Due to overwhelming spring break crowds, the city of Miami Beach will impose an 8 p.m. curfew in the South Beach entertainment district and block most eastbound traffic entering the city after 9 p.m., beginning Saturday.
Interim City Manager Raul Aguila, who will authorize the emergency measures, told the Miami Herald that he recommends keeping them in place through April 12, or the end of spring break. A countywide midnight curfew is already in place due to COVID-19.
“These crowds are in the thousands,” Aguila said. “We’re at capacity.”
Police will enforce the 8 p.m. curfew by blockading South Beach’s main party strips — Ocean Drive, Washington Avenue and Collins Avenue — from Fifth to 16th streets. No pedestrians or vehicles will be allowed to enter after 8 p.m. and all businesses in the restricted area will be forced close, Aguila said.
“We don’t want anybody on the streets after 8 p.m.,” Aguila said during an afternoon press conference announcing the measures. He encouraged hotel guests in the area to stay indoors
Also, beginning at 9 p.m. tonight and extending until 5 a.m., Aguila said the city will close the eastbound lanes of the three main causeways that connect Greater Miami to Miami Beach — the MacArthur, Julia Tuttle and Venetian causeways. There will be a dedicated lane for Beach residents, hotel guests or people who need to go to work, Aguila said.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber and Police Chief Richard Clements said the measures were preemptive. The decision followed weeks of confrontations between police and large crowds, fights and occasional bouts of violence, including a deadly shooting. Gelber and public health officials have also warned about the risks of spreading COVID-19 among the throngs of visitors crowding the city.
“Our city in this area has become a tinder,” said Gelber. “And we can’t have a policy of simply hoping it’s not lit.”
For now, the measures are temporary. The city charter authorizes Aguila to impose the measures for 72 hours. The city has called a 3 p.m. emergency commission meeting Sunday where commissioners will vote whether to extend the order or cancel it, though Aguila said the meeting might be pushed back to Monday.
Aguila said he has support from Ocean Drive Association Chairman Jonathan Plutzik, who owns the Betsy Hotel, and has heard from three other Ocean Drive businesses that are voluntarily closing due to the unruly crowds. On Friday, the iconic Clevelander South Beach announced it would temporarily close.
