Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The most important north-south highway is I-95, which ends at US Hwy 1 south of
downtown Miami. US Hwy 1, which runs from Key West all the way north to Maine, hugs
the coastline. It's called Dixie Hwy south of downtown Miami and Biscayne Blvd north of
downtown Miami. The Palmetto Expressway (Hwy 826) makes a rough loop around the
city and spurs off below SW 40th St to the Don Shula Expressway (Hwy 874, a toll road).
Florida's Turnpike Extension makes the most western outer loop around the city. Hwy
A1A becomes Collins Ave in Miami Beach.
Miami has an annoying convention of giving major roads multiple names. So for ex-
ample, Bird Rd is also SW 40th St and Hwy 976. Hwy 826 is the Palmetto Expressway.
US 1 is the Dixie Hwy - except in downtown, when it becomes Biscayne Blvd. Hwy 836
is the Dolphin Expressway, while in Miami Beach 5th St becomes A1A. Calle Ocho is SW
8th St, as well as the Tamiami Trail, and US 41 (phew), and Hwy 959 is Red Rd, except
when it's SW 57th St. Somehow, this isn't as confusing as it reads on paper - most signage
indicates every name a route may have, but it can be frustrating to first-time Miami
drivers.
Besides the causeways to Miami Beach, the major east-west roads are SW 8th St; Hwy
112 (also called Airport Expressway); and Hwy 836 (also called Dolphin Expressway),
which slices through downtown Miami and connects with I-395 and the MacArthur Cause-
way, and which runs west to the Palmetto Expressway and Florida's Turnpike Extension.
Miami drivers are…how can we put this delicately?…aggressive, tailgating jerks who'd
cut off their grandmother if they could figure out how to properly change lanes. We are, of
course, kidding. Not all Miami drivers fit the above description, but there are enough of
these maniacs about to make driving here an occasional (and sometimes not-so-occasional)
nightmare.
Parking
Parking is pretty straightforward. Regulations are well signposted and meters are plentiful
(except perhaps on holiday-weekend evenings in South Beach). Downtown, near the Bay-
side Marketplace, parking is cheap but a bit confusing: you must find a place in the head-
on parking lots (backing into the parking space not allowed), buy a ticket from a central
machine, and display it in your windshield.
On South Beach there's metered street parking along most streets (except Lincoln Rd
and residential areas). Meters are enforced from 9am to as late as 3am in some parts of
South Beach. Most allow you to pay for up to three hours, although some have increased
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