The barricades, cones, and construction tape have been removed. Canal Street is finally open after first being closed in late 2019 or four years ago.
Thursday, October 19, 2023 was the first day we noticed that the road was opened. You might remember that last November we asked then City Manager, William Alonso, when Canal Street would open. He promised us that Canal Street would open by February 14, 2023. Of course, Canal Street did not open on Valentine’s Day, but Alonso did submit his notice of resignation on that date.
TIMELINE: Canal Street Closure
- DECEMBER 2019 – DEMOLITION BEGINS & Canal Street Closed
- MARCH 2020 – COVID-19 Hits
- JULY 2020 – Canal Street Temporarily Re-Opened
- JANUARY 2021 – One Year After Demo, Developer Promises to Start Controversial Apartment Complex
- APRIL 2021 – 16 Month Delay – Canal Street Closed Again
- APRIL 2022 – Canal Street Closed for 20 Months
- NOVEMBER 2022 – City Manager Promises Canal Street Will Re-Open in 2-3 Months
- FEBRUARY 14, 2023 – Canal Street remains Closed – 90 Days after Promises that Canal Street would be Open by this date.
- FEBRUARY 14, 2023 – City Manager William Alonso submits notice of resignation effective May 31, 2023.
- OCTOBER 19, 2023 – Canal Street Reopens
Stop Sign Missing
We’ve been talking about Canal Street being closed for four years. You’d think the opening of Canal Street would be properly scrutinized. Well, apparently the road was reopened without a stop sign at the corner of Canal Street and Curtiss Parkway. Seriously. Somebody thought it was okay to open a road without considering the safety of drivers and pedestrians. The level of incompetence is ridiculous. How does a road reopen without a proper stop sign? That’s crazy. This begs the question, who made the decision to remove the barricades and open the road? I highly doubt the City of Miami Springs approved a road reopening without a stop sign. Furthermore, I’m sure the City of Miami Springs will immediately place a stop sign at the corner or close the road again.
Nevertheless, take caution when entering Miami Springs via the incoming bridge. All you need is someone unfamiliar with the area to drive through Canal Street without stopping and collide with cars coming in from Hialeah.
The good news is that this will alleviate traffic for residents trying to navigate to places like Burritoville or Hook Square and provide much needed parking that has been made unavailable to the surrounding businesses and customers.
NOON UPDATE:
As expected, the City of Miami Springs came through and placed a temporary stop sign at the corner of Canal Street and Curtiss Parkway. We appreciate the speed of their response. Now that we addressed the most critical safety issue, let’s add a “NO-RIGHT TURN” sign to prevent people from driving against the incoming traffic.
Weren’t there supposed to be shade trees along there? Scrawny palms? Wha…?
Interesting choice of palms (silver date, Phoenix sylvestris) for street trees. These struggle on Dade Co sandy soils. Hope they’re guaranteed for a few years and that proper fertilizer/micros were added at planting. Good luck.