The Safe Streets Summit is an annual collaborative event of the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization, the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency to provide a local, yet regionally connected, approach to prioritizing and implementing Complete Streets throughout southeast Florida. The Summit educates elected officials, transportation professionals, technical staff, and community partners on designing and implementing safe and equitable transportation facilities for all modes of transportation. This year saw close to five hundred people attend the Summit; the largest number to date.
The two-day conference was held in Fort Lauderdale and kicked off with mobile workshops on Thursday, February 6. The mobile workshops showcased several Complete Streets projects through attendees using active modes of transportation in various surrounding cities. Elected officials, transportation professionals, technical staff, and community partners had the opportunity to experience various cities in real-time as a pedestrian, cyclist, transit rider, or on scooters. The tours ended at the welcome reception, where hundreds of Complete Streets champions filled Fourth avenue for the “Meet in the Street” at the Fort Lauderdale MASS District. The evening was filled with live entertainment, networking, speakers, and food. Broward MPO’s Board Chair, Bryan Caletka, welcomed everyone saying “we had ninety-eight people participate in the mobile workshops today. That means ninety-eight set of eyes saw something unique today, and ninety-eight people thought about how they can incorporate active modes of transportation into their everyday lives.”
Day two of the Safe Streets Summit was a full conference day opened by Mayor Dean Trantalis, who remarked “it is an honor to host the 2020 Safe Streets Summit here in the great City of Fort Lauderdale. To have a room filled with planners, civilians, engineers, and policymakers means that greatness is brewing.” The Summit took place at the Marriot Harbor Beach in Fort Lauderdale. Urban designer and author Mikael Colville – Andersen, inspired the room as he gave examples from around the world of cities and citizens working together to tackle climate change through design while thinking in this Age of Urbanism. Keynote speaker author and placemaker, Jay Pitter, reminisced on her childhood and how a bicycle accident played a major part in her starting a career in transportation. Throughout the day there was a common theme among all the speakers, the importance of engaging citizens.
The day also included break-out sessions that were interest focused and lead by Complete Streets champions. Topics ranged from Vision Zero to redevelopment without displacement. Attendees were encouraged to vote for the People’s Choice award throughout the morning, which highlighted different Complete Streets projects. The City of Hollywood won for their Hollywood Boulevard project and Commissioner Richard Blattner accepted the award on the City’s behalf. Each county honored both an individual and a community Complete Streets Champion with an award. Broward County awarded Christine Fanchi and AARP. For Miami – Dade County, Commissioner Elleen Higgins and Healthy Little Havana won and Palm Beach County honored Uyen Dang and the City of West Palm Beach. The Summit wrapped up with a networking event, and a book signing by Mikael Colville - Andersen.
To learn more about the Safe Streets Summit, CLICK HERE.