MIAMI (WSVN) - As crews finished installing barricades and fencing around Bayfront Park in downtown Miami, officials discussed safety and traffic measures for the 26th Ultra Music Festival, which kicks off this weekend.
With the massive music festival set to begin Friday, officials met with event organizers on Wednesday afternoon to discuss safety measures and traffic plans to handle the thousands of people from around the world expected to attend the event.
“Operating in downtown has its challenges. There’s a lot more people living in downtown than there used to be when we started 26 years ago. We’ve really gone, you know, working hard with our elected officials, but also with the community to try to minimize the impact, because we know there is an impact,” said Ray Martinez from Event Entertainment Group.
The people who live in Downtown have mixed opinions on the festival.
Mariana Robert is excited for the big weekend in her neighborhood.
“Lots of families do live here but this is a place were creation is made, you know what I mean, people are creating things there’s so many new businesses coming up, so yeah, if you can’t handle it get out the kitchen,” said Mariana Robert. “I’ve been living in Miami for five years now and I’ve been going every single year, I absolutely love it, it’s so much high energy.”
Carolyn Brea said it’s glad it’s back.
“One year we voted to take it away and it was horrible. I missed it so much and I was so excited when they brought it back. I’m just super excited,” she said. “Perfect view. I don’t have to spend $1,000 for a ticket.”
Hans Bruland however, is not a fan and said he takes a flight out of town.
“It probably would be best on the Ultra to move to, where’s that, Freedom Park or whatever the development is, because it is very noisy,” said Bruland. “We are quite a few blocks away, you can feel it, as a resident, it can be pretty jarring.
Officials are expecting more than 150,000 people to attend the three-day electronic dance music showcase.
Traffic closures are set to begin Thursday at 9 p.m., including a shutdown of northbound lanes on Biscayne Boulevard directly in front of the park.
Officials advise festivalgoers to consider using rideshare services or public transportation to help reduce unnecessary traffic in the area.
“Whenever possible, take rideshare or public transportation. Metromover drops you right in front of Bayside,” said Miami Police Chief Manny Morales.
Morales said authorities have new tools this year that will help officers keep people safe, including drones that will be deployed to assist with traffic issues and safety calls.
“We’re going to have plenty of folks on hand to make sure the city is absolutely the safest it’s been,” said Morales.
Later into Wednesday evening, crews began running through sound checks and light show tests onstage.
A few excited fans passed by to get an early look at the setup process.
“I was kind of hoping for a sound check just to have my family experience the actual sound they put on blast on the weekend,” said Anthony Mancilla.
Some, like Mancilla, have plenty of experience with the festival.
“This is my fourth year in a row going; I’m excited to see everybody this time,” he said.
Several others are happy to be part of the fun.
“I’ve been to a lot of festivals, especially in Europe, like Tomorrowland, but I’ve never been to Ultra Miami, so it’s always been on my bucket list,” said attendee Eva Wagner.
“It’s part of the vibes of living here,” said a man.
While excitement is in the air for festivalgoers this weekend, fire officials said they are preparing for dehydration risks for everyone in attendance, which is a common occurrence at similar large events. As such, rescue units will be standing by to respond to any medical emergencies.
“We’ll have over roughly 100 firefighters, paramedics, inspectors throughout the entire event per day to ensure everyone is safe. We have people on foot, we have bike patrols, we have scooters,” said Miami Fire Rescue Lt. Pete Sanchez.
Sanchez also emphasized that the increased efforts connected to the weekend festival won’t impact their ability to respond to emergencies elsewhere across the city.
“We do want our residents to know this did not affect our response times to our neighborhoods. We don’t take away resources from our stations to be able to assist Ultra. These are separate from our residents, so want them to know that they can feel comfortable calling 911 and there won’t be a delay,” said Sanchez.
Some residents who spoke with 7News said the security measures they’ve seen so far appear to be effective.
“Honestly, I feel like the safety overall is very good. I like how they’ve set up everything this year and last year as well, I liked everything,” said downtown resident Catherine Becerra. “Let’s see how it turns out this year.”
The Miami Police Department has a comprehensive document detailing the various traffic patterns impacting residents in the downtown area during the Ultra Music Festival. You can learn more here.
On top of Ultra, Miami will be host to various events throughout the weekend. These includes a presidential visit by President Donald Trump, Marlins hosting their Opening Day weekend and a major concert taking place at the Kaseya Center.
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