Ultra Still Has No Traffic Plan

A crowd moves to the beat of electronic music during the Ultra Music Festival at Bayfront Park in Miami on April 3, 2013 by Gaston De Cardenas / REUTERS

Village Police Chief Charles Press’ expression and tone of voice were grim: he had to report to elected leaders that with the Ultra Music Festival at Marine Stadium on Virginia Key just four weeks away, Miami-Dade County officials still had not approved a final traffic plan to the handle 60,000 concertgoers per day who will attend the March 29-31 event.

The plan, called an “MOT,” or maintenance of traffic plan, is a requirement for the electronic music festival. Although the festival was approved by the City of Miami, which has jurisdiction over Virginia Key, it is the County government that controls the traffic on the Rickenbacker Causeway. Calls to County Mayor Carlos Gimenez’ office were not returned. It’s unclear what happens if the County fails to approve a traffic plan.

“This is a runaway train,” Press said. “When you have a runaway train, you have to do your best to mitigate any potential damage.”

Press told the Village Council that four “MOT” plans had been submitted but failed to meet with approval by County engineers; a fifth is underway. As of Friday afternoon, the County had yet to approve the plan. The hangup, Press said, is based on causeway capacity and its use by other stakeholders without causing a catastrophic shutdown. Agencies are planning not just for the crowds, but also for potential disasters such as a chemical spill or terror attack. “We have to be prepared,” he said.

Pedestrian Problems
To manage traffic, attendees will be required to use mass transit to get to Ultra’s multiple sound stages. Press said some 230 buses are planned at peak times, with as many as 11 large-capacity water taxis to carry concertgoers away at closing time, along with a large number of ride shares.

But officials are expecting thousands of people to simply walk. If they go back to Miami, they’ll be directed to the west side of the causeway. But the chief cautioned that some may head to Crandon Park and into the Village.

“It’s not illegal to walk into the Village,” the chief said. While camping is not permitted on the Village Green or other parks, the chief says simply sleeping on the grass is not unlawful. Officials will lock park bathrooms and will be very vigilant during the concert.

“We will have all hands on deck. Every cop will be working that weekend,” Press said.

Cost
All the extra staffing will be costly, but so far, Ultra has not responded to Village Manager Andrea Agha’s request for compensation. The City of Miami is getting some reimbursement, and is dedicating some assets to assist the Village, but Press did not provide an estimate of expected costs to Village taxpayers. Council members asked Agha at Tuesday’s meeting to make sure accurate costs are being tracked.

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