Miami Beach has experienced in increase in the volumes of high traffic and congestion in recent months, which is exacerbated by major events during high impact periods, including Miami Beach Art Week. Miami Beach Art Week, which includes the Art Basel Miami Beach Fair, is held annually the first week of December, depending on the calendar year. During this week, ancillary events and fairs are held throughout the City.
In the past twenty years, Miami Beach Art Week has also grown into a county-wide event. The City of Miami now celebrates Miami Art Week, which includes the Art Miami Fair located at Herald Plaza, New Art Dealers Association Fair located at Ice Palace Studios and multiple satellite events in the Miami Design District, Allapattah, Little River and Wynwood neighborhoods. The entire County has witnessed an increase in art-centric events during this time period.
Art Basel Miami Beach Zone
A Letter of Understanding (LOU) between the City of Miami Beach and Art Basel US Corp (ABUSCo) regarding the “Art Basel Miami Beach” event held on Miami Beach was signed on June 20, 2015. The LOU confirmed the understanding between the City and ABUSCo regarding certain terms pertaining to the ABMB Event pursuant to Resolution No. 2012-27884 which established an “Art Basel Zone.” The City agreed to the following actions, in support of ABMB Event:
Pursuant to Resolution No. 2012-27884, the City's Special Events Requirement and Guidelines establish an “Art Basel Zone” which, accomplishes the following:
a) The establishment of a zone, the effective term and duration of which is only intended to run concurrent with the actual ABMB Event dates, as set forth in the ABUSCo License, and which zone is bounded by 23rd Street to the north; by Lincoln Lane South to the south; by Alton Road to the west; and by the Atlantic Ocean to the east (hereinafter the Art Basel Zone).
The Art Basel Zone was established for the purpose of precluding the City from issuing a special event permit, for the use of public property within the Art Basel Zone during the term/duration that such Zone is in effect, without first obtaining the prior written consent of ABMB. Accordingly, the City shall provide ABMB with at least thirty (30) calendar days prior written notice of any special event applications received by the City for the use of public property within the Zone during the ABMB Event date(s) (the City's Approval Request). ABMB shall have ten (10) calendar days from the date of the City's Approval Request to approve or deny the Request. ABMB's approval or denial of the Request must be in writing and, if a denial, must specifically set forth the reason(s) therefore. In the event that ABMB fails to approve or deny a Request within the ten (10) day time period and, further, in accordance with the procedures set forth herein, then ABMB shall have waived its right to deny such Request, and the City may proceed with the event (that was the subject of such Request) as if approved by ABMB, and without any further notice and/or other obligation to ABMB. Any expansion would require an amendment to the license agreement between Art Basel Miami Beach and the Miami Beach Convention Center and approval by the Mayor and City Commission. Resolution 2017-29963 was approved by the Mayor and City Commission approving the term sheet between the City and ABMB for a multi-year license agreement for use of the Miami Beach Convention Center for the 2019-2023 Art Basel shows.
Special Event Permit Applications for Miami Beach Art Week 2022:
|
Year
|
Number of Permits
|
|
2019
|
32
|
|
2020
|
2 (due to COVID-19)
|
|
2021
|
30
|
|
2022
|
32
|
The chart above depicts that the number of events permitted during ABMB has not fluctuated from pre-COVID to now, with the exception of 2020, the height of the pandemic.
Currently, there is no cap or limit to the number of special event permits issued during of period of time, however, there is an opportunity for the City to review applications to determine the feasibility of issuance, particularly during Major Event Periods.
Major Event Periods – Special Events Guidelines
Major Event Periods (MEP) – The City first evaluates the City’s needs, impacts and quality of life issues during MEPs. The City will then also specifically evaluate the impact of events proposed to take place during holiday weekends and major event periods, which create a significant demand on City services and resources. The City may determine an MEP to have high intensity on City services and, therefore, may prohibit the issuance of special events permits during these periods. The City may also determine that enhanced City services are required during such periods. In such instances, costs for enhanced services will be shared equally by and between all permitted events.
The City has identified the following repeat or somewhat regular event periods which historically have a high impact on City services. It is realistic to expect these activity periods to continue to be popular in Miami Beach, bringing large crowds that will require additional City service levels and interagency support. These MEPs include, but are not limited to, the following:
· October - Halloween
· December - Art Basel, New Year’s Eve
· January – Miami Marathon, NCAA Bowl Games, Art Deco Weekend
· February - Wine & Food Festival, Boat Show
· March - Winter Party Week, Ultra Music Conference, Miami Beach Live
· April - Miami Beach Gay Pride
· May - Memorial Day Weekend, National Salute to Americas Heroes
· July - July 4th Celebration, Fashion Week Swim
· September - Labor Day Weekend
Maintenance of Traffic Plan
The Art Week Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) plan is developed and executed in coordination with Art Basel, Design Miami, the Miami Beach Convention Center Transportation staff, and key City departments, including Transportation and Mobility, Parking, Fire, Police, and Tourism and Culture. A key advantage of this MOT is that it maintains the east curb of Convention Center Drive open for valet and rideshare operations and other uses. During Art Week, all travel lanes on Convention Center Drive remain open to vehicular traffic, however, the western portion of Convention Center Drive is converted to a two-lane southbound traffic pattern. A portable digital message sign at the northern end of Convention Center Drive facing southbound traffic instructs drivers to use both lanes for southbound travel. Drivers were also required to turn right on 19 Street approaching Convention Center Drive. Cones were strategically placed to channelize northbound traffic on Convention Center Drive towards the two easternmost lanes. U-turns were prohibited on Washington Avenue between Dade Boulevard and 17 Street, and left turns and u-turns were prohibited at the intersection of Convention Center Drive and 17 Street. Portable digital message boards were placed around the perimeter of the Convention Center campus to provide information on parking availability and wayfinding to nearby parking garages.
In addition, the City worked with Miami-Dade County and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to secure approval for the lockdown of the east Venetian Causeway drawbridge from 4PM to 7PM during Art Week 2022 to help mitigate traffic impacts as a result of increased vehicular volumes on the causeway. Any additional temporary restrictions to the Venetian Causeway east drawbridge schedule would need to be requested by the City and County and approved by the USCG.
Event-Sponsored Multimodal Transportation Plans
The City coordinates with major events to provide and promote event-sponsored transportation plans. The Miami International Boat Show in particular provides a robust multimodal transportation plan that integrates dedicated and frequent cross-bay water taxi and shuttle services from key parking garages in Miami to the Miami Beach Convention Center. The Boat Show is the only major event in our City that voluntarily provides this high level of alternative transportation service. While City staff urges and impresses upon all major events the importance of providing multimodal transportation plans to reduce congestion and improve the customer experience, unfortunately, most events do not provide alternative modes of transportation.
FISCAL IMPACT
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