Board approves plan to put boat ramp by Miami Marine stadium — critics worry about chaos
Disregarding warnings of chaotic safety hazards — not to mention typical Miami ramp rage — city planners approved construction of a boat ramp adjacent to the Marine Stadium on Virginia Key, which is likely to exacerbate motorized mayhem in the basin and cause Rickenbacker Causeway traffic jams.
The city of Miami’s Planning and Zoning Advisory Board voted 7-1 on Wednesday night to go forward with plans to build a launching ramp and two docks on the west side of the derelict stadium, accompanied by large spaces in the stadium’s parking lot for 72 trailers and 32 more for cars.
Advocates for the island located between the mainland and Key Biscayne are urging city commissioners to reject the ramp and prevent more conflict between motorized watercraft and paddlers in the stadium’s man-made lagoon, more damage from pollution to marine life, sea grass and a nature sanctuary, and more bicyclist fatalities or injuries along the Rickenbacker, a popular recreational roadway. The commission makes the final decision.
“It’s an absurd idea to plunk down an ugly, greasy, noisy, congested boat ramp at one of the most spectacular, magical waterfront spots in Miami, and it’s a dangerous idea to have cars towing huge boats making a left turn with no stoplight through an oncoming stream of traffic, cyclists and pedestrians,” said Vinson Richter, president of the Dade Heritage Trust, a member of the Virginia Key Advisory Board and a boater himself. Both organizations oppose the ramp.
“It’s the wrong place for the circus of a boat ramp — collisions, fights, people falling in the water, crashing into docks, struggling with their trailers, cars sucked into the water,” he said. “The worst part of any boater’s day is dealing with the nonsense, incompetence and hostility at the ramp.”
Boat ramps needed, city says
The city says the ramp would help satisfy demand for access to the water by powerboat owners, which increased with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Miami-Dade County boaters can use 13 public boat ramps, but they only provide capacity to 2 percent of the county’s 74,622 registered boats. Weekend waiting lines, like those at Crandon Marina across the causeway from the Marine Stadium, can be long. The ramp would also generate revenue; it costs $13 to $17 to park.
The city’s goal is to “create a public access waterfront for everyone,” according to an agenda for a Nov. 2 community meeting conducted by the Office of Capital Improvements.
The flatwater lagoon is headquarters for the Miami Rowing Club, dragon boats and outrigger canoes and a haven for paddleboarders and kayakers. Triathlons start and finish there.
Jockeying among rowers, kayakers, jet skiers and boaters
But the 300-yard-wide and 1-mile-long basin has become overcrowded with party boats blaring music and water bikes (popularly known by the Kawasaki brand name as jet skis), whose operators race through the water, swamping and capsizing rowers with their wakes. Accidents are common. Last year, a water biker was struck and killed by the driver of a 37-foot motorboat with nine passengers.
A water biker recently pulled a gun on a rowing club coach during an argument and another one overturned a coach boat.
“It can be a harrowing experience at practice,” said Leah Kinnaird, member of a dragonboat team and a founder of the Virginia Key Alliance. “Miami is the Wild West when it comes to the open water and the speedway on the Rickenbacker, and I can’t think of a worse site for a boat ramp.”
Concern about Miami Marine Stadium’s renovation
A boat ramp and lot for six dozen trailers would also interfere with renovation plans for the 90-acre Marine Stadium, its parking lot and a trail around the perimeter of the lagoon. The stadium, formerly a venue for concerts and boat races, has been closed since Hurricane Andrew damaged it in 1992, and it’s since been fenced off and covered with graffiti. The 1963 Modernist landmark, which was named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered List in 2009, is slated for a $45 million renovation as a music and event venue.
READ MORE: Miami Marine Stadium closer to $45M makeover, but city is obscuring detailed plan
The vast slab of pavement is covered with skid marks; would-be stunt drivers sneak in at night to drag race and spin “doughnuts.” A design firm has been hired by the city to convert the lot into a park that would complement the stadium and lagoon.
“The city finally has a plan for the stadium, so why would it stick a ramp and a dedicated trailer lot in there and tell the architects to design around it without consulting with them first? Why handicap the restoration? It’s backwards,” Richter said. “There’s nothing like the Miami Marine Stadium anywhere in the world. You’ve got a unique view of the bay and the skyline. It should be our Tanglewood, our Red Rocks. Why break up that vision? You wouldn’t put an RV lot in front of the Hollywood Bowl.”
Commissioner Ken Russell, who represents District 2, has misgivings about the launching ramp and the volume of boaters it would attract.
“The only boat ramp at Marine Stadium should be run by our marina tenant and only for their clients,” he said. “The basin has a history of dangerous boat activity, more of which would endanger marine life and the paddlers and kayakers who utilize the area.”
City planners describe the ramp as a renovation to an existing public ramp rather than new construction to condense the usual lengthy permit approval process. It would have four lanes for boats up to 40 feet long. But the Virginia Key Advisory Board says the ramp there now is a piece of asphalt that the Miami Boat Show poured to use for installing its floating docks.
“I’ve asked the city to provide the original plans and proof that a pre-existing ramp was built legally,” Richter said. “They can’t.
In the past year, the city installed four Slow Speed/Minimum Wake signs that rowers and paddlers had been requesting.
“That’s progress,” Kinnaird said. “Now we need enforcement.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
