Miami Beach wants to ‘break up’ with spring break. How the city will try to do it

In recent years, Miami Beach officials have tried a slew of tactics to deal with spring breakers who come to South Beach to party and pack Ocean Drive during the month of March. None of them have stopped people from visiting, and last year’s festivities were marred by two deadly shootings and hundreds of arrests.

This year, the city is trying to get ahead of the chaos. To do so, officials are spelling out how a series of measures will mean harsh consequences for misbehavior — and discomfort even for those who simply want to have a good time.

A new messaging campaign from the city declares that “Miami Beach is breaking up with spring break” and features an imagined text-message conversation in which the city says: “Hey Spring Break, we’re over.”

On Thursday afternoon at the Miami Beach police headquarters, city leaders held a press conference to discuss their strategy for South Beach, which includes a flat $100 parking rate in city garages and parking lots and the closure of sidewalk cafes on Ocean Drive during the weekends of March 7-10 and March 14-17.

“Come here, enjoy, but don’t come here looking for trouble,” Mayor Steven Meiner said. “We’ve had enough.”

A successful spring break, Meiner added, would mean “having a March without violence.” Asked how the city could prevent gun violence without measures like the use of metal detectors — something Meiner has pushed for — the mayor said he was still confident in the city’s approach.

Officials have walked a fine line in their messaging, insisting that Miami Beach is still welcoming to visitors while also announcing steps that are likely to make their experiences in the city unpleasant.

Police Chief Wayne Jones said people can expect license plate readers, DUI checkpoints and more police in South Beach “than you’ve ever seen before.”

“It will be difficult to get here to our city, and once you get here, the expectation will be that you play by the rules,” Jones said.

Officials are also telling visitors to “expect curfews,” although none have been formally announced. City Manager Alina Hudak would need to declare a state of emergency next month before a curfew could go into effect.

Late last month, the City Commission voted to preemptively endorse several measures throughout March, including:

• A flat $30 parking rate at city garages and lots in South Beach ($100 from March 7-10 and March 14-17) except for residents and employees

• Restricted entry to those garages and lots after 6 p.m.

• A double towing rate of $516 for nonresidents

• Security checkpoints and bag checks to enter the beach

• Beach entry via Ocean Drive limited to Fifth, 10th and 12th streets

• Closure of those beach entrances at 6 p.m.

Additional measures will take effect during the March 7-10 and March 14-17 weekends, including:

• License plate readers on the eastbound lanes of the Julia Tuttle and MacArthur causeways from March 8-10 and March 15-17 starting at 6 p.m., expected to cause significant traffic delays

• A DUI sobriety checkpoint on Fifth Street on March 8-9 and March 15-16

• A ban on rentals of Slingshots, golf carts, electric scooters and other motorized vehicles from March 7-10 and March 14-17

The city is also planning “heightened police enforcement for consumption of alcohol in public, drug possession and violent behavior.” Last month, the City Commission moved to repeal an option for civil citations for low-level marijuana possession as part of their plan for spring break.

“If you are looking to cause problems, do not come to Miami Beach,” Jones said in a statement. “Our message is simple: we want people to enjoy their time here, but will not tolerate the behavior we have witnessed in the past few years.”

READ MORE: Miami Beach commission votes preemptively for spring break curfews, beach restrictions

Miami Beach officials have struggled for years to address spring break, a period when college students and other young people flock to South Beach for its beaches and party atmosphere.

In the past, the city has faced criticism from local Black leaders for aggressive policing tactics and a hostile approach toward Black spring breakers.

Meiner, a former city commissioner who was elected mayor in November on a “law and order” platform, has said he won’t give in to any criticism of the city’s approach.

“If somebody thinks we’re doing too much, that means we’re probably doing it right,” he said at a commission meeting late last month.

In each of the past two years, the city approved more than $3 million for concerts, fitness-related events and other spring break programming in Lummus Park adjacent to Ocean Drive. City leaders are abandoning that approach, saying it did little to calm the spring break chaos.

The city has also restricted alcohol sale hours in the past, but that idea didn’t gain traction among city commissioners last month.

Meiner had pushed for a ticketed event with a secured perimeter and metal detectors around Ocean Drive to prevent the possibility of gun violence, but Hudak, the city manager, has said it would be “impossible” to achieve this year given that there is no ticketed event planned.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has spoken with Meiner and pledged to support Miami Beach officials by providing officers from the Florida Highway Patrol and Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

City officials are also seeking to shut down eastbound traffic on the Venetian Causeway to nonresidents during spring break but have yet to receive approval from Miami-Dade County, according to an agenda item Meiner is sponsoring for a commission meeting next Wednesday.