Dozens of Doral residents filled a Wednesday town hall to share their concerns of major traffic gridlock when the city plays host to a G20 summit in December.
Many of the questions brought up by residents centered around how they would be able to navigate in and around neighborhoods while the world’s largest leaders meet at Trump National Doral for the G20 summit.
“Would the traffic from 41st [Street] be transferred to 33rd [Street]?” one resident asked.
With so many high-profile figures expected to be in town, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, residents were looking for assurance that the city won’t be completely paralyzed to any movement due to necessary security measures.
“Is there any chance you could provide residents with a badge or ID to make entering our communities a little bit easier?” another resident asked.
Wednesday’s meeting was the first of two scheduled town halls to discuss pressing matters before the summit, which is scheduled for Dec. 14 and 15.
The two-day event is expected to shut down several streets. Multiple schools have already expressed plans to hold classes virtually on those days.
Doral Mayor Christi Fraga, members of the Secret Service and local law enforcement fielded several questions about logistics for how residents can work around the closures.
“Can we get police to help with the traffic?” one resident asked.
Other questions centered around what residents could expect to go through at any security checkpoints set up near President Trump’s South Florida golf resort.
“Are we expected to get out of our vehicles? And how are we expected to act, really?” a resident asked.
“All of the checkpoints, they will be vehicle inspection checkpoints,” said Secret Service representative Sonny Berrios.
Another big concern brought up during the meeting was from business owners who believe the intense security measures could cause them to lose out on valuable customer foot traffic, especially in the midst of the holiday shopping season.
“As we restrict access, I think it is only fair to say that sales are going to be down for a lot of our local businesses where they have already been in a really challenging economic time,” said a business owner.
“So there are several delegations coming in, we are working with them to promote the businesses locally,” Fraga responded.
While residents sought answers to all these critical questions, many also understood the enormity of the opportunity for the City of Doral to host numerous world leaders for a high-stakes summit.
“Congratulations for being able to host an event like the G20. It’s an accomplishment and a true testament to how big and important Doral and Miami has become,” said a resident.
Secret Service officials say part of the preparations for such a significant event starts with these exact meetings.
“Part of the security plan is this. Part of it is getting out, it’s me getting in front of the community,” said Berrios.
Many of the residents attending Wednesday’s meeting live in the Doral Estates neighborhood, which is right next to Trump National Doral.
City leaders say there will be a separate meeting with just residents of that neighborhood.
