Going to Miami Beach? There are new rules during Memorial Day weekend
Miami Beach will close some roads, reroute traffic, monitor license plates and impose some new rules for Memorial Day weekend.
The changes will be in effect now through 9 p.m. Monday. The city says the measures are meant to manage the influx of visitors and protect people’s safety during the long holiday weekend. The changes come after strict measures during this year’s spring break after a slew of chaotic incidents, including two deadly shootings.
The holiday rules target the city’s busiest areas: the beach, South of Fifth, Collins Court on the west, 16th Street on the north and Ocean Drive on the east, as well as parts of the commercial districts between Pennsylvania Avenue and Collins Court from Fifth to 16th streets.
Here’s what Miami Beach will be enforcing:
TRAFFIC FLOW
Expect delays heading into Miami Beach as eastbound traffic will be reduced to one lane on the MacArthur and Tuttle causeways.
Traffic can only enter
Ocean Drive via 13th Street and exit via Fifth Street.
Traffic on Collins and Washington avenues will only flow northbound and southbound, with no access from east or west except at Fifth and 16th streets.
Flamingo Park and South of Fifth residents
are encouraged to use Alton Road to enter and exit the neighborhoods. Barricades will restrict traffic and officers will be on hand. Miami Beach calls this a “residential protected zone.”
Traffic will be restricted along Washington Avenue and Fifth Street. Residents and visitors should be prepared to show identification and say where they are going. These entrances will be staffed by security personnel to restrict cut-through traffic in residential areas.
Drivers can expect license-plate readers around the city and along the Fifth Street corridor and the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
PARKING
A flat parking rate of $30 per vehicle for nonresidents and $15 for residents will be imposed at all city garages in the South Beach entertainment district. The include the sites at Seventh and Collins, 12th and Washington, 13th and Collins and the Anchor Garage on 16th Street.
After 9 p.m., entrance to city garages will be limited to city residents and employees.
Street parking will be prohibited along Collins Avenue between Fifth
Street and Española Way until 6 a.m. Monday.
RENTAL VEHICLES
If you’re thinking about renting a scooter, think again. Private businesses cannot rent golf carts, low-speed vehicles, autocycles, motorized scooters, mopeds, motorcycles powered by motors of 50cc or less, and motorized bicycles.
RULES ON THE BEACH
Coolers, tents and inflatable devices are
Sidewalk-cafe operations in the entertainment district will also be suspended nightly through the holiday weekend.
Police will crack down on public consumption of alcohol, smoking on beaches, possession of narcotics, driving under the influence and violence.
TRANSPORTATION
Miami Beach will run free shuttles from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday from the following city garages:
42nd Street
23rd Street
17th Street
Fifth Street
All passengers will be dropped off at the trolley stop on the west side of Washington Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. They can use this stop to be taken back to the garages. The Miami Beach trolley and MiamiDade County buses will run on a normal schedule.