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Mayor’s Message continued

each day to keep our community safe, but that doesn’t Fort Lauderdale has also been tackling the issues of
mean we cannot do better. The city manager is bringing affordable housing and homelessness. Major new affordable
new leadership to the Police Department. The Citizen housing developments have opened or nearing completion.
Police Review Board is spearheading a discussion of The city has started a food-sharing program with groups
reform to ensure everyone is treated fairly and equally and interested in feeding the homeless. We stepped up to find
with full transparency. Our body camera program became temporary housing for homeless during the COVID-19
fully operational this past year. Critical policies are now pandemic. Our community court program marked a
being updated, such as a duty for an officer to intervene if successful first year in diverting homeless charged with minor
they see a colleague behaving badly. offenses away from jail and to needed assistance.
We have other priorities as well. This past year has The city also has made strides in addressing traffic and
brought major strides in improving the quality of life in Fort congestion. Planning is underway for a rapid-transit loop
Lauderdale. Our arrangement with David Beckham’s major downtown. The county has agreed to build a bypass road
league soccer team has reshaped the Lockhart site. A through the port to relieve traffic on SE 17th Street. We
magnificent sports stadium was constructed in record time. are working with Broward County on a project to install
It will be part of a larger redevelopment of athletics fields an adaptive traffic signal control system on Broward
and a regional park that the team is also paying for. Boulevard. And, we’ve been working with the state on
We’ve opened the new Oceanside Park, and construction finding ways to ease congestion on Sunrise Boulevard.
has started on the rehabilitation of the aquatics center. The Despite the setbacks dealt by COVID, Fort Lauderdale is a
renovation of the historic Parker Playhouse will be city on the move. We have so much to be proud of —
completed soon, and work on the Tunnel Top Park on Las great neighborhoods, the distinction as a world renown
Olas is set to begin. That was a key component of the tourist destination, our beautiful beaches and waterways,
$200 million bond initiative that voters passed to improve our thriving marine industry and our incredible nightlife.
our public parks. The city’s arrangement with the Florida We accomplished a lot over the past year, and more
Panthers hockey team is moving forward to renovate War
progress lies ahead. RV
Memorial Auditorium. The Panthers are making a
multimillion-dollar investment to add rinks for ice skating Sincerely,
and hockey and to restore the existing interior for concerts Dean Trantalis
and family-friendly programming. Mayor

Tunnel Top Pedestrian Plaza images from preliminary concept.

20 rio vista civic association • www.riovistaonline.com