Biscayne Corridor residents and tourists alike love to cross the McArthur Causeway into South Beach for fine dining, nightlife, art deco atmosphere and beaches. Anyone who lives here, though, knows March is madness and we’re not talking about the NCAA, but spring break season.
Mention it in Miami to the locals and everyone’s eyes and mouths open wide before running to seek a hiding place – that is, unless you’re a teenager.
(Gregory Reed)
A “We’re breaking up with spring break” sign at a Miami Beach press conference last month echoes city officials’ sentiments toward spring break this year.
We’ve seen shootings and hundreds of arrests during spring break in just the last two consecutive years alone. During that same period, Miami Beach officials spent more than $3 million on concerts, fitness-related events and other spring break programming in Lummus Park adjacent to Ocean Drive to give young people things to do besides getting into trouble. It didn’t work.
Consequently, things will be different this year.
Adults, and especially Miami Beach residents, are breathing a sigh of relief after the city announced last month that it was “breaking up with spring break” for good. Strict measures will be in place this month to discourage spring breakers from even thinking about coming to Miami Beach. The trouble is, they ensure shutting the rest of us out as well.
1. Just getting into Miami Beach will be a challenge. There will be license plate readers on the eastbound lanes of the Julia Tuttle and MacArthur causeways beginning at 6 p.m. March 8-10 and March 15-17, which are expected to cause significant traffic delays. So, if you want to visit a Miami Beach restaurant, make it an early bird special and stay away from Ocean Drive, where sidewalk cafés will be closed during those dates.
2. If you make it across the causeways at all, you'll find nearly all public garages and surface lots entirely closed Thursday - Monday in South Beach and Mid Beach, March 7-10 and March 14-17. The remaining 42nd Street garage between Royal Palm and Sheridan avenues will be open with a flat parking rate of $100.
3. Parking along the 100 blocks of sixth through 14th streets will be restricted 24 hours per day during those same weekends and March 21-24, while parking along the 200 blocks of sixth through 15th streets will be restricted nightly from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. Park your car where it doesn’t belong and expect a double towing rate of $516.
4. Be careful what you drink, because there will be a DUI sobriety checkpoint on Fifth Street March 8-9 and March 15-16.
5. Let’s say you’re not interested in the nightlife and just want to enjoy sun and sand. There will be security checkpoints and bag checks to get onto the beach with entry on Ocean Drive limited to Fifth, 10th and 12th streets, only; access at those locations shuts down at 6 p.m. If all this doesn’t do the trick and something goes sideways, expect curfews.
6. The residents of Miami Beach will benefit most from what is intended to be a quiet March, with getting around on foot or jumping on the trolley as your best bets. Miami Beach’s free citywide trolley service will operate on an enhanced schedule during two of the highest-impact periods, with additional vehicles operating on South Beach Loops A and B as well as two additional vehicles assigned to the Collins Express route. Enhanced trolley service will operate from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. March 8-11 and March 15-17.
If you have high school or college-age kids, tell them to stay home. Or as my mother used to say, “read a book.”
1 of 2
(Gregory Reed)
Sidewalk cafés on Ocean Drive will be closed March 8-10 and March 15-17.
2 of 2
(Gregory Reed)
Parking at city garages and lots will cost a flat $30 and rise to $100 March 7-10 and March 14-17, with restricted entry after 6 p.m.