This Spring Break Hub Is Trying to Deter Rowdy Tourists With New Laws, Campaign
Whoever said spring break lasts forever never went to Miami Beach. After a chaotic 2023 spring break, the city launched its “Spring Breakup” initiative last Friday, People reported. Along with instituting city-wide curfews, parking prices are getting hiked and more DUI checkpoints will be popping up during the “highest-impact weekends” in order to deter unruly revelers. Those weekends are March 7–10 and 14–17.
Miami Beach has been strained by spring breakers for the last few years. The city struggled in 2021 with an influx of post-Covid partiers that spurred an 8 p.m. curfew. Last year brought waves of violence, including a shooting that left one tourist dead. A total of 573 people were arrested during 2023’s festivities.
This year, limited beach access on Ocean Drive will close much earlier, at 6 p.m. The beach will also have security and bag checkpoints to ferret out illicit items like alcohol, coolers, tents, and tables. Beach goers are also prohibited from playing music through portable speakers.
Parking garages in South Beach will be closing on Thursday at 6 a.m. before the highest-impact weekends, and reopen Monday at 6 a.m. Flat-rate parking fees will increase to $100 during these weekends, whereas for the rest of March, the price will be $30. However, towing fees are going to increase exorbitantly, doubling to $516 with an additional $30 administrative fee for non-residents.
A spokesperson for the city of Miami Beach told People that the campaign is meant to show “potential spring breakers and any other people coming to cause trouble that Miami Beach will not tolerate disorderly behavior.
“The message is clear that Miami Beach is no longer a place for raucous behavior, and that our laws and regulations will be fully enforced,” they continued. “We hope this campaign will dissuade unruly crowds from coming to Miami Beach during this time.”
However, irate commenters online swore that they wouldn’t let some flimsy laws get in the way of their good time. “Just watch it happen, because nothing is going to change,” one party animal wrote. “All these measures will be thrown out, the party will go on, like it always has. That is all.”