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r� L Asset: North Bay Pedestrian Bridge Summary of Assets, Challenges and Opportunities The Town Center North area occupies a premier position which underscores the area's importance within the City. It is located at one of the City's two gateway points from the mainland, with great visibility upon entry end departure from the City. The area is unique for Sunny Isles Beach due to its demographic characteristics, its scale and its setting, which has remained static to a degree compared to other parts of the City. The district is unexceptional in design and lacks some of the qualities attributed to "great places" by urban designers, but to an extent these very characteristics may be what currently set the district apart in the locals' minds. While the vision established 20 years ago in the Comprehensive Plan for the area has failed to materialize, this does not mean that the district has failed as a "center" The area has a concentration of functions and activities. As the public input suggests, numerous people in the community perceive the area as an important local destination and appreciate the compactness and walkability of the area (for more details about the public input, see the next section of this report). To be sure, the Town Center North has a lot to offer, both to residents of the district and to other locals or visitors who may work, shop, dine, or come to play there. The continuous flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic within and around the area, particularly in the commercial portion of the district, would confirm even to a random observer that re -Envisioning the Town Center North overlay 112/28/2020 Challenge: Lack of pedestrian and vehicular connectivity this is a major activity hub in Sunny Isles Beach. The book -end Gateway and Town Center parks are exceptional attractions. The recent additions of the North Bay Road pedestrian bridge and the Gateway Park pedestrian overpass have improved the quality of connectivity between the area and other sectors of the City. But there are also challenges. The area lacks an adequately connected and attractive internal circulation network for pedestrians, cars and other modes of transportation, The interior portion of the district is a superblock, with only uninviting service alleys connecting to bare surface parking lots at the rear of the commercial lots. Internally, these conditions produce points of potential pedestrian and vehicular conflict. Additional conflict zones exist at other locations along the periphery of the district (e.g., at the junction of North: Bay Road, 172nd Street, and the entrance to the North Bay Road pedestrian bridge). The vast amount of impervious parking surface, combined with a 'ow topography and possible drainage infrastructure deficiencies, has contributed to recurring stormwater management problems in the north -central portion of the district. These areas have low permeability and a noticeable absence of adequate tree canopy. The assets, challenges and opportunities depicted on the following map were identified by the project team through, observation, study of. existing documentation, and through anecdotal information from the Re -envisioning process participants. 53