Miami Beach reopened Ocean Drive to vehicles earlier this year at the request of hotel owners. So many pedestrians showed up to the famous street on a weekend earlier this month, however, that cars were blocked once again.
"Ocean Drive was 'organically' closed to car traffic over the weekend – forced by throngs of pedestrians crowded into the area," according to an article published by Next Miami on March 23.
The news of the street closure was first reported on the Twitter feed of Better Streets Miami Beach, a local active transportation advocacy group.
Ocean Drive was closed to automobile traffic in 2020 while cities all over the country and world were deploying open streets (or Al Fresco Streets) as a response to the lockdowns and relative lack of automobile travel during the first months of the pandemic.
Fast forward to 2022, and Miami Beach started allowing automobile traffic back onto Ocean Drive on January 24, 2022. It wasn't the first time the city tried to allow cars back onto the drag—they made a similar move around the 4th of July holiday in 2020—but he 2022 decision to reopen the street to automobiles followed a bitter battle, including a lawsuit, between local residents and hotel owners along the street. The Miami Herald reported on the legal controversy in a paywalled article published in January. A plan to permanently pedestrianize the street produced some beautiful renderings, but hasn't yet won the day.
FULL STORY: Pedestrians ‘Organically’ Take Back Ocean Drive After Commissioners Reopen It To Car Traffic
Open Streets and Outdoor Dining Are Best for Business, Report Says
Most business owners believe that they'd be out of business without on-street parking near their front door. The experience of New York City during the pandemic proves otherwise.
The Tide Has Turned Against Open Streets
Once a promising development for advocates pushing for a less car-centric future in cities, the open streets movement has ceded significant ground to cars since the height of the pandemic.
Miami Beach to Reopen Ocean Drive to Cars
The famous cruising strip was off-limits to cars during the pandemic. Now, the city is letting vehicles return with some pedestrian-oriented compromises.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association