Eisman and Russo Consulting Engineers

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I ~~~flm". .. I -~~~00l@~~~ , ~00iJ., ~ I I PROJECT UNDERSTANDING AND APPROACH I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EIsman I & E1!~~Q The City of Sunny Isles Beach wishes to improve the Collins Avenue corridor both aesthetically and functionally. To achieve this goal the City has worked with the various developers and property owners fronting the Collins Avenue right-of-way to obtain a ten (10) foot easement along the entire west right-of-way line. East of Collins Avenue the newer developments have provided a landscape buffer and a more uniform scheme of planting as required by the City's land development code. In the past the City had completed a number of different projects within the Collins Avenue corridor to start the beautification process and enhance safety along AlA. These projects included stamped colored crosswalks, fencing within the medians to deter jaywalking and an annual maintenance program to replant the Collins Avenue medians with more colorful hedges and flowers. The City also commissioned a streetscape master plan for Collins Avenue, as well as other major streets within the City limit. This study provided a number of ideas and recommendations, some of which have been adopted and implemented by the City, such as the process of under-grounding of overhead utilities throughout the City, unique and uniform signage, identifiable cross walks, decorative street lighting and furnishing. The study also recognizes the uniqueness of Collins Avenue as the "main street" for the City of Sunny Isles Beach while functioning as a major arterial for the FOOT. However, the study does not address the difficulties in implementing many of the recommendations along this stretch of highway. The City recognizes that a successful plan must be simple, must be constructible and, most of all, must be salable to the . residents, the property owners and FOOT, Project Objectives The Collins Avenue Streetscape Project objectives are to achieve a more aesthetically pleasing main street for the City of Sunny Isles Beach residents and businesses without impacting the traffic circulation and safety that FOOT must maintain on a major arterial. To achieve the goals of this project the following items must be addressed in the planning stage and included in the contract documents: · Underground Overhead Utilities (FPL, BellSouth and Cable), · Brick Paver Sidewalk, · Enhanced planting and buffer, · Uniform Signage, · Decorative Street Lighting, and · Decorative street furnishing (benches, trash receptacles, bus shelters, newspaper stands) Project Approach Eisman & Russo's Team approach to this project is very simple, The City of Sunny Isles Beach has already started the "Branding" of the City by using a uniform sign package, identifying plant materials that survive the harsh coastal environment, working with FPL on removing all overhead utilities and placing them underground, replacing standard FPL street light poles with decorative ones and finally standardizing the trash receptacles, benches and bus shelters, We believe that recreating the wheel at this time would be expensive and not a step in the right direction. Eisman & Russo Team intends to use the concepts that have already been implemented and fit those ~"oJ"""'"'' , ,/ 0.# , .. .. ., ~ (\ V I . . . . . . . ~'" <J ~ .1 . , ~ <l" 5