Letter to the Editor
Sidewalks Are for Pedestrians
A FedEx truck competes with a school bus for the right to occupy a neighborhood sidewalk, by Jessica Boudreaux.
An all too common scene played out this morning as I was out walking my little dog and attempted to venture to the crosswalk at NE 11th Street.
The FedX truck delivering packages to my building was parked on the south sidewalk of NE 11th St., between Biscayne Blvd. and NE 2nd Ave., when a school bus attempted to turn.
Because the school bus couldn’t make the left turn from NE 2nd Avenue onto NE 11th Street without going on the sidewalk, the bus was forced to stop at the intersection. What was the school bus driver to do? He honked and honked for the FedEx guy to move so he could claim the sidewalk for himself and turn.
While I do realize this is the most efficient way for a school bus to get to the museums on Biscayne, it comes at the cost of pedestrian safety and destruction of public property.
A Mystery
With the abundance of police officers and parking enforcement officers doling out tickets in downtown, why are they not ticketing all of these vehicles parked on the sidewalks?
Solutions
A neighbor suggested converting NE 11th into a westbound one-way street. Not the most convenient option, but it would certainly make for a safer pedestrian crossing.
I would like to formally petition that a “No Bus Turning” sign be added to the stop light at this intersection.
Jessica Boudreaux
Resident at 1040 Biscayne Blvd.
