MIAMI (WSVN) – As crews finished installing barricades and fencing around Bayfront Park, officials discussed safety and traffic measures for the Ultra Music Festival, which kicks off in South Florida.
With the massive music festival set to begin on Friday, officials met with event organizers on Wednesday to discuss safety measures and traffic plans to handle the thousands of people expected to pass through downtown Miami.
“Operating in downtown has its challenges. There’s a lot more people living in downtown than there used to be when we started 26 years ago. We’ve really gone, you know, working hard with our elected officials, but also with the community to try to minimize the impact because we know there is an impact,” said Ray Martinez from Event Entertainment Group.
Officials are expecting more than 150,000 people to attend the three-day festival.
Traffic closures are set to begin at midnight on Wednesday, including a shutdown of northbound lanes on Biscayne Boulevard directly in front of the park.
Officials are advising festivalgoers to consider using rideshare services or public transportation to help reduce unnecessary traffic in the area.
“Whenever possible, take rideshare or public transportation. Metromover drops you right in front of Bayside,” said Miami Police Chief Manny Morales.
Morales said authorities have new tools this year that will help officers keep people safe, including drones that will be deployed to assist with traffic issues and safety calls.
“We’re going to have plenty of folks on hand to make sure the city is absolutely the safest it’s been,” said Morales.
Fire officials said they commonly see people experience dehydration at similar outdoor events. As such, rescue units will also be standing by to respond to any medical emergencies.
“We’ll have over roughly 100 firefighters, paramedics, inspectors throughout the entire event per day to ensure everyone is safe. We have people on foot, we have bike patrols, we have scooters,” said Miami Fire Rescue Lieutenant Pete Sanchez.
Sanchez also emphasized that the increased efforts connected to the weekend festival won’t impact their ability to respond to emergencies elsewhere across the city.
“We do want our residents to know this did not affect our response times to our neighborhoods. We don’t take away resources from our stations to be able to assist Ultra. These are separate from our residents so want them to know that they can feel comfortable calling 911 and there won’t be a delay,” said Sanchez.
The Miami Police Department has a comprehensive document detailing the various traffic patterns impacting residents in the downtown area during the Ultra Music Festival. You can learn more here.
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