Neighbors discuss the proposed traffic circle

Neighbors met last night to discuss the proposed traffic circle at the corner of Mary Street and Grand Avenue. The venue was the former Cielo nightclub space at Mayfair.

The consensus was that the majority of people present were against the circle, they feel the whole purpose is to divert traffic from McFarlane Road onto Mary Street, which will make their lives a nightmare at the condos -- Yacht Harbour and Grove Towers. They also feel that a circle will not stop traffic, like stop signs do, since there is a continuous flow, and that there is no "window" to allow for entry and exit into the condos on small two laned Mary Street.

Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, his chief of staff Ron Nelson and county reps were present to explain the plan.

John El Masry, owner of Mr. Moe's restaurant, asked five times whose idea the plan was. Finally Ron Nelson stepped up and said it was former City Manager Peter Hernandez's idea. Comm. Sarnoff corroborated this later in the evening. Many felt it was out of line for Hernandez to be involved in Grove issues. He isn't a resident and doesn't have to deal with the daily traffic flow.

One major issue people had was the piece meal way it was being done -- that only the one intersection was being discussed when they know that there is a master plan to change the whole traffic flow in Coconut Grove. Comm. Sarnoff assured everyone that the two were not connected and one would not influence the other. The final decision comes down to the county and presently, according to Sarnoff, it doesn't seem like they are too crazy about the current plan which honestly is great for pedestrians, but a nightmare for drivers.


The traffic circle plan needs the approval of the majority of residents to move forward. So far, that is not happening. The city is not requiring this circle be put in and Comm. Sarnoff said, "If the majority does not want it, it will not be done." He went on to say, "These are just ideas, nobody is going to force anything on anyone, but remember, you asked for this," meaning that their final decision was final and they would have to live with their decision of not wanting the traffic circle. Sarnoff's take was that this is a beautification project. Others don't see it like that.

Finally, at the end of the evening, Alyn Pruett, resident of Yacht Harbour, stood up and asked if it is possible to make it a tighter circle. If it is a beautification project, make it that, but keep the stop signs so that traffic actually stops and don't divert traffic. So now that is the plan. It's back to the drawing board and there will be another meeting in a couple of months to present the new plans.


One funny moment came when Village Council member Michelle Niemeyer asked Comm. Sarnoff about the traffic circle, saying he was an expert, since he has one right in front of his own house. Someone muttered from the audience, "named after him too," referring to "Sarnoff Circle," which most in town call the circle. Sarnoff said it does slow down traffic and has elminated large delivery trucks, or most of them anyway, from passing through the center Grove.