A Transit Miami tipster sent us these photos of Miami Police officers parking in the bicycle lane and sidewalk on South Miami Avenue in Brickell for an urgent emergency - a break at Smoothie King. Our source tells us that the cruisers even had their flashing lights on. This was taken at 5:30 pm on October 3rd, just as rush-hour reaches full swing and the motorists in Brickell are aggressive as ever, bullying their way through pedestrians in crosswalks on their march to I-95. Maybe they could be handing out some tickets and warnings instead?
At least they could keep one of Brickell’s only bicycle lanes clear while they enjoy their break.
2 police cruisers blocking the bike lane with lights on? Must be an emergency unfolding nearby!
Nope. Just a smoothie break across the street.
Tell Miami Police Cheif Manuel Orosa (manuel.orosa@miami-police.org) that this behavior is unacceptable, especially given the tragically high level of pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities in Miami.
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In Hallandale Beach, the Police would have turned their lights and siren on at a red light to get thru that last intersection -all in order to get their drink in time before it got crowded!
Which perhaps explains why residents so often see them doing 60 mph in a 20 mph zone thru the main parking lot at Gulfstream Park Race Track, across from Police HQ, to get to the Starbucks. They have pumpkin again, you know!
Anything to get thru that daily gridlock on Hallandale Beach Blvd., the only east-west street that runs thru the length of the town.
Yes, thanks to the longstanding bad planning by FDOT and the self-sabotaging by the city, who blew their chance to have an access/local road off U.S.-1/Federal Highway at Hibiscus, one block south of HBB, a few years ago when they approved the construction of the Gulfstream Park dorm for workers exactly where the road should go.
All of that space that Gulfstream Park owned where they could have built that dorm, and they chose to put it right where it does the most damage to improving traffic flow. And
the inattentive City Commission approved it.
It’s not even just the bike lane, but they are also blocking the sidewalk!
Typical. How shameful and embarrassing.
Take a definite photo of who they were next time…
^Noone’s going to walk up to them and talk their profile pics!
Were they reported to the department?
The City of Miami Police Department has an anti-idling policy, as well.
They are in uniform…. how many laws, codes, rules were they breaking?
The police Chief responded to our e-mails and said they would ‘look into our concern’.
From the looks of it, the Miami Police Department may have another concern coming up. Head over here and take a look:
http://sfbikecoalition.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/miami-police-department-not-really-following-up-on-car-driver-hitting-cyclist/.
I emailed Orosa and sent him a link to this as well as the link to the Metro-Dade’s idling in the same spot from a few months ago. He said he would look into it and dismissed the Metro’s parking job by stating they werten’t his officers. Well Orosa, they are in your jurisdiction, right? Would a citizen get ticketed by parking there? Why didn’t the Metro’s?