The paved Miami Beach Beachwalk that stretches from 22nd Street to 5th Street will be extended to run all of the way to South Pointe. Work is now being completed on the Beachwalk from the south with the final stretch — behind The Presidential, the Savoy Hotel and  the condos at 501 Ocean Dr and 345 Ocean Drive — scheduled for completion by 2016.

Here are are few questions you might have with answers that have been provided by the City of Miami Beach Environmental, Sustainability & Resiliency Division.

Q: Why will it take so long? And how will this change the character of our neighborhood?

A: In 2012, the City of Miami Beach requested permission from the condominiums between 5th Street and 3rd Street on the east side of Ocean Drive to extend the existing Beachwalk. None of the property owners — include the board of directors at  The Presidential — granted this permission (in our case, it would have taken a Yes vote by 75 percent of the owners to grant this easement).

The City is now executing a Plan B: they are seeking permission to build the path just to the east of our property line.  The City has asked the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for permission to place the Beachwalk east of the erosion control line just inside the existing vegetated dune system.

Q: All of the other properties to the south have landscaping and lighting. Will we be left out of this because we didn’t grant the city an easement to use the road behind the building?

A:  The City of Miami Beach is exploring the potential options for the hard pack sand between the dune and the upland properties. Options will be based on the final location of the path — which Miami Beach is waiting to learn from the Florida DEP.

Q: There’s going to be more traffic — and its an area that is already poorly lit. There are always homeless people sleeping under our building.  How can we be assured that it will be safe?

A: The Beachwalk project will include security patrols.  The exact schedule of security guards will be defined closer to the path being complete. In addition, the Police Department will continue to provide their services in the newly activated area.

Additionally, the plan calls to install “bollard lights” along the path. You can an example of what this will look like at the east end of South Point Drive at the Sunrise Pedestrian Connection.