OAKLAND PARK – Broward deputies are warning residents and motorists of a protest march that could slow or clog traffic on Sunday morning.
The march is planned by protesters against the upcoming Free Trade Area of the Americas, according to Jim Leljedal of the Broward Sheriff's Office.
The march is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. from Wimberly Field and end at Federal Highway around 10:30 a.m. Streets affected include Northeast 38 Street from Northeast Fifth Avenue, Northeast 13 Avenue, then 13 Avenue/12 Terrace North to Floranada, and east to Federal Highway.
Some streets will be impassable for short periods due to the march, however, we will make every attempt to keep traffic disruption to a minimum, Leljedal said.
The FTAA meeting that begins in Miami on Sunday could create the world's largest free trade zone, encompassing 34 countries and more than 835 million people in the Western Hemisphere.
Downtown businesses in Miami are bracing for thousands of protesters. In preparation some law firms will relocate or allow employees to work from home. Cruise lines will move their ships north to Port Everglades. Most courts will be closed or curtail operations. Police will close a number of downtown streets and restrict access to parts of downtown near the meeting.
The largest protests are expected Thursday and Friday, and those are the days many businesses will close. Miami Dade College will cancel classes those days, and the Miami-Dade County School Board is moving students from four schools downtown to other locations.
Federal courts downtown will be closed all week, and state courts downtown will suspend jury trials for the week, and will be closed on Thursday and Friday.
Some judges will be stationed at the Turner Guilford Knight county jail in west Miami-Dade to conduct bond hearings for protesters who may be arrested.
Bank of America will close early on Tuesday and remain closed until the following Monday, Nov. 24. About 300 employees will work out of alternate locations, but Bank of America ATMs will still work in the downtown area, spokeswoman Amanda Malcolm said.
About 60 staff members and lawyers for the law offices of Broad and Cassel will work out of Fort Lauderdale offices or from home.
``We're just concerned about the difficulty of doing business in downtown Miami,'' said Mike Segal, managing partner of the law firm's Miami branch. ``No clients are going to want to come down there, that's for sure.''
Some businesses are defiantly choosing to remain open.
``We cannot cave into this,'' said Eileen Alvarez, owner of Cafe Con Leche, a coffee shop that opened in May. ``I agree with what (the protesters) believe in. I just don't agree with how they deal with it.''
Alvarez said that while she will remain open and will serve protesters, police and journalists, she's concerned about the loss of her regular customers for the week.
``I'm a small business owner,'' she said. ``I don't know if I can survive.''
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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