MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Spring break is well underway across South Florida, and the City of Miami Beach has rolled out a plan to keep residents and tourists safe.
Large crowds, people drinking on the streets and by the end of the night, absolute madness.
That’s exactly what Miami Beach officials are trying to avoid this year by rolling out Miami Beach Live.
The city is hosting sports competition, wellness activities, food tastings every weekend all March long, and on Saturday night, there will be a concert on the beach.
“Doors open at 6 o’clock. We have amazing headliners starting this weekend with Wilson Phillips, Jon Batiste, Alanis Morissette, Bernadette Peters and only for $10,” said Director of Tourism and Culture Lissette Garcia Arrogant.
The new spring break programing comes with a new set of rules.
Starting March 7, alcohol, coolers, tents, inflatables, tables and loud music are all prohibited on the beach.
“People will definitely have it somewhere else when they go to the beach, so I think it just doesn’t make sense,” said spring breaker Eva Kazanskya.
Safety measures initially included a hard stop on alcohol sales at 2 a.m. for all businesses south of 16th Street.
“Oh, no. Why would they do that?” asked a spring breaker in an orange shirt.
Crime, violence and over a 1,000 arrest in 2020, made spring break a boozy headache for police and locals.
The rule was naturally not popular among spring breakers.
“I don’t really agree with that because we were out till around 4 a.m., and we were having fun, and alcohol sales kept that going,” said spring breaker Pj Dewitz.
“2 a.m. sucks. Keep it going,” said the spring breaker in an orange shirt.
It now appears bars will be allowed to serve liquor late.
A judge struck down the city’s ban on post 2 a.m. cocktail sales earlier in the week.
Through March, expect to see a change in traffic flow in the South of 5th and Flamingo Park neighborhoods on the weekend and a heightened police presence as city leaders try to bring structure to a historically chaotic month.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.