Page 30 - Demo

28 LAS OLAS BOULEVARD & ISLESInstead of doing the legwork needed, the county gives us halfcooked ideas.Maybe, they say, the new bridge should be built west of the existing bridge as FDOT proposed. Their other idea is to have a set of THREE bridges %u2013 building a single-line bridge to the east of the existing bridge and another single-line bridge to the west.The county also must look at the impact a bridge has on surrounding property. A bridge likely would require the county to purchase 30 feet of additional right-of-way along the length of the bridge and its approaches.The county may have to seize such property through eminent domain involving years of court fights. That%u2019s exactly what happened when the county expanded the international airport in the mid-1990s. They spent enormous amounts of money on legal fees, property experts and acquisition costs.It%u2019s mystifying that the county has conducted no community outreach about their New River crossing plans.Ultimately, if there is not consensus, this project is simply doomed to fail.The Biden administration and Congress are not going to help pay for a project that is subject to deep community divisions. How can there be consensus when essential studies have yet to be completed and discussed in community meetings? How can there be consensus when there is so little information about the county%u2019s planned direction?Fort Lauderdale deserves better. Dean TrantalisMayor, City of Fort LauderdaleMayor%u2019s Message continuedTuesday, Dec 19, the City of Fort Lauderdale Commission passed my resolution reaffirming that our local preferred option for the New River Crossing for commuter rail is a tunnel and stressed our commitment to work with the Broward County Commission to achieve our long-sought goal of commuter rail in the tri-county area. Later, I introduced a motion (it passed 5-0) to retain the services of BDO, USA a consulting firm that will explore design alternatives that aims to make the tunnel option more affordable and attainable.This resolution was put forward with a provision to reach out to the county to make this a joint effort. It is important to realize that Broward County cooperation is mandatory because they will be serving as the lead in the commuter rail project, including any New River crossing, construction, funding, and operations.As a result of this resolution passing, we have already seen a very positive step forward. Since Tuesday night I have been contacted by several Broward County Commissioners, the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the Broward County Administrator expressing their willingness to work with us on this project. Our goal is to expedite the BDO report and find a mechanism to evaluate their findings so that the city and county can move forward.As we approach the new year, I look forward to working with all of you to make our city even better.Dr. Warren SturmanDistrict 4 City CommissionerCity of Fort LauderdaleUPDATE: District 4 Commissioner Dr. Warren Sturman on the New River Crossing issue