MIAMI (WSVN) – As crews finished installing barricades and fencing around Bayfront Park, officials discussed safety and traffic measures for the 26th Ultra Music Festival, which kicks off in South Florida.<\/p>\n
With the massive music festival set to begin on Friday, officials met with event organizers on Wednesday afternoon to discuss safety measures and traffic plans to handle the thousands of people expected to pass through downtown Miami.<\/p>\n
\u201cOperating in downtown has its challenges. There\u2019s a lot more people living in downtown than there used to be when we started 26 years ago. We\u2019ve 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,\u201d said Ray Martinez from Event Entertainment Group.<\/p>\n
Officials are expecting more than 150,000 people to attend the three-day festival.<\/p>\n
Traffic closures are set to begin on Thursday night at 9 p.m., including a shutdown of northbound lanes on Biscayne Boulevard directly in front of the park.<\/p>\n
Officials are advising festivalgoers to consider using rideshare services or public transportation to help reduce unnecessary traffic in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever possible, take rideshare or public transportation. Metromover drops you right in front of Bayside,\u201d said Miami Police Chief Manny Morales.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to have plenty of folks on hand to make sure the city is absolutely the safest it\u2019s been,\u201d said Morales.<\/p>\n
Later into Wednesday evening, crews began running through sound checks and light show tests onstage.<\/p>\n
A few excited fans passed by to get an early look at the setup process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was kind of hoping for a sound check just to have my family experience the actual sound they put on blast on the weekend,\u201d said Anthony Mancilla.<\/p>\n
Some, like Mancilla, have plenty of experience with the festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my fourth year in a row going; I\u2019m excited to see everybody this time,\u201d said Mancilla.<\/p>\n
Several others are coming to South Florida from all over the world for the fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been to a lot of festivals, especially in Europe, like Tomorrowland, but I\u2019ve never been to Ultra Miami, so it\u2019s always been on my bucket list,\u201d said Eva Wagner, who will be attending Ultra Miami.<\/p>\n
While excitement is in the air for festivalgoers this weekend, fire officials said they are preparing for dehydration risks for everyone in attendance, which is a common occurrence at similar large events. As such, rescue units will be standing by to respond to any medical emergencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll 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,\u201d said Miami Fire Rescue Lieutenant Pete Sanchez.<\/p>\n
Sanchez also emphasized that the increased efforts connected to the weekend festival won\u2019t impact their ability to respond to emergencies elsewhere across the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do want our residents to know this did not affect our response times to our neighborhoods. We don\u2019t 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\u2019t be a delay,\u201d said Sanchez.<\/p>\n
Some residents who spoke with 7News said the security measures they\u2019ve seen so far appear to be effective.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I feel, like, the safety overall is very good. I like how they\u2019ve set up everything this year and last year as well, I liked everything,\u201d said downtown resident Catherine Becerra. \u201cLet\u2019s see how it turns out this year.\u201d<\/p>\n