People living on Key Biscayne are searching for relief, saying traffic on the Rickenbaker Causeway is a major concern and a safety issue. NBC6’s Niko Clemmons reports
People living on Key Biscayne are searching for relief, saying traffic on the Rickenbaker Causeway is a major concern and a safety issue.
Several residents brought their concerns to council members Tuesday night.
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WATCH HERE“We are hostages on our island,” Michele Estevez said.
“There's more people and cars, we understand that, but they have to look for solutions,” Patricia Romano said.
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More than 2,000 people signed an online petition demanding a resident-only lane for Key Biscayne taxpayers. Estevez handed the petition to the council.
“If it's something big and serious on the island, we will be in trouble,” Estevez said. “Safety is our concern.”
The petition is not only addressed to Key Biscayne but to Miami and Miami-Dade County.
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“It's also a joint issue that we have to address,” Key Biscayne Mayor Joe Rasco said. “They have a bigger say in it because those are their beaches, the causeway belongs to the county, so we need to work with them and we are.”
Rasco plans to meet with the mayors of Miami and Miami-Dade County in the next week to try and come up with solutions. He says there are short-term and long-term fixes.
“Better coordination between the entities, also better information,” Rasco said. “The long-term fixes are costly infrastructure issues that need to be resolved.”
A message went out to Key Biscayne residents saying village leaders are fully committed to finding solutions that ease this burden. That includes collecting and analyzing data, coordinating with partners, communicating with residents and visitors, and supporting the county and others in developing plans and implementing infrastructure fixes.
The Village manager says over the last two years, they've seen a more than 50% increase in traffic from Crandon Park alone.
“We're going to continue to have the conversation of how to alleviate our residents' ability to get off the island without having to deter beachgoers from coming over to the beaches,” Rasco said.
People who live on the island say they want less talk and more action.
“Enough is enough, we are not going to be hostages anymore,” Estevez said.
