Miami Beach to study whether 45-foot tour buses fit on Star Island's 20-foot road
No city rule bars sightseeing buses from the gated island, staff say, but the road's width and the access bridge's load rating could justify limits. A committee takes it up Nov. 9.
Miami Beach public works staff will study whether full-size sightseeing buses should be kept off Star Island Drive, the narrow two-way road that loops around the island off the MacArthur Causeway, according to a memo for the city’s Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee meeting on Monday, Nov. 9.
The item comes from a July 22 referral by Commissioner Laura Dominguez. It describes tour buses about 42 to 45 feet long, 8.5 feet wide, 13 to 14 feet tall and weighing as much as 54,000 pounds driving the island’s residential road.
What staff found so far
Public works said it found no existing rule that bars a legally sized tour bus from Star Island just because it is a tour bus. The island’s entrance has a security guardhouse, but Star Island Drive is a public road owned and maintained by the city, and the gate does not change that, the memo says.
Staff pointed to two possible bases for limits. State law caps vehicle height at 13 feet 6 inches, so a 14-foot bus may exceed it unless it is otherwise authorized. And state law lets local governments restrict vehicles wider than 8 feet from roads without a 12-foot travel lane in each direction. Star Island Drive is about 20 feet wide with no lane markings, so if those measurements hold, it falls short, according to the memo.
The buses’ weight raises a separate question about the bridge onto the island. The memo says weight alone doesn’t settle that; it depends on the bridge’s load rating and the buses’ axles.
What happens next
Staff recommend measuring the road, reviewing the bridge’s inspection and load-rating records, and consulting police and fire about emergency access before coming back with recommendations at a later meeting. The memo lists no cost for the review.
The committee meets at 9 a.m. Nov. 9. Its agenda also includes items on traffic on Alton Road, the 63rd Street and Collins Avenue intersection, and the 5th Street pedestrian bridge.
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