We want to thank the City of Miami Springs City Manager, William Alonso, as well as the Public Works Director, Tom Nash, for addressing a dangerous situation most of us probably overlooked each day.

For those of us who have lived here in Miami Springs for years, our driving routines, routes, and habits are pretty much set in stone.  One of the routes hundreds of us take daily is the path to NW 36th Street through Virginia Gardens.  We take Hammond Drive all the way down to the end.  We stop at Lafayette and make a right hand turn.  It’s an old habit we don’t even think of much.

That was until I yelled at my daughter for almost taking the stop sign at Hammond and Lafayette.  Fortunately, she stopped and there was no collision, but she tells me, “Dad, there’s no stop sign.”

I tell her confidently (knowing that I’ve stopped there thousands of times for nearly 30 years.)  “Of course, there’s a stop sign.”

Do you see the stop sign?
Do you see the stop sign?

We loop around and sure enough, you couldn’t see the stop sign whatsoever due to excessive foliage.  Shame on me.  I should have noticed the stop sign was hard to see and told her to stop.  But like so many of us, we get used to our routines and didn’t even notice the danger right in front of our eyes.

Can you see the stop sign?
Can you see the stop sign?

Fortunately, the City of Miami Springs is awesome.  I emailed the City Manager in the morning about the issue and within about an hour, the foliage that was blocking the tree was trimmed back and taken care of.  Tell me what city in Miami-Dade County responds that fast?

Trees trimmed allow drivers a clear view of the upcoming stop sign.
Trees trimmed allow drivers a clear view of the upcoming stop sign.

Again, I want to thank William Alonso and Tom Nash for their professionalism and speed in  taking care of a dangerous situation many of probably didn’t even notice.

Now, in case you’re wondering, the City Manager did send a request to the County to look at that bus sign.  As you can see, the bus sign is partially blocking the stop sign.  That should not be the case.  Stop signs should not be completely or partially blocked by other signs for safety reasons.  The County is already sending someone to inspect the sign for relocation.

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