Las Olas Mobility

Speaking for Lauderdale Tomorrow and the Idlewild Homeowners Association, she urged an updated traffic study, a parking study, keeping the right-of-way flexible with no permanent curb bump-outs, and opposed on-street parking, median removal, and designating SE 15th Avenue as the evacuation route.

Representing the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Civic Association, he reported the association voted for keeping the median (alternative two) as an iconic design element, but does not believe on-street parking is required and wants bike-lane connectivity.

President of River Oaks, he supported the downtown and Colee Hammock sections but opposed the shops design, saying the city needs smarter tree expertise and should explore all options to extend the black olive trees' life.

A Las Olas property owner, he said the 50-foot right-of-way can't fit everything proposed; he supports removing the median, prioritizing sidewalks and crossings, keeping parking as a safety buffer, and said property owners would consider funding trees and beautification.

Speaking for the McTeague and Coombs families, century-old Las Olas property owners, he voiced strong support for alternative one — no median, more shade trees, wider sidewalks, and keeping on-street parking, which he called essential to the street's revival.

President and CEO of the Las Olas Company, he argued comparable iconic shopping streets (Worth Avenue, Naples, Winter Park) have no median, noted the black olive is now an illegal planting species and most surveyed trees are in fair-to-poor condition, and highlighted the seven-figure annual revenue on-street parking generates plus its safety buffer for pedestrians.

A downtown resident and civic association member, she cited her association's survey with 88% support for keeping the median, said she felt blindsided that saving the olive trees isn't an option, and prefers a median with different trees over no median at all.

She supported alternative two with modifications, agreed with the mayor that parking should stay flexible rather than permanent, and called for an official parking study, arguing surface lots and garages nearby are rarely full.

Reading a statement on behalf of Dr. Warren Sterman (not endorsing it) and speaking as DDA director, she reiterated the DDA's support for the no-median option with permanent consistent on-street parking, more trees at 30-foot spacing, and DDA commitment to help lobby for state and federal funding.

A veteran developer, he said a six-foot median cannot legally be replanted with canopy trees, calculated that removing the median would allow roughly 90-94 oak trees at 30-foot spacing versus the current 15, endorsed bulb-outs and permanent parking, and pushed for containerized oaks to restore an iconic tree-lined boulevard.