Canals in Florida serve many purposes: drainage, flood control, irrigation, navigation, and recreation. Canals also present many challenges to aquatic plant managers who must keep waters flowing. Without regular and frequent management, aquatic plants would quickly clog these systems, rendering them useless for flood control, navigation, and recreation.

Public Works is responsible for the maintenance of over 130 miles of canals in Palm Bay. Canal maintenance consists of erosion control, repair, or replacement of drainage pipes, and mowing/clearing of lot line ditches and drainage rights-of-way. Canals are on a mowing schedule of twice per year for the areas that can be reached with a mowing tractor. Every canal and lot line that is owned by the city of Palm Bay will be cleaned out one time every five years.

As a resident/property owner, we greatly appreciate your cooperation in not storing trailers, boats, etc., or erecting fences or sheds, or using the right-of-way as a planting area. This enables the Public Works crews to operate safely and effectively to maintain the drainage system.

In an effort to maintain the grass medians and roadside areas which enhance our community, yet stay within tight budget constraints, the City has arranged a schedule of variable frequencies of mowing. The City utilizes numerous mowing contractors to handle the enormous task of maintaining vegetation in our city of approximately 100 square miles. The grass medians and roadsides on high traffic, arterial and collector roads are cut more frequently than other roadsides in an effort to maintain visibility and appearance in these areas. The prime considerations with other roadsides are to maintain the safety and drainage conditions. Greenbelts, City owned easements and other publicly owned properties are mowed as well to maintain safety, drainage conditions and appearance. It should be noted that during the low growth season of roughly fall through spring, the frequency of the City's contracted mowing is reduced.

While striving to keep their neighborhoods safe and attractive, many homeowners choose to routinely maintain nearby vacant lot roadsides when they mow their own yards. A big THANK YOU to those who help keep our City beautiful with their tremendous efforts.

Public Works is responsible for pothole repairs on all roads the City maintains, which is approximately 880 Centerline miles. Pothole repairs are scheduled on a complaint basis. However, potholes on major collectors such as Emerson Drive, Jupiter Boulevard, San Filippo Drive, etc. are handled on a priority basis.

On major roads with less potholes, the potholes area is outlined on sound pavement beyond the dimension of the pothole. The outlined area is then cut and all debris, damaged asphalt, dirt and water are removed from the hole. A tack coat is applied to the hole, then hot mix asphalt is placed into the hole and rolled. This method provides the best quality and long-lasting repairs.

On residential roads that are ridden with potholes, less time is spent on these repairs due to the number of requests and the fact that these repairs do not last as long. Therefore, the procedure is to clean the pothole and fill the potholes with the hot mix and roll or tamp the mix into the hole – This is called the “throw and go method”.

Report a streetlight outage to FPL

Streetlight Installation:

The city of Palm Bay currently does not have a streetlight installation agenda.  Requests for streetlights in specific locations are being recorded by the Public Works Department for when a plan is formulated. Submit a request

Alternatively, citizens may seek Streetlight installation from Florida Power and Light at the fee of installation and monthly maintenance and service charges. Learn more

FPL Streetlight Installation Program Brochure 

The Survey Section, part of the City’s Engineering Division, consists of the Surveying Superintendent, the City Surveyor, and the Land Acquisition Coordinator for the City of Palm Bay., All three are Licensed Surveyors in the State of Florida and are up to date on all requirements set forth by the State. 

Currently, Survey field crew members consist of two Crew Leaders (Party Chiefs), two Survey Transit operators (STO’s), and one Rod & Chain worker.  All are responsible for observing, collecting, and documenting data.  City field personnel are trained and use most conventional survey equipment including network Global Positioning and digital elevation levels.

The Survey Section provides support services to the City’s Engineering Division involving Drainage and Capital Improvement projects for design, layout, and as-built of installed structures.  The Section also provides support to keep City-wide Drainage Plans up to date.  Field work the Section furnishes includes Boundary Surveys, Topographic Surveys, Route Surveys, construction layouts, and right of way surveys to various City Departments.  The Survey Section also prepares legal sketches and descriptions for right of way acquisition, easements, and real property vacations.  The City Surveyor & Surveying Superintendent provides expert opinion and consultation with the City’s Growth Management Department and City Attorney’s Office.

The Section maintains the City’s Survey Benchmark network.  Elevations in both NGVD 1929 (National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929) and NAVD 1988 (North American Vertical Datum 1988) are available through a provided data base or an interactive GIS map located on the City’s website.  The data base is continually updated.

Support for Engineering Inspectors with citizen and commercial complaints on drainage, clearing Right-of-Ways, and locations of encroachments within the City are provided by the Survey Section.

Survey field data, and Inspection services to the Driveway Permit Technicians are provided by the Survey Division.  Survey services for the installation of and replacement of culvert pipes in residential and commercial areas before, during, and after construction are provided.

The Section is responsible for maintaining both a description and map of the boundary limits of the City of Palm Bay.   Review and approval of subdivision plats, as required by state law is also a function of the Section.  Consultation, professional opinion, and technical support to all Departments in the City of Palm Bay is provided by the Survey Section.

Traffic Calming Philosophy

The City’s approach in developing a neighborhood traffic calming program is to implement the least restrictive device and then move progressively to a more restrictive traffic calming measure.

Traffic Calming Key Functions:

• Engineering - investigation
• Education - outreach
• Enforcement - traffic monitoring

Traffic Calming Requirements:

• Must be on a local residential street
• Cannot be a designated primary fire response route
• Cannot be more than two travel lanes
• Roadway must be at least 1,000 feet in length
• No driveway or drainage impacts
• Street volume of 500 to 3,000 vehicles per day
• 65% of vehicles are going 12 miles over the posted speed
• Signed petition of 80% of the residents along the roadway for support of the measure, which will be administrated by City personnel.
• Once the solution and cost are determined, the program goes to City Council for approval

Traffic Calming Requires Community Involvement

Once a traffic concern has been reported to the City, Public Works staff may schedule a neighborhood meeting to collect input, educate residents of the City’s traffic calming program and provide a partnership with the community.

What Can YOU Do:

• Set a good example and drive within the speed limits
• Be aware of your speed and respect your neighbors
• Obey the traffic signs and come to a complete stop at stop signs
• Do not speed up or race the traffic lights
• Obey the rules of the road
• Be safe when driving and avoid using your cell phone and do not text when driving, it’s the law!

Traffic signals aid our citizens while driving and help to reduce accidents. They facilitate traffic flow and help to reduce delays or congestion. We understand that when one of these signals is malfunctioning or is not working at all, it can bring about unnecessary frustration and increase delays or congestion. We have a rotating schedule of testing and observing the functions of these lights. However, we cannot always be there to detect one that is malfunctioning. Therefore, we rely on you to let us know as soon as possible if you notice a problem with any traffic signals.

If a signal is flashing yellow, please proceed with caution. If the signal is flashing red, treat it like a stop sign and stop.If a signal is completely dark, treat the signal as a stop sign and stop.

If a request is received for a traffic signal on a city-maintained roadway, an engineering study may be conducted in accordance with Section 4C of the MUTCD if current conditions indicate a traffic signal warrant study is justified. 

The Public Works Department cuts back, trims, or removes trees in the City Right-of-Way that are over hanging roadways and sidewalks, those that are blocking stop signs, and those that are dead. Other bushes and shrubs that cause a site obstruction to motorists are also trimmed back.  The palm trees that are in the City Right-of-Ways and medians are pruned each spring to keep them fresh and promote further growth.

Please note that trees are only removed when the tree roots are lifting the sidewalks or curbs.

The trimming of trees or other vegetation located near power lines, is performed by FPL. You can contact FPL by calling 1-800-226-3545, by visiting FPL Tree Trimming.

If you have a question regarding any trees, brushes, or shrubs, in or overhanging a City Right-of-Way, or would like to report vegetation that is a site obstruction, please contact our Customer Service Department at 321-952-3437.

The city of Palm Bay Public Works staff conducts all-way stop studies. All-way stop intersections have been proven to increase the frequency of certain types of crashes and to be less efficient than other types of intersection control under certain conditions. To ensure that an all-way stop intersection is the safest and most efficient means of managing traffic, potential installations must meet one or more criteria described within Section 2B.07 of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices published by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Requests for an all-way stop on County-maintained intersections may be studied if current conditions indicate a study is justified.

A common reason for requesting an all-way stop is to encourage speeding drivers to slow down. It is important to note that Section 2B.04, Paragraph 05 of the MUTCD states: “YIELD or STOP signs should not be used for speed control.” Installation of an all-way stop intersection solely to slow traffic would constitute a violation of 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 655, Subpart F, and will not be considered. The FHWA based this decision on a large volume of research, some of which is available online, which indicates that:

All-way stops do not control speeds except under very narrow conditions, and drivers learn to ignore stops at intersections with unwarranted stop signs, which promotes similar behavior at other intersections.

The city of Palm Bay does not install "Children at Play" signs on city-maintained roads. "Children at Play" signs give parents and children a false sense of security because studies conducted in locations with “Children at Play” signs show no evidence of reducing vehicle-pedestrian collisions or lowering vehicular speeds. The Federal Highway Administration has revised the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices to no longer include "Children at Play" signs which makes installation of such signs a violation of 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 655, Subpart F. Teaching children about the dangers of playing in or near roadways is the most effective way of protecting them from the dangers of vehicular traffic.

Report a streetlight outage to FPL

Streetlight Installation:

The city of Palm Bay currently does not have a streetlight installation agenda.  Requests for streetlights in specific locations are being recorded by the Public Works Department for when a plan is formulated. Submit a request

Alternatively, citizens may seek Outdoor Lighting installation from Florida Power and Light at the fee of installation and monthly maintenance and service charges.  Learn More.

For inquiries about the installation of outdoor lighting, please view the Outdoor Light Request Form.

Speed limits are established in accordance with the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) published by the Federal Highway Administration and State statute 316.183 - Unlawful Speed. State-wide, speed limits in residential and commercial zones are assigned as 30 miles per hour (MPH) unless an engineering study proves they should be raised or lowered. If a request to alter the speed limit on a city-maintained roadway is received, an engineering study may be conducted in accordance with Section 2B.13 of the MUTCD if a change in roadway or traffic patterns indicates a speed limit study is justified in accordance with federal guidelines and state statutes.

A common reason for requesting a speed limit change is to lower the speed limit to encourage speeding drivers to slow down. Many studies have been performed to determine the effect of lowering speed limits on the speed of traffic. According to a document titled Synthesis Of Safety Research Related To Speed And Speed Limits conducted by the Federal Highway Administration:

“In general, changing speed limits on low and moderate speed roads appears to have little or no effect on speed and thus little or no effect on crashes. This suggests that drivers travel at speeds they feel are reasonable and safe for the road and traffic regardless of the posted limit.”

To prevent artificially lowered speed limits, the MUTCD dictates that speed limits must be within 5 MPH of the 85th Percentile Speed. During a speed study, our staff will deploy counters to determine the number and speed of vehicles traveling on the road. Staff will then identify the 85th Percentile Speed by calculating the speed below which 85% of all vehicles are traveling. If a large number of vehicles are currently exceeding the speed limit it is possible that the study will support raising the speed limit, instead of lowering it.