Lauderdale kills plan for Wave streetcar
The 3-2 vote by city commissioners ends 14 years of trying for a downtown loop. A city leadership newly reshaped by the recent election heeded residents who said the project no longer makes sense.
The city of Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday walked away from more than 14 years of support for a new streetcar system downtown, voting 3-2 to withdraw from the controversial Wave project.
After dozens of affirmative votes over the years, and full funding from city, county, state and federal government, newly elected city officials heeded the outcry from residents who said the proposal no longer makes sense. The final death blow would be a vote, possibly May 8, by the Broward County Commission.
Mayor Dean Trantalis and Commissioners Steve Glassman and Ben Sorensen voted to withdraw from the project. Commissioners Robert McK-
inzie and Heather Moraitis voted to maintain support for it.
Trantalis, elected mayor in March, said he once supported the system.
But, he said, “Our city needs to follow a different path.”
The legal and financial ramifications to the city remain unclear. The city’s move is expected to cost it millions, but it’s unknown just how much.
The Wave, a 2.8-mile loop planned for downtown Fort Lauderdale, is a project of the state Department of Transportation. The city and Broward County can legally withdraw from the longplanned Wave rail project if the contract price exceeds $142.5 million. Even though bids came in higher than that last
week, the low bidder could still drop the contract price.
Lawyer George Platt said on Monday that his client, low bidder Prince Contracting/Delta Railroad Construction, is refiguring its $144.7 million bid to reduce it.
If that happens, the city could be considered in default. Interim City Attorney Alain Boileau warned in a memo that the city could be pushed to repay millions — and would likely lose any chance at recouping the millions already invested — if found in default.
At the minimum, the city will likely have to pay $22.7 million to withdraw, Boileau said in an April 27 memo. The money would have to be repaid to the Community Redevelopment Agency, water-sewer fund and special taxpayer assessments, he said.
In addition, he said, if the project dies, partners in the deal might seek to force Fort Lauderdale to repay state or federal funds.
Critics of the project Tuesday night said better technologies exist, and transportation habits have changed. They complained that over the years, the route changed from points that are popular, like the performing arts center, Himmarshee entertainment district, and Las Olas to a route few would want to travel, mostly along Andrews Avenue.
“It makes no sense to me to move forward with this,” Glassman said, explaining that he wants “smart” mass transit. “Let’s put an end to this once and for all.”
The streetcar would share travel lanes with vehicles, run on overhead wires, and require embedded rails, all features that critics opposed. An idea that emerged from the Downtown Development Authority, the fixed-rail system was expected to spur development, and not to ease traffic gridlock.
‘This is a project to nowhere,” said longtime activist Art Seitz, wearing a lime green T-shirt with a giant thumbs-down on it. “A 10-year-old would tell you it sucks.”
“Kill this project once and for all,” attorney Maxine Streeter urged.
“We gave you a mandate,” voter Kristen Maus told commissioners at a Wave workshop Monday, reminding those who promised during the recent election campaign to kill The Wave.
Downtown businessman Doug Coolman said pivotal projects in Broward drew similar opposition: The U.S. 1 tunnel under the river, Interstate 595, the airport expansion and more recently, the Brightline train.
“This decision is for future generations,” Coolman said, telling commissioners that the business community wants to see The Wave built. “It’s only a small piece of a bigger puzzle.”
“I think you’re risking a hell of a lot of money,” Dan Lindblade, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, warned. He said the business community’s support for the project remains solid.
The state’s committee to review the bids meets May 10.
In other action, Fort Lauderdale city commissioners on Tuesday:
Squashed the idea of erecting a ferris wheel at the beach at D.C. Alexander Park.
Asked to be updated at the next meeting on beach aquatics center improvement plans that the mayor complained have “dragged on” for years. Two companies have submitted bids.
Met in private to discuss a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Anthony Stone and other homeless people whose possessions were “seized and summarily destroyed” on May 19, 2017, when the city raided the homeless camp outside the Main Library. State law allows the closed door sessions for open litigation discussions.