Fort Lauderdale Report
From
Trade Only Today - Nov. 1/05
Here is a Tuesday morning progress report on the
Fort Lauderdale cleanup and availability of resources, based on information from the Broward County and Miami-Dade
government offices, the greater
Fort Lauderdale Convention Center and Visitors Bureau, and various news reports.
Curfew
There will no longer be a curfew imposed on most of Broward County. The curfew (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) however, remains in effect in Fort Lauderdale because most streetlights remain out.
Bus
Service
Broward County Transit's buses will continue on a normal weekday schedule until 6 p.m., when a reduced Sunday schedule will go into effect. Bus
service will end at 11 p.m. until further notice.
Hotels
As
power and
water are restored to the greater Fort Lauderdale area, hotels are opening for the show dates. According to today's report from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention Center and Visitors Bureau, more than 100 hotels are now open for business. Visit
www.fortlauderdaleinternationalboatshow.com for an extensive listing of available hotels. Or call Show Management at (954) 527-9332 for a copy of the
current list. You may also visit
www.marinecierge.com (Phone: (866) 4CIERGE) or
www.identitytravel.com (Phone: (954) 923-7409 or (800) 226-0801).
Power
As of 10 a.m. today (Tuesday)
Florida Power and Light had restored power to 77 percent of its 3.2 million customers affected by the storm. In Broward County 64 percent of residences and business have had power restored. In Miami-Dade County, FP&L estimates they have restored power to 78 percent of their customers. Nearly 18,000
restoration workers from 33 states and
Canada are working to restore power to those customers remaining out of service. FP&L now has pushed the anticipated date for full power
restoration up to Nov. 12. It originally had been talking Nov. 22.
Airports
All three of South Florida's major airports are open and fully operational.
Rental cars and gasoline
Rental cars are available at the airports and taxis are plentiful. As power continues to be restored more gas stations are operational. Lines for gas are far fewer and far shorter.
Water
The boil water order is still in effect for the City of Fort Lauderdale and several other area towns. Boil water orders change frequently. The Broward County Hurricane Hotline remains open for further information. Call (954) 831-4000.
Phone service
Telephone service continues to be erratic throughout the area. Some 521,000 Bell South customers in
Florida are still without service. This includes 22 percent of customers in Broward County and 13 percent in Miami-Dade County.
Road conditions
As of Monday only about 10 percent of the traffic lights in Broward County were fully functional. Some are working on flash. Of the 86 major intersections in the county, 46 of them now have operating traffic lights. Officials advise motorists to exercise extreme caution at intersections. Cleanup of debris continues.
Restaurants
Many of the popular restaurants on Las Olas Boulevard, the 17th Street Causeway, the downtown Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District and other sites leading up to the show area are open for business, as are grocery stores.