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Traffic, Parking Among Complaints During Art Basel

Al Diaz
/
Miami Herald

    

Amid all the glowing reviews of Art Basel week, some art lovers also had complaints.

Getting to and from arts shows  was not always a pleasant experience for people who wanted to enjoy the exhibits and happenings this past week.

Parking in Miami Beach, Midtown and Wynwood - where most of the activities were taking place - was almost nonexistent past 5 p.m.

Lyng Ramirez of North Bay Village said she walked for blocks to her destination because  “parking is an issue.”

Organizers tried to encourage drivers to ditch their cars and ride shuttles between Miami Beach and Midtown, but even that had some hiccups.

Monica Green from New York was staying in South Beach and wanted to get to Little Haiti for a Haitian art exhibit, but the shuttles didn’t go there.

She said public transportation here wasn’t very reliable or easy to navigate.

Further complicating access to the art fairs were demonstrators who took to the streets and highways on Friday in protest of the killings of unarmed black men.

Simone Castello ended up going back home to Dania Beach after sitting in traffic for about two hours.  

“Trying to come out was probably the not so best experience because once you got in the car, you couldn’t go anywhere,” Castello said.

Castello said she tried again the next day and it was worth the trip.

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