City leaders in Miami Beach have laid out their plans for incoming Spring Break crowds in a matter of weeks, saying that chaos this year will not be tolerated.
The city said it’s treating March as a high-impact month, which means more staffing and more patrols on city streets.
CBS News Miami’s Chelsea Jones was at the meeting where city leaders said they have no plans to host Spring Break as it has in the past and will instead focus on health and wellness.
That means Miami Beach in March will be strict.
“We don’t have to go too far back in time to remember in 2022 we had five shootings during Spring Break,” Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said. “In 2023, we had two fatalities.”
City leaders said they welcome visitors who want to have fun and spend money, but say lawlessness will not be tolerated.
“We’ve divorced Spring Break,” Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones said. “The Spring Break of the past is gone.”
Instead, the city said it’s waking up to a new March. Every Thursday through Sunday in March, license plate readers will be used on the Julia Tuttle and MacArthur causeways, tracking violent offenders, stolen vehicle sand firearms.
DUI checkpoints will also be in place, and there will be controlled access to Ocean Drive. Parking rates will also be increased.
“Our four parking garages in the district will start at a flat fee rate of $40, and on-street parking and surface lots in the district will be $20 an hour for non-residents,” Miami Beach City Manager Eric Carpenter said. “For subsequent marked weekends, if necessary, I have the ability to raise the garage rates to $100.”
If your car gets towed as a non-resident, you’ll have to pay $548 to get it back – double what it normally costs.
And city officials are urging people to prepare for traffic disruptions and delays.
