City survey finds 40 lighted street signs need replacing, most on Collins Avenue

Forty of the lighted green street-name signs that hang over Miami Beach traffic signals are faded, peeling or hard to read and should be replaced, according to a city survey going to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee on Monday, Nov. 9.

The Transportation and Mobility Department checked the signs at all 220 signalized intersections in the city. It rated 19 signs “poor,” with damage to several letters that makes them harder to read, and 21 “subpar,” still readable but worn. The 40 signs are at 29 intersections: 16 in South Beach, six in Mid-Beach and seven in North Beach, the memo says. The other 191 intersections had signs rated good or excellent. The survey focused on legibility; the memo says the lights inside the signs weren’t tested at every location because that requires night inspections.

At least 27 of the 40 are on Collins Avenue, according to the city’s spreadsheet. Among those rated poor: signs at 15th, 17th, 20th and 21st streets in South Beach; at the 4600, 4700 and 5600 blocks in Mid-Beach; and at 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th and 85th streets in North Beach, with two poor signs each at 72nd and 85th streets.

Who fixes them

Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works is responsible for operating and maintaining the signs, even on city streets, and replaces a limited number each month on a first-come, first-served basis, the memo says. The county asked the city for a list of 10 priority locations it would pay to replace, but has not given a firm schedule.

The administration recommends replacing the 19 poor signs first and the 21 subpar ones second. It also says the city could buy signs itself from the two manufacturers on the county’s approved list, at about $2,000 each with a four- to five-week wait, and have county crews install them. That money isn’t in this year’s transportation budget; the administration suggests taking it up in the fiscal 2028 budget, citing the city’s projected deficit and the property tax amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot. Older trapezoid-shaped signs can be relaminated, but newer rectangular ones must be replaced whole, the county told the city.

Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt asked for the review in June. The committee meets at 9 a.m.; the agenda and memo are on the city’s meeting portal.