Nobody likes trying to enjoy a meal with the family on Las Olas while cars blaring music and motorcycles with loud exhausts pass by. With the assistance of new state legislation, the city of Fort Lauderdale is moving to remedy that as well as some other issues on our roadways that are becoming increasing problems.
For a while now, city commissioners and I have complained about the deafening noise from drivers cruising down Las Olas Boulevard or along A1A. Our Police Department, though, maintained that its ability to intervene was limited. This was largely because the state Supreme Court struck down a key section of a statute regarding vehicle noise as unconstitutional a decade ago.
But last month, Gov. DeSantis signed legislation that is plainly worded – noise from a vehicle cannot be audible at a distance of 25 feet or more in most areas.
This could be a tremendous help in addressing the situation as we cannot allow noise to become out of control.
We don’t want our main streets where residents and tourists go to enjoy a walk, or a meal or a drink to evolve into the scenes transpiring on Ocean Drive in South Beach. We need to keep our reputation intact as a place to go for an enjoyable, family-friendly experience.
Our police force has begun a public awareness campaign to reduce the number of disturbances caused by vehicles. But we also now need to begin heightened enforcement.
New state legislation also is going to allow us to crack down on groups of motorcyclists, bicyclists and ATV-riders who try to take over our streets.
This has become a way too common occurrence in Fort Lauderdale. The normal flow of traffic has been impeded, drivers and their passengers have felt threatened, and the possibility of accidents and confrontations has grown. These gangs have blocked intersections and used our streets as a performance space for their personal thrills as they undertake dangerous maneuvers.
The governor and the Legislature recognized that these actions are as hazardous as street-racing once was. The new law expands prohibited conduct on roadways to cover these types of “street takeovers.” Officers can arrest individuals involved without a warrant if they have probable cause and charge them with a misdemeanor offense. Their vehicle can also be impounded.
The commission has asked the Police Department, our top staff and attorneys to come up with plans to improve enforcement in light of the new powers that the state has provided us.
Finally, there is a ray of hope that the city can do more to address aggressive panhandling on our streets.
The City Commission has received many complaints about the raise of panhandling and the increasing aggressiveness of those seeking money in our streets. Unfortunately, the federal courts left the city largely powerless to act.
A federal judge imposed a preliminary injunction on the city last summer that prohibits us from enforcing our ordinances that outlaw soliciting money in the roadway as well as such near ATMs and sidewalk dining. The judge determined that the people who sued the city had a likelihood of winning their case under the argument that we violated their freedom of speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Because of that, we are basically limited to enforcing other existing laws – such as assault and battery or the obstruction of a roadway.
However, the city attorney has told us that there was a recent decision in the federal court system that may provide us some new options. His office has been studying this case and will soon propose to the commission a rewrite to our ordinances so we can again directly confront the matter.
In the meantime, the city continues to work hard to address homelessness.
We have dedicated teams in the Police Department and the Neighbor Support Division that focus on helping those homeless individuals who want to get off the streets. These teams focus on areas with large homeless populations and steer them to services. We offer temporary housing that is tied to wraparound social services to address the underlying causes of their homelessness such as alcoholism or drug abuse.
We also continue to operate our innovative community court program that diverts homeless individuals charged with minor offenses into emergency housing and needed social service assistance. And, finally, we continue to press Broward County, which is tasked with addressing homelessness as a regional issue, to undertake a more thorough and comprehensive approach.
In closing, I hope everyone has a good summer and takes some time for vacation and relaxation. As you do so, please remember that it is hurricane season and that you should have plans and supplies ready in case a storm heads our direction.
Yours,
Dean
