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 The Free Trade Area of the Americas Conference will take place
in Miami from Sunday, November 16, 2003 through Friday, November
21, 2003. The venues will be
the Inter-Continental Hotel, where all the dignitaries will
stay and hold meetings, and the Hyatt Hotel. Click
here to view the Traffic Plan.
The 34 democratically
elected Heads of State of the Western Hemisphere agreed to create
the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in order to link
all of the hemispheres’ economics. The FTAA will eliminate trade
and investment barriers on virtually all goods and services
traded by member countries.
The City of Miami is being considered for the permanent headquarters
for the FTAA Secretariat. The FTAA is important to our region
because it will encompass 800 million customers and a combined
gross domestic product of $14 trillion. Conservative estimates
indicate that is the secretariat is located in Miami, the economic
impact on South Florida will be greater than the impact the
space program has had on central Florida.
The FTAA
Conference is expected to draw anywhere from 20,000 to 70,000
demonstrators to the Miami area. In the past, small groups of
demonstrators have resorted to acts of civil disobedience, vandalism
and looting requiring police response.
In preparation
for the FTAA Conference, the City of Miami Beach Police Department
will be implementing Alpha/Bravo staffing for the week of November
17 – 21, 2003. This means that all department personnel are
working 12-hour shifts and all days off are cancelled.
An operational
plan will be in place detailing the police response to any occurrences
related to the FTAA that develop within the City.
A traffic
plan will be in place to re-route traffic in the event of
any disruptions to major roadways leading into or out of the
City as well as local arteries.
The Department
will be conducting Community Outreach meetings to inform businesses,
schools, and residents of the FTAA Conference.
All City
Departments will be involved in the preparations for this major
event.
Information
pertaining to the FTAA Conference will be available on the City’s
Web site (www.miamibeachfl.gov), as well as the City’s cable
channel 20.
If you have
any questions regarding the FTAA Conference, please contact
Captain John Di Censo at 305-673-7776, extension 5359, or contact
the City’s Answer Center at 305-604-CITY.
For additional
detailed information: FTAA
Miami 2003 - Official Website
FTAA
Traffic Plan
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