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Building contractors in Miami and Miami Beach must get a permit to close sidewalks when they block them due to construction. And they need to provide safe alternative paths for pedestrians to walk. But the reality for those in urban Miami, from Brickell to Wynwood, is quite different.
“Why is the construction more important than pedestrians?” asked Luis, who declined to give his last name while walking with his pregnant wife on Northeast Second Avenue in Miami’s Omni neighborhood, where they live. A contractor had recently blocked one lane of the street and the sidewalk where they were walking in order to demolish several buildings. Luis and his wife had to cross the busy road at an intersection without a light or a crosswalk to continue their journey.
Miami city records show that G.T. McDonald Enterprises based in Plantation, Florida, obtained a permit in January to demolish buildings there but did not provide a safe alternative route for pedestrian passage.
The Public Works Department of the City of Miami confirmed that the contractor needed a permit to close the sidewalk and right of way, but did not obtain one. When contacted, G.T. McDonald’s main office stated that someone from the construction site would need to call back to discuss why the proper permit was not obtained. No one did.
In Florida, 937 pedestrians died in 2022 due to car crashes, and in Miami-Dade County more than 100 pedestrians were killed by motor vehicles in 2023. The cities of Miami and Miami Beach have rules to help prevent these deaths near construction sites. Private companies like Bob’s Barricades and MOT Plans also provide help to contractors who need to close sidewalks and rights-of-way.
Sometimes, it’s even the state of Florida, not just private contractors, breaking the rules. On the evening of February 25, water main replacement work on the bridge at 41st Street and Indian Creek Drive in the city of Miami Beach required the Department of Public Works, led by John Norris, to work until midnight. The neighborhood has a high concentration of members of the Jewish community, many who are Orthodox and who only walk and do not drive motor vehicles on certain days for religious reasons. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is the agency responsible for this bridge and for organizing sidewalk closures and pedestrian detours. FDOT closed one of the sidewalks on this busy neighborhood bridge and also shut down the roadway without a proper permit or providing a safe pedestrian pathway. Miami Beach residents who were walking the bridge encountered unsafe conditions due to the actions of state government.
“I would say Miami Beach is so unique because it’s a barrier island, and it’s so dense,” said Public Works Director Norris. “We’re almost like Manhattan in South Florida from that perspective. So, all those people need to get from place to place, and in certain parts of the city, it’s pedestrians, and we need to make everything accessible for those pedestrians.”
Mr. Norris also commented that “it’s just wrong” for a construction company to close a sidewalk without a permit and an alternate route but that “a lot of people don’t realize that they have to pull a permit to close a sidewalk.”
When Hurricane Milton struck St. Petersburg in 2024 the mast of a 550 feet high tower crane broke off and smashed into an office building crushing part of it and landing in the street. At the time, Governor Ron DeSantis (R) said he believes no regulations were needed to prevent similar accidents and added that the crane should have been “taken down.” The Governor also stated at the time, “I think the question is, ‘should there be more regulation, or should [there just be] more common sense’,” DeSantis said. “I mean, do we have to regulate everything? I think most people take cranes down.”
The Florida Legislature acted differently. In 2025, it passedlegislation aimed at improving crane safety standards on construction sites across the state.
Florida and cities like Miami and Miami Beach have regulations about pedestrian safety for closed sidewalks near construction sites. As Miami Beach Public Works Director Milton noted, even then contractors sometimes lack the knowledge that they need to pull permits to close the sidewalks. When asked if the city educates contractors about their obligations, Mr. Milton said the Building Department does so to at least a certain extent.
When violations occur, dangerous conditions arise. Back on Northeast Second Avenue in Miami, several other pedestrians who needed to use the blocked sidewalk were very frustrated. John lives nearby on Twenty-Second Street and said, “I think they should really just prioritize the pedestrians.” “You know, there’s a lot of people that live all over Second Avenue here . . . and I do this commute pretty much every day. So it’s adding 15, 20 minutes every day [to have to walk around several blocks to avoid the sidewalk closure].” And Ashley, who was visiting the neighborhood from Miami Lakes, said “I think it’s unsafe. I think that there should be, you know, some kind of alternative that doesn’t require you having to basically walk with the cars.”
Common sense does not appear to be working. Private contractors and even the state of Florida are violating the permitting and regulatory processes surrounding right of way and sidewalk closures and alternative pedestrian pathways. More regulations and education, and less reliance on “common sense,” could make pedestrians in Miami, Miami Beach, and throughout Florida safer.
