After a horrific crash, state could lower the speed limit through Islamorada
The Florida Department of Transportation could decide as early as Friday whether to lower the speed limit along a stretch of U.S. 1 that was the scene of a horrific crash in March 2018 that killed four tourists from Spain, according to a Village of Islamorada memo obtained Wednesday.
A decision to lower the speed limit from 50 mph to 45 mph would be a major win for Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay, who has been pushing the highway agency to do so ever since the women’s rental car was rear-ended by a truck and pushed into oncoming traffic, killing them instantly.
“A lot of pressure has been applied recently, which sometimes is not a bad thing,” Ramsay said Thursday.
The area is one of the first places motorists can experience scenic views of both the Atlantic Ocean and Florida Bay. Drivers also pull over there often to picnic, swim and place their boats in the water, all of which causes them to abruptly slow down, with others behind them paying more attention to the scenery than traffic.
“There’s too many distractions to justify the speed limit,” Ramsay said. “It’s hard not to look left and right.”
He added that with the upcoming July 4 holiday, which is expected to bring thousands more travelers on U.S. 1, time is of the essence.
“It’s important that if something is going to get done, it happens sooner than later. Because, bad things are going to happen otherwise,” Ramsay said.
FDOT did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the memo.
It would also be a victory for village officials who for years have urged FDOT to do more to control that stretch of highway between mile marker 77 and 80 and the roadside beaches on either side — known as Indian Key Fill. Revelers, mostly weekenders from Miami-Dade County, routinely picnic, swim and barbecue there and often leave massive messes for locals to clean up when they’re through.
Hundreds of vehicles are parked on either side of U.S. 1, causing traffic delays up and down the island chain, and Ramsay and local officials say they often make driving conditions in the area more dangerous.
Following recent busy party weekends at the fill, FDOT officials told Ramsay and locals they would conduct a traffic study that would take from 90 days before deciding to lower the speed limit. The agency had already lowered it to 50 mph from 55 mph following the fatal crash, but Ramsay had asked for 45 mph, and for the entire area to be a no-passing zone.
In a memo to his staff Wednesday obtained by FLKeysNews.com/Miami Herald, Village Manager Seth Lawless stated FDOT will conduct the entire study Thursday.
“If the data shows a drop in speed limit is warranted, 45 mph signs will be up before the 4th,” he wrote.
FDOT owns Indian Key Fill, but the village maintains it at a cost of around $450,000 a year, according to an estimate released this month by Islamorada’s Public Works department. FDOT has been reimbursing Islamorada $54,000 a year. According to Lawless’ memo, the agency agreed this week to add $11,000.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection also agreed to devote an employee five days a week to clean up trash at the fill and under bridges, Lawless said in the memo.
The village has also begun taking temporary measures at the fill to reduce crowds there during the July 4 holiday that include placing water-filled plastic barriers along some sections of the beach, as well as cones and police tape, according to the memo.
The village is also putting portable toilets in the area that will be emptied twice a day, and more garbage cans and dumpsters. Parking will also be closed there once capacity reaches about 90 cars, according to the memo.
Councilman Ken Davis, who threatened to push for the village to abandon its maintenance agreement with FDOT at Indian Key Fill, said the actions Islamada is taking there are possible because FDOT has temporarily “conceded immediate authority” to the local government.
“This is temporary while we negotiate a long term lease, but allows us to limit parking, people and trash,” he wrote on a Facebook post Thursday morning.
Davis and other council members favor a lease that would allow the village to enforce its litter ordinances and make new ones regarding parking and how long people would be allowed to stay at the fill.
This story was originally published June 27, 2019 at 1:47 PM with the headline "After a horrific crash, state could lower the speed limit through Islamorada."
