Business View Civil & Municipal | Volme 3, Issue 2

37 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2 FORT LAUDERDALE , FLOR IDA AND FXE families can join in and be part of this. “We’re also going to see more ice skating. The Florida Panther organization is taking over some city property and is going to add indoor, climate- controlled ice skating rinks for their team to practice on and a separate rink for the public to enjoy. These are the kind of things that make Fort Lauderdale a fun place.” BVM: Being such a desirable location to live, how is your housing stock? Trantalis: “We are building a lot of new housing units to anticipate the growth of people wanting to come here. We’re adding many affordable housing developments as well, to accommodate those who aren’t able to afford the market rate housing. And we’ve taken significant initiatives to try to eradicate homelessness on our streets. Eliminating the encampments and finding a place for people to get themselves back on their feet and hopefully back inside. As a city, we’re very proud to be taking the lead in making these things happen.” BVM: Tell us about Elon Musk’s exciting project to ease traffic congestion. Trantalis: “We’ve entered into an agreement with Elon Musk’s boring company and we’re moving forward with a tunnel that would go from the center of our downtown to the beach. The goal is to eliminate a significant amount of traffic that we’re now plagued with because our original roads built in the 1940s and ‘50s weren’t designed to accommodate the amount of east/west vehicular traffic we have today. “Earlier this year, I went with our City Manager and our Broward County Mayor to Las Vegas to see what it was all about. Las Vegas is building a 28-mile underground tunnel system: basically a two-tunnel system that will go about two miles in each direction. It’s kind of like an Uber service. At the head of the tunnel, you and your family or