I recently spent a week in Miami Beach, where I was delighted to discover that, since my last visit there two years ago, what is now known at Miami Beach Walk had been more or less completed. This is a path for pedestrians and (in most places) cyclists that runs from South Pointe, at the southern end of Miami Beach Island, to the northern edge of Bal Harbour, at the northern end of the island, a distance of approximately 16 km (ten miles). There are extensions along Biscayne Bay at its southern end and to the bridge to Haulover Park at its northern end.
Map of Miami Beach and vicinity. The dark green lines represent “pedestrian facilities.” The dark green line along the Atlantic shows Miami Beach Walk. GIS data are from the Geofabrik version of OpenStreetMap. I’ve modified the data quite a lot.
Two years ago, there were still major gaps, for example, in southern South Beach and north of Mid-Beach between 47th Street and roughly 64th Street, where the path disappeared and pedestrians had to walk either through loose sand on the beach or else along sidewalks a block or so to the west. For those walking or running, the sidewalk route was not a major hardship. Miami Beach probably has more pedestrians over a larger area than any other place in the whole American South, and while many sidewalks are rather narrow, they are generally in good shape. Still, it’s nicer to have a dedicated path (and the 47th-to-64th segment, between Mid-Beach and North Beach, is in the least pedestrian-friendly part of Miami Beach).
The new sections of path are all surfaced with ornamental tiles (“pavers”) and are mostly quite wide. There are almost always sand dunes followed by beach to the east, and there’s often an impressive row of substantial apartment buildings or hotels just to the west, interspersed in a few spots by classic art deco structures. Like many of the world’s other successful new urban recreational paths, Miami Beach Walk provides an intense view of a distinctive landscape. There are constant reminders that you are where you are.
One of the newer sections of Miami Beach Walk.
The Walk’s new sections appear to be attracting quite a lot of users of whom more than half were walking when I was there; the rest were running or cycling. Many users are clearly visitors. There may be no recreational path in North America where so many foreign languages can be heard.
I say “more or less completed” above, because the boardwalk that’s run through much of South Beach for several decades is slowly being replaced by a surface path that, like the new sections, is covered by ornamental tile. Many people love the boardwalk—it has a nice old-timey feel and, since it mostly runs on stilts through heavily vegetated sand dunes, it interferes less with dune flora and fauna than a solid surface would.
Miami Beach Boardwalk.
But a boardwalk requires constant maintenance to replace broken slats, hammer in loose nails, and remove splinters, which are a major hazard in a place where many people go barefoot or would like to ride a bicycle. (Bicycles have been forbidden on the boardwalk for years.) Thus, two sections of Miami Beach Walk were closed when I was there for boardwalk replacement. In both cases there are reasonable alternate routes.
Area where the old boardwalk is being replaced by ornamental tiles that rest on the surface.
There are also some detours in North Beach for construction work, notably between 79th and 87th Street, where it’s necessary to divert through North Shore Open Space Park.
The city of Miami Beach ends at approximately 87th Street. North of there, you’re first in Surfside and then in Bal Harbour, where there are parallel bicycling and walking paths surfaced with crushed gravel to the end of the island. Some people prefer these to the paver paths—except when it rains. The Surfside and Bal Harbour segments feel like an extension of Miami Beach Walk, but it may not be correct to label them that.
Miami Beach Walk in Surfside, where the surface is made of crushed gravel.
It’s not surprising of course that a well-off city that depends heavily on tourism would build a high-quality path for pedestrians and cyclists. But Miami Beach really is a city, and many conflicting points-of-view have to be accommodated by its government. In the case of Miami Beach Walk, some owners of apartments just inland from the beach were not pleased to have a public path at their doorstep, and it wasn’t easy to persuade them to get on board. Most apartment buildings and hotels along the Walk now have private, locked entrances on their eastern (Walk) side that have mollified their residents. But these buildings are still creating a problem. Miami Beach Walk includes three stretches where it’s quite a distance from one connection between the Walk and the nearest street to the next. Private property gets in the way.
Miami Beach Walk, despite its imperfections, seems to me one of the United States’ most distinctive and attractive pedestrian and cycling spaces.