The village of Palmetto Bay unanimously passed a resolution this week asking Miami-Dade County to reinstall two stop signs that were removed from the intersection of Southwest 148th Drive and Southwest 82nd Avenue.
Residents in the area near Coral Reef Elementary School say they feel the intersection has become dangerous to pedestrians since the signs were removed. County leaders say based on traffic flows, the intersection doesn't need a four-way stop.
Robin Bachin lives at the intersection. She has two kids, ages 13 and 16, who have often cross the street when biking or running in their neighborhood.
"I won’t let them cross by themselves anymore," Bachin said. "I walk with them to the corner and make sure that, you know, I see them go across... Really it’s not something I thought I would have to do with teenagers."
Bachin said the intersection has become "treacherous" since the stop signs were removed. She and other Palmetto Bay residents say a curve in the road and low-hanging trees impede visibility, and drivers tend to speed through the area as it is. And they say this intersection is just one example of a larger underlying problem -- commuters cutting through residential streets to decrease drive time.
The Palmetto Bay resolution doesn’t have any binding implications, but Bachin says she’s happy village officials have officially expressed their position to the county. The village has installed two “Yield to pedestrians” signs at the intersection.
