Miami Beach visitors and residents who enjoy walking or cycling along the beach can look forward to having a continuous path from South Pointe Park to 79th Street.
On Thursday, city officials celebrated t
he completion of the Phase II Middle Beach Recreational Corridor project, a pedestrian and bike path that runs between 53rd to 64 streets.
The addition, which cost $3.1 million, closes the gap along the beachfront. The so-called Beach Walk, which stretches about eight miles, now connects the city’s three distinct neighborhoods: South Beach, mid-Beach and North Beach.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Beachview Park, 5300 Collins Ave. Members of the Miami Beach MidBeach Neighborhood Association, which represents the condos and hotels that line Collins Avenue and Indian Creek Drive between 24th to 63rd streets, attended the event.
“We have worked very hard to make this happen,” said Alicia Casanova of the association at the event. She said the project was a dream made a reality.
The city had already extended the beach walk between 53rd and 79th streets.
The third phase of the project, which is expected to start in the fall, will remove the original wooden walkway commonly known as the boardwalk, which stretches between 23rd and 46th streets. That raised corridor is currently open to pedestrians only.
“It will be replaced with an at-grade paver path similar to the other sections,” said Melissa Berthier, spokeswoman for the city.
The projects are part of the Atlantic Greenway Networ, a system of bikeways designed to promote alternative transportation, according to the city.
