Miami Beach Memorial Weekend In Full Swing
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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – Memorial Day weekend is in full swing. Along with that, thousands are hitting Miami Beach hot spots.
"I'm in love with Miami! I don't want to go back home," said Tosha Burton, who's visiting from Detroit.
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"This is the best event I've ever seen in my life," said Dante, from North Carolina.
And in order to keep it the best event like Dante said, the City of Miami Beach Police, Fire, and Emergency Management Departments have plans and staff in place for the event.
While many people are expected, city leaders say they are expecting a smaller crowd this year, a downward trend from year's past.
Local law enforcement is asking everyone throughout the weekend to respect the scene while having fun.
Officers are out in full force, using license plate readers for violators and stolen car cases. A DUI checkpoint was also set up Friday on the eastbound lanes of MacArthur Causeway.
Miami Beach Police credit the measures in place with a decrease in the number of arrests, citations and calls for day two of the event.
There have been 26 arrests so far compared to 61 in 2014. The number of citations is down from 260 last year to 204. And the number of calls to police and fire is down from 458 to 430.
On the streets, there are some traffic changes for the weekend in certain areas.
Ocean Drive is closed to vehicular traffic. It will remain closed until Tuesday at 7 a.m.
To ease traffic, drivers will only be able to drive North on Collins Avenue and South on Washington Avenue. That will remain in effect until Monday morning.
There will also be a change for drivers who use the Venetian Causeway. It will only be open to residents.
For more information on Memorial Day Weekend preps and plans, click here.