After Miami Beach agrees to return Ocean Drive to two-way traffic, courts grant new delay
This is an update to a story originally published at 2:28 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7:
Hours after Miami Beach officials agreed to remove a pedestrian plaza from Ocean Drive and return the entire street to two-way car traffic in compliance with a judge’s order, the Third District Court of Appeal said not so fast.
The city filed an emergency motion with the appeals court around 3 p.m. Friday, seeking to freeze the effects of the judge’s demand that city officials reconfigure Ocean Drive immediately. By 5 p.m., the appeals court had granted Miami Beach a temporary reprieve, putting the judge’s ruling on hold until it hears arguments from both the city and the Clevelander hotel and bar, which had filed a lawsuit over the street configuration.
City officials had already removed the pedestrian plaza Friday and were preparing to pay a contractor about $150,000 to paint over existing bicycle lanes and restore two-way traffic, rather than the current one-way alignment, early next week. The city can now put that work on hold. For the time being, the city does not plan to reconstruct the pedestrian promenade but will leave the bike lanes in place, according to city spokesperson Melissa Berthier.
At a meeting Friday morning, Miami Beach City Manager Eric Carpenter said the city had no choice but to comply with the order from Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Beatrice Butchko Sanchez, who chastised the city on Wednesday for trying to delay the process.
Mayor Steven Meiner and city commissioners begrudgingly agreed.
But a few hours later, the city filed a 33-page motion looking to reinstate a “stay” in the court proceedings. Butchko Sanchez, the city argued, had placed the city “in the perilous position of facing sanctions for failing to reopen a road ... and potentially wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars if the injunction is ultimately reversed or the city obtains a permit from Miami-Dade County.” Miami Beach is seeking a permit from the county to keep the current one-way street setup.
The appeals court agreed to freeze the case for now and gave the Clevelander 10 days to respond.
The original story is below:
Miami Beach officials said Friday that the city will remove a popular pedestrian plaza and bicycle lanes on Ocean Drive in the coming days, complying with a judge’s order and bringing back a two-way flow of cars to the iconic strip for the first time in nearly five years.
It’s a major change from the current setup, which has only one-way traffic and a two-way bike lane.
Temporary barriers that blocked off the roadway to create the pedestrian promenade between 13th Street and 14th Place will be removed Friday.
On Monday, work is expected to begin to repaint the area north of Fifth Street to eliminate the bike lanes on the east side of the road. Ocean Drive will be closed entirely from Fifth to 15th streets for at least two days while the work is completed, officials said.
At a special City Commission meeting called by Mayor Steven Meiner, city leaders lamented the situation but said they had no choice but to follow the directive of Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Beatrice Butchko Sanchez, who blasted the city on Wednesday for failing to reopen the road as she had ordered last month. The Clevelander hotel and bar had filed a lawsuit over the street configuration, saying it was hurting the business.
“Unfortunately, I don’t see a path at this point to be able to avoid compliance with that court order,” City Manager Eric Carpenter said.
The work will cost the city approximately $150,000, according to city spokesperson Melissa Berthier.
READ MORE: Judge rips Miami Beach for failing to open Ocean Drive to two-way traffic
Miami Beach closed Ocean Drive to cars entirely during the pandemic in May 2020. The city moved to the current configuration in January 2022, with initial approval from the county for one-way southbound car traffic with a two-way bike lane and the pedestrian promenade at the north end of the street.
Since then, the city has sought permission from Miami-Dade County’s public works department to make the setup permanent. But the process has hit repeated snags. The county has resisted approval of the pedestrian promenade, citing safety concerns over the diversion of traffic to a nearby alleyway.
City and county officials have had a flurry of discussions since Jan. 7, when the county instructed the city to remove the promenade.
County officials have expressed more willingness to work with the city on a one-way flow of traffic with a bike lane but said it would take several more months before any approval could be granted.
Meiner expressed frustration with the process, saying it has “gotten very political.” Ocean Drive, he said, is “as safe, as clean and as family friendly” as ever, and the city should make its own decisions about its most famous street.
“Whatever decision we make should be made here,” Meiner said during Friday’s meeting. “We represent the residents and businesses of Miami Beach.”
The city is appealing Butchko Sanchez’s ruling before the Third District Court of Appeal.
The configuration of Ocean Drive has been a point of contention among residents and business owners, many of whom lined up at Friday’s meeting to speak for and against the current setup.
But elected officials made clear that they support pedestrianizing the street, saying the city should continue to seek county permits while working to realize a permanent vision for the area, including the adjacent Lummus Park.
“That should be a beautiful, permanent pedestrian promenade,” Commissioner Joseph Magazine said.
Still, commissioners agreed that, for now, the city has no choice.
“The courts have ruled,” Commissioner Alex Fernandez said. “Whether we agree with that decision or not, we are a responsible government, and we are responsible leaders, and we have to respect the authority of the judiciary.”
This story was originally published February 7, 2025 at 2:28 PM.
