulting in a number of citations. In total thus far, our traffic detail has resulted in 86 citations and 1 arrest. Through this extra vigilance, we are changing the mindset of residents and transient visitors who may have thought it was safe to speed through Sunny Isles Beach. In doing this extra detail, our officers remain committed to covering the school’s morning drop-off and afternoon pickup, a tremendous effort and coordination that helps to keep our students safe.

In conjunction with STEP, we remain committed to finding meaningful solutions to the pedestrian safety issues our city faces. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has agreed to make the traffic signal at 158 Street a dedicated red light at all directions so pedestrians can safely cross the road without any vehicles in motion. We are also requesting to implement this at other major intersections; FDOT is in the process of reviewing our request.

Unfortunately, the City does not have jurisdiction over Collins Avenue and Sunny Isles Boulevard, and must seek approval from FDOT before implementing any safety measures. But we are in the process of procuring flashing crosswalk signs and flashing stop signs for our interior streets as we have complete jurisdiction over all interior streets. We also added a crossing guard at 174 Street and North Bay Road during school drop-off and pick-up, a continuation of last spring’s increase.

I encourage you to follow our public safety efforts by visiting our website at sibfl.net/trafficsafety or following us on social media as we regularly provide updates on our traffic citations. But please note – lower numbers of citations and arrests do not mean our police department is becoming lenient on enforcement. It means that people are getting the message. It’s a good indicator that STEP is working. Our primary objective is to issue zero citations on a daily basis because everyone traveling through the city is obeying traffic laws.

Contact Mayor Dana Robin Goldman at mayor@sibfl.net or 305.792.1753.