Miami Beach makes 11th-hour decision to close parking lots, garages during spring break
Update: On Thursday, officials in Miami Beach clarified details of the spring break parking plan, providing more guidance on closures and rates. Read more here.
Original story:
The Miami Beach City Commission voted Wednesday to prevent visitors from using public parking garages and lots in South Beach and Mid Beach during two weekends in March, a major new initiative on the eve of spring break that goes further than measures the city had approved last month.
Officials had previously said city-owned garages and parking lots in the entertainment district would close after 6 p.m. to everyone except Miami Beach residents and employees from March 7-10 and March 14-17, the weekends that are expected to bring the highest volume of visitors.
But during a discussion Wednesday to approve other measures related to spring break — namely, a $100 flat parking rate for visitors in city garages and lots in South Beach — Commissioner David Suarez suggested that the city go further and shut down those parking options entirely.
“We’re telegraphing to Florida and the world that we’re shutting it down, and we really mean it this time,” Suarez said. “The more extreme the shutdown, the more effective the global media attention we’re going to have.”
The measure applied to four parking garages in South Beach’s entertainment district, also known as the Art Deco Cultural District, which is between Fifth and 23rd streets along Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue and Washington Avenue. Suarez’s resolution passed 5-1, with Commissioner Laura Dominguez opposed. Commissioner Tanya Katzoff Bhatt was absent from the meeting because of a family emergency.
In a subsequent vote, commissioners also sought to prevent people who can’t find parking in the entertainment district from parking in nearby areas.
The implications of that vote weren’t immediately clear Wednesday, with some commissioners calling for a flat $100 parking rate and 6 p.m. closures of public garages and lots outside the entertainment district but south of 42nd Street.
But city officials announced Thursday that the closures would be more sweeping, saying all public garages and lots south of 42nd Street, including those outside the entertainment district, will be shut down entirely from 6 a.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Monday on March 7-10 and March 14-17.
City residents and employees of nearby businesses will be exempt from those restrictions and asked to show “proper identification” to police and city staff monitoring garages and lots. The Convention Center Garage (G11) will also remain open.
Private parking will not be affected. A public garage on 42nd Street between Royal Palm and Sheridan avenues will also remain open with a $100 flat rate for visitors and regular rates for residents and employees.
City parking director Monica Beltran said the closures could be problematic for non-residents driving to doctors’ appointments or other obligations. But Commissioner Alex Fernandez said that’s a necessary consequence of trying to shut down spring break.
“I’m sorry, we all have to pay a sacrifice here,” he said. “Those doctors should call their patients and say, ‘Hey, we have to reschedule.’”
Multiple officials voted for the closures despite expressing reservations about the 11th-hour vote to change the city’s approach, which was not included on the publicly noticed agenda for Wednesday’s meeting.
Mayor Steven Meiner said it was “not the ideal way to do business” or make a “major policy decision,” though he ultimately voted in favor.
“This is a major change from what we had,” Meiner said. “This should not be on the fly.”
Dominguez also questioned the hasty decision and wondered what the implications could be for people staying at hotels without parking or trying to use a valet.
READ MORE: Miami Beach wants to ‘break up’ with spring break. How the city will try to do it
City Manager Alina Hudak said she believed the parking closures would be helpful in the city’s efforts to tame the chaotic atmosphere of spring break.
Fernandez asked city administrators about the potential for “unintended consequences,” such as visitors trying to park in residential neighborhoods. But Beltran said she was confident the city’s enhanced staffing plan, along with double towing rates of $516 in South Beach for non-residents during March, would prevent that.
Suarez said the city should embrace any measure that could potentially prevent a shooting. There have been several shootings during spring break in recent years, including two deadly incidents on Ocean Drive in 2023.
“I think the question is, do we really want to put a price on [preventing] a shooting?” Suarez said. “We’re on the doorstep of spring break. Now is the time to make decisive and bold steps.”
The commission on Wednesday also discussed the possibility of holding a special meeting on March 4 to discuss restrictions on hours for alcohol sales, an idea officials had previously shot down last month.
‘Breaking up with spring break’
Last month, the commission voted for a series of measures that will mean harsh consequences for misbehavior — and discomfort even for those who simply want to have a good time. That includes the closure of outdoor sidewalk cafes during the second and third weekends of March, the use of license plate readers for drivers entering Miami Beach and limits on street parking in South Beach.
During the first, fourth and fifth weekends of March, there will be a flat $30 parking rate at city garages and surface lots. Residents and employees are exempt.
The city has also told visitors to “expect curfews,” which would need to be implemented as part of an emergency declaration by Hudak.
READ MORE: Miami Beach commission votes preemptively for spring break curfews, beach restrictions
In an online messaging campaign and at a press conference last week, the city declared that it is “breaking up with spring break,” though it walked a fine line in its messaging, insisting that Miami Beach is still welcoming to visitors while forecasting a huge police presence and an aggressive enforcement approach.
On Wednesday, Meiner said he believes potential visitors are hearing about the city’s plans to shut down spring break.
“I’ve got confirmation that word has gotten out around the country that we’ve taken these robust measures,” he said.
This story has been updated to clarify the parking restrictions planned during the second and third weekends of March.
This story was originally published February 21, 2024 at 3:30 PM.
