Traffic alert: How to navigate Calle Ocho’s big party, find parking and avoid gridlock
The Calle Ocho Music Festival, Miami’s signature March event for more than 40 years, will fill 15 blocks between 12th and 27th avenues of Little Havana’s Southwest Eighth Street with dozens of Latin music acts for eight hours on Sunday.
“There is not a block where there is not a stage,” Alex Pérez, president of the presenting organization, the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana, told el Nuevo Herald.
That means streets have to be closed to traffic.
Here’s what Miami Police spokesman Officer Michael Vega says about closed streets and getting around on Sunday.
When do streets close?
Hours and days: Street closings begin in two phases, at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday, March 11, and streets will be closed through the Sunday event.
▪ At 6 p.m. Saturday, Southwest 22nd Avenue between Southwest Seventh and Eighth streets closes.
▪ At 11 p.m. Saturday, eastbound traffic lanes on Southwest Eighth Street from Southwest 27th to 13th avenues close.
What are the detours?
▪ Traffic traveling east on Southwest Eighth Street will detour north or south at Southwest 27th Avenue.
▪ Traffic traveling west on Southwest Seventh Street will detour north or south at Southwest 12th Avenue.
When do roads reopen?
▪ All roads reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, March 13.
Transportation
Rideshares: Take a rideshare like Lyft or Uber and ask your driver to drop you off a few blocks from Southwest Eighth Street to avoid the worst traffic, suggests the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Mass transit: Miami-Dade Transit buses that normally run along Southwest Eighth Street (Calle Ocho) will be detoured. Check with the Miami-Dade Transit Agency for information. You can also take Metromover to the Brickell City Centre (Eighth Street) station. From there, it’s about a 20-minute walk to the festivities.
Local traffic: Residents that live in the area will be allowed access on a “local traffic only” basis to Southwest Seventh Street on the north side or on the south side of Southwest Ninth Street, Miami police said.
Tip: “Motorists are encouraged to take alternate routes should they need to travel in the vicinity,” Vega of Miami police said. Miami police will be stationed at the closed streets to offer assistance.
Parking and lots
Parking on private lawns: As usual, street parking is available in Little Havana around the event’s perimeter. Most people park on the lawns of locals but check for signs first. You will know whether residents are cool with you parking on their lawns because these enterprising folks place signs with the prices they will charge you to park on their property.
Street parking and lots: You can park in marked spaces on Miami streets and use the PayByPhone app to pay. You can park in several Miami Parking Authority lots near Calle Ocho, too, says parking spokeswoman Maria Delgado. But there are only 32 parking spaces among them.
Here are those lots, and the parking rate is $1.75 per hour.
▪ Lot 44 has six spaces at Southwest 17th Avenue and Sixth Street.
▪ Lot 45 has 13 spaces at 1660 Southwest Third Street.
▪ Lot 46 has 13 spaces at Southwest 17th Avenue between Southwest Second and Third streets.
If you go to the event
When: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, March 12
Where: Southwest Eighth Street, between 12th and 27th avenues.
Info: carnavalmiami.com
Cost: Free
This story was originally published March 10, 2023 at 12:13 PM.
