"Dangerous by Design": UM Safety Groups Report Design Flaw at Site of Student's Fatal Crash

Following the death of a University of Miami senior in a scooter crash last week, university safety groups are reporting a potentially fatal flaw at the Coral Gables intersection where the incident occurred. 

On the morning of March 4, Daniel "Danny" Bishop, a senior majoring in mathematics and psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, was riding his scooter to campus when he was struck by a car near Le Jeune Road and Altara Avenue.

The crash has sparked a tense debate about crosswalk safety in the City Beautiful, prompting the Coral Gables City Commission to increase traffic officers' presence at a high school near the crash site.

While scant details have been released about Bishop's incident as police investigate, BikeSafe and WalkSafe — two groups tied to the University of Miami health system — say the site of Bishop's crash has a commonplace but hazardous design shortcoming bound to endanger those crossing the street.

THREAD: Things we have learned about the site of the recent scooter tragedy:

A. The intersection has an unprotected left turn on green for drivers.

B. This allows left turns at the same time as pedestrians receive the "WALK" phase to cross LeJeune. #dangerousbydesign https://t.co/2v1R1mTrcB pic.twitter.com/jMTJr7wr3q

— UHealth BikeSafe (@iBikeSafe) March 8, 2024

According to the BikeSafe and WalkSafe programs, the intersection where Bishop was fatally struck allows vehicles to make left turns at the same time that pedestrians receive the signal to cross the road — creating a dangerous situation for both drivers and people traversing the crosswalk.

"At the least, the intersection needs a dedicated pedestrian phase."

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"At the least, the intersection needs a dedicated pedestrian phase immediately for the short term, " BikeSafe said on social media. "More comprehensive fixes are necessary for the long term."

The design is a common setup whereby drivers can turn left on a solid green light while yielding to oncoming traffic and pedestrians. At the Le Jeune Road crossing and similar intersections that use the "left-turn-yield-on-green" light cycle, pedestrians get the "walk" signal while drivers are turning into their path, and "there's no warning you can get T-boned," according to WalkSafe. 

The groups are calling for a redesign of the roads.

For example, the BikeSafe program proposes closing what it says is a rarely used entrance to the parking lot for Coral Gables High School. The change would allow the removal of the northbound left turn lane and create space for a pedestrian island (pictured below), the group says.
With respect to linking the street design to Bishop's incident, WalkSafe went a step further in a March 15 social media post, saying outright that Bishop was struck during the "left-turn-yield-on-green" cycle. (New Times requested a copy of the police report but has not been able to confirm this assertion, as Coral Gables police have declined to provide details of the crash, citing the open investigation.)

Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak said at the March 12 city commission meeting that based on the available evidence, it appears Bishop obeyed traffic laws as he was using his scooter near Le Jeune and Altara. "The person on the scooter... from the preliminary investigation, did everything required by law," Hudak said. The police chief added that the driver, who remained at the scene following the crash, may face charges in the accident, pending review by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.

Hudak added that the investigation so far has indicated that the traffic lights were functioning as designed.

"Everything seems to have worked right. We are checking with Miami-Dade County, [which] controls all the traffic lights. It seems to be cycling correctly. If we can change that, we can change that," Hudak said of the light cycle.

The Florida Department of Transportation tells New Times via email that Le Jeune Road "is part of the state highway system and maintained by District Six."

"The Florida Department of Transportation's top priority is always safety. However, since this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further on this incident," a department spokesperson said.
Little more than a week after the fatal scooter crash, a Coral Gables police department employee was struck by a vehicle while crossing a separate intersection, next to the municipal police station. Hudak said the staffer was transported to the hospital but did not sustain life-threatening injuries. The driver allegedly smashed into a cluster of fire rescue vehicles as well.

"As we are seeing more and more, it appears the vehicle did not yield the right of way to the pedestrian when making a left-hand turn," the police chief said.

At the city meeting, the Coral Gables City Commission unanimously passed a measure to assign additional traffic safety officers to Coral Gables High School, which is across from where Bishop was struck. Hudak recommended that the city provide for the assignment of police officers, rather than crossing guards with no authority to issue citations.

"I wish there was a little bit more enthusiasm for transportation and traffic safety, as there is for pickleball."

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Residents spoke out about perceived lax traffic safety in the area, with one speaker claiming pedestrian safety measures for students at Coral Gables High School have recently dwindled.

Following discussion about a pickleball court project in the city, South Florida transit engineer and Miami-area resident Jessica Keller joined the conversation and urged the municipality to improve its pedestrian-protection efforts. She has called for action previously on social media, insisting, "We need safe infrastructure," for students walking and biking to school.

"I wish there was a little bit more enthusiasm for transportation and traffic safety, as there is for pickleball," Keller said at the meeting.

A native of Coral Springs, Bishop graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as the class salutatorian. At the University of Miami, he was a member of the President's 100 organization, or "P100s," who serve as campus tour guides. He also ran his own math tutoring company, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The University of Miami student newspaper reports that Bishop was set to teach math at Gulliver Preparatory School following graduation.