MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Several roads leading to South Beach have been closed in an attempt to stop the uptick in crime and misbehavior during Spring Break.
Miami Beach City Manager Raul Aguila made the big closure announcement Saturday afternoon.
It affects eastbound traffic for the next three nights, Saturday through Monday, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
There are special exceptions for Miami Beach residents, hotel guests and people going to work.
“In an effort to abate the crowds coming into the city, we are shutting down the MacArthur causeway, the Venetian causeway, and the Julia Tuttle causeway,” Aguila said.
To sum it up, after 9 p.m. you can leave Miami Beach for the night, but you can’t come back; not easily at least.
“This is not an easy decision to make,” Aguila said.
Visitors told Local 10 News’ Saira Anwer that after witnessing the weekend mayhem and debauchery, they understand why this decision was made, but it still puts a damper on their trip.
On the other hand, some Miami Beach residents were upset about the eastbound traffic jam and delays to get home.
“There was two police officers handling hundreds and hundreds of cars that were coming through, so it just seemed like they were overwhelmed,” said Miami Beach resident Risa Kaplan. “Nobody knew what was going on. Everyone was getting out of their cars or rolling down their windows asking if anybody knew what was happening.”
Kaplan said she was waiting in traffic for an hour before getting out of her Uber and walking about a mile to the security checkpoint. After speaking with officers, she was authorized to get in because she is a resident.
She then met up with a different Uber driver on the other side of the checkpoint to get a ride to her home.
Other residents believe the emergency measures, including the new curfew, are the correct decision.
“You want peace and quiet, you’re spending a lot of money to live in a certain area and you don’t want people just speeding up and down the street,” said Miami Beach resident Tom Bronco. “I think it’s a great idea.”
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Miami Beach officials announce 8 p.m. curfew, causeway closures to control spring break crowd