Miami Beach has officially broken up with spring break — or, at least, is trying to.
On March 1, the City of Miami Beach released a commercial on Instagram discouraging people from coming to Miami for spring break. In the video, Miami Beach essentially “breaks up” with spring breakers, saying they are no longer welcome to vacation there because of the lawlessness and violence that has occurred in past years.
The video also outlines some new laws that the city has implemented to prevent the chaos, such as curfews and DUI checkpoints. However, these warnings are just the beginning of the new spring break laws put in place including raising parking fees to $100 and restricting spaces on many main streets, limiting beach entrances, prohibiting coolers, tents and other similar objects.
The commercial has been met with mixed opinions online, with a majority of viewers complaining that the laws are unnecessary. Some are worried the tourism industry will be negatively affected, commenting on the Instagram post to share their concerns.
Under a post by @miamibeachnews on Instagram, one comment read: “Everyone wants this until tourism is obliterated and all the businesses close … Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
Others believe the laws are discriminatory, with the expensive and restrictive parking limiting the beach to only wealthy visitors.
For example, one comment read: “$100 parking sounds like you are making the area exclusive for rich kids.”
While the advertisement has garnered a large amount of discontent, there is a fair share of users who appreciate the efforts, showing support for the laws in the comment section of the video.
One comment said: “Everybody in the comments complaining … Did we not all see what happened last year and the year before? Shooting, people running out of restaurants without paying, people jumping on cars, destroying property? Like is that what yah call ‘bringing in tourism?’”
Since the laws have gone into effect, locals such as Palmetto Bay resident Dana March have noticed a strangely calm spring break season in Miami Beach. March, who went to dinner on South Beach last weekend, noted that while the restaurant was busy, the new laws have been more than effective in keeping the calm on the streets.
“[The environment was] so quiet and peaceful. You wouldn’t have known you’re on South Beach. I mean, we saw a few groups of young adults walking, but they seemed like they were enjoying themselves. There was no chaos,” March said. “I think [the laws] did exactly what the intention was.”
Despite the success in limiting busy crowds and unruly visitors, the curfew law and blocked streets posed a challenge when traveling to, from and throughout the city. For March and her family, the regulations made getting an Uber an especially time-consuming and expensive process, costing more than $100.
“The Uber was expensive getting there, and then it took us over an hour to get an Uber home. They were extremely expensive because of all the barriers that the police have set,” March said.
However, the alternative of driving to Miami Beach is not much cheaper, with parking rates high and spaces limited.
“There were barriers up so you couldn’t park on the street,” March said. “Hotels really increased the cost — it was $100 to park at a hotel for the day.”
