What is this urban scrawl? It’s from Miami’s building boom — and it’s not graffiti
If it’s not graffiti, or secret code, or treasure hunt clues, what exactly is the tangle of spray-painted, multicolored hieroglyphics defacing sidewalks in downtown Miami?
Call it urban scrawl.
The squiggles, lines, numerals, circles, diamonds, arrows, dots, blobs and Xs — proliferating by the day — are utility markings, used to show electrical contractors, telecommunication companies, water and sewer engineers and construction workers where underground lines, cables and pipes are located.
Miami’s building boom, combined with the rapid installation of 5G technology on newly erected poles in hastily patched concrete, has intensified paint mark pollution, especially in denser neighborhoods. It looks like an army of kindergartners has used Miami pavement as its canvas.
“If we’re going to rip up our streets, let’s do it right,” said Amal Kabbani, president of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, representing the growing number of downtown residents. “Instead, a sloppy mess is left behind, degrading the value of real estate.”
Michael Stajdel was a downtown pioneer, moving to a condo tower on Biscayne Boulevard in 2007. He was excited by plans to invigorate and beautify the entire bayfront area, including the commission of an artistic paver design by renowned Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx that stretches along the boulevard’s sidewalks from the Arsht Center south to Chopin Plaza -- similar to the curving mosaic walkways he designed at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach.
But today, the Burle Marx promenade is hard to recognize, as it is covered with cracks, embedded chewing gum, scooter skid marks and paint markings.
“The city made an enormous investment in the rebirth of this area and forgot about upkeep,” said Stajdel, who used to live in London, where streetscapes were immaculate and workers nicknamed “Mr. Gummy” pick up trash. “Those pavers are filthy. You have to build ongoing maintenance expenses into your budget or it deteriorates so fast that it’s impossible to bring it back.
“In February we’re going to have visitors entering the Super Bowl LIV Experience in Bayfront Park on sidewalks and streets that look like they’ve been vandalized with graffiti.”
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins has attacked the paint and 5G pole problem by collaborating on bills filed by state Sen. Jason Pizzo and state Rep. Nick Duran that would give authority to local governments to specify the type of temporary paint or marking methods and require removal of all markings upon completion of projects. Higgins also wants the state to require telecommunications companies to place their new equipment on existing poles. She’s concerned not only with the eyesore but with the hazards of uneven pavement.
“These companies have the right to put their 5G poles pretty much anywhere they want, which has launched a major ‘sidewalk grab’ by the competing telecomms,” Higgins said. “If one company gets their pole installed in a spot, the others have to be a few feet down the street. It also means we will have construction on our sidewalks every 250 to 300 feet in Miami-Dade. In order to work, 5G needs lots of nodes located very closely together.”
While the markings are most concentrated downtown, Higgins sees the problem spreading to other parts of her district, including Calle Ocho, the Coral Way corridor and Miami Beach.
“As local government officials, our input on where to best place these poles is no longer part of the discussion. Tallahassee has decided these companies can have dominion over our sidewalks,” Higgins said. “That has exacerbated the utility marking crisis. What used to be a mere annoyance from time to time is now a full-scale spray paint assault on our sidewalks and streets. There is simply paint everywhere.”
And the paint doesn’t come off. A study at the University of Central Florida conducted in response to public complaints about utility markings concluded that low-impact, non-permanent paints supposed to fade in one month and become invisible in two months did not disappear, and vigorous attempts to clean the marks using paint thinner or acetone-based products and a wire brush “proved ineffective.” When two or more coats of the aerosol paints were applied they were even less likely to fade.
Florida law requires owners or operators of underground facilities to identify them 30 days prior to excavation to avoid damage to buried infrastructure or injury to workers or the public. The color-coded “locate marks” (for example, orange for communication, alarm or signal lines; green for sewers and drainage; yellow for gas, oil or steam pipes) are required to be done with flags, stakes or “temporary paints that fade away within a reasonable time,” according to Sunshine 811, which administers the state law. Chalk or chalk-based paints don’t work in Florida’s rainy climate. Failure to follow “low-impact marking practices” can result in a $500 fine.
But downtown business owners and the Downtown Development Authority have found little compliance with or enforcement of marking rules. Pavement is permanently stained and spray-painting can occur in a project area numerous times with no work commenced for months.
One proposal that the development authority and the neighbors alliance would like to see tested is a digital map of subsurface lines with an app to enable efficiency.
“Right now everyone gets their own permit and their own spray can and there’s a lot of messy, negligent, redundant marking,” Kabbani said. “There’s no master plan of what’s happening simultaneously or two weeks ago. The city needs a big board or a playbook online so we can prevent more destruction to the aesthetics of our streets.”
Utility companies say they have no intention of leaving unsightly marks.
“Florida Power and Light and its contractors follow industry standards on all digs,” said FPL spokesman Matt Eissey. “We have a contractor who does the work, and they use water-based paint which does fade but it takes time. When there is ongoing work, the paint has to remain for the length of the project.”
AT&T is “committed to providing the modern, high-speed connectivity businesses and consumers in Miami want, and we are further committed to doing so in a responsible and safe manner, in compliance with state and local requirements,” said Daniel Hayes, public affairs spokesman for AT&T Southeast.
Higgins and her fellow commissioners have unanimously urged state legislators to allow more local control on 5G installation, set a rigorous standard on temporary paint and require cleanup by utilities.
“This problem is coming to every community in Florida,” Higgins said. “The transition to faster 5G technology will eventually enable things like self-driving cars, but we really needed a more coordinated rollout that considers our streets, our sidewalks, our neighborhoods and our property values while constructing thousands of nodes.”
