Have you ever been stuck in traffic along the Rickenbacker Causeway? Of course, you have.
Like the '70's band Bachman-Turner Overdrive once sang, "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet."
Aerial view of a render of the Miami Marine Stadium renovation project.
Music will be the backdrop for, perhaps, the most-crowded event at Miami Marine Stadium this year.
Last week's announcement that a major country music concert will be coming Nov. 11-12 to the historic stadium likely has stirred additional concerns from residents on Key Biscayne.
The inaugural Country Bay Music Festival, featuring a loaded lineup of stars, including Thomas Rhett, Lainey Wilson, Sam Hunt, Lee Brice, Chris Young and Elle King, to name a few, will be one of the largest country music events ever to hit Miami. Fans can attend by car, of course, but also by boat or yacht with a specific pass.
That event is already being widely promoted across the state and organized by Tony Albelo, the CEO at EngageLive!, who earlier this year assured Village Council members that another of his big events, the South Florida Boat Show (SoFlo) on May 19-21, will create just minimal disturbances with Miami-Dade Police and Miami Police handling traffic flow and parking.
Last Tuesday night, even as tickets for the country show began to go on sale, Village of Key Biscayne Councilman Brett Moss brought up concerns from residents, and himself, regarding traffic issues, specifically caused by events on Virginia Key.
"We've been having, everybody knows, heavy traffic, especially when events, beach and nice weather and all that kind of stuff, and we see it backed all the way past Mashta now for hours and it's taking a lot of time for people to get through there," Moss said. "... I hear concerns from others ... but, man, if somebody's having a heart attack, and they've got to get to the hospital, what are we doing in this instance?
"And the second thing, if these events are helping create that issue ... I would think that the County would have some type of responsibility to limit how many they would have. I don't know if (these are) unlimited amounts they can have, events every weekend, but, obviously, there's one way in, one way out.
"This is a county road and we are County residents, and I think there's an obligation to ensure safety. And I understand (events) do happen and traffic will happen once in a while but, you know, ... what plans do we have for life safety?"
Key Biscayne Fire Rescue Chief Eric Lang during a 2019 Department open house.
Key Biscayne Fire Rescue Chief Eric Lang, who has been in his role for almost 12 years and who has been a part of the island for 30, was confident his team could transport people to local hospitals and begin treatments while en route.
"We have mitigated this for many years," he said. "It's not the first time we've had traffic (issues). We've had construction, things have occurred ... We make an assessment on every patient, every incident. It looks impossible if there's a traffic jam, but even though we're in Miami, people do get out of the way when they hear sirens."
Lang said if a helicopter is required, the time factor of arrival and finding a safe place to land factors into the mode of transport.
Village Mayor Joe Rasco, who also had concerns with traffic issues, asked Lang: "So, you can reassure 15,000 people on Key Biscayne that if we have issues, on the worst day, that we have the ability to get people out?"
"One hundred percent, I'm confident," Lang replied. "Every time we have an emergency, weekend or a holiday, whether the bridge has been opened or closed, the bottom line is we find a way to accomplish our mission every time."
Councilman Fernando Vazquez said there should be ways to prevent "unnecessary traffic" from coming into Key Biscayne, realizing there's no parking available at the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park and having to turn around and go through the Village again.
Traffic in the entrance to Key Biscayne.
"Is there a way, through better management and coordination with the County ... maybe a heads-up by FDOT at the toll plaza (advising) people not to go through?" he asked. "If we started to manage (some of) the traffic ... we would have a lot of checkpoints available."
Key Biscayne Police Chief Frank Sousa and Village Manager Steve Williamson said a Traffic Safety Solutions task force has been put in place and those members are studying data and trying to find immediate solutions.
Meanwhile, the Village's Master Plan, submitted by Village Planner Jeremy Calleros Gauger, is being studied by a County-hired consulting firm, one which calls for tunnel turns into the Virginia Key hot spots to keep through-traffic flowing along the Rickenbacker.
A couple of weekends ago, Sousa said 30,000 cars came through the tolls on Saturday with 15,100 entering Key Biscayne and only 8,000 leaving. A day later, 23,000 cars came through the tolls, 13,000 of those into the Village and only 7,000 left.
ULTRA music festival during their sold-out 21st edition, debuting at the Marine Stadium & Historic Virginia Key Beach.
Of course, the traffic nightmare from the 2019 Ultra Music Festival on Virginia Key still leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of residents.
Just a week ago, Sousa was caught in traffic, backed up by more than an hour on the Rickenbacker, and it was a Wednesday at sunset. He said he is working with County officials and Bill Baggs officials to see if potential communication tools could provide advisories.
"What I'm getting at, if these are getting worse (with traffic) and happening more often and creating issues, can we put some pressure on the County to expedite that Master Plan?" Moss asked. "... if there's going to be more events, there's going to be more problems."
