Welcome Mr. Seiler

An open letter to Mayor-Elect Jack Seiler:

Welcome Mr. Seiler,

We welcome you as the new mayor of Fort Lauderdale. There are definitely a lot of challenges that lie ahead for our city. Here are some of my suggestions on things that need to be addressed in our city.

• Fix The Lights - The lights on our major arteries need to be better synchronized. You cannot drive US1 or Broward without getting stopped after three or four lights. It does not matter what time of day either. This wastes people's time and money. (P.S. Bridges like Andrews, Third Avenue, and Davie should be locked during rush hour too...)
• Flatten the Lumps - Our roads our rough to ride on especially if you are on a bike. Third Avenue (north of Broward) and SE Sixth Street (between Federal and Andrews) have so many patches and pot-holes it is almost ridiculous. We need to demand better work from contractors who do the work. The pavers put in by the previous regime are also rough to ride over too. I would recommend removing them if that would not cost tax payers anything.
• Fine The Lawbreakers - Blatant law that are endangering others need to be dealt with especially on our roadways. I have been hit by cars twice while cycling (cars were at fault) and run off the road a couple more times in the last 4 years. We see too many people speeding and running lights.
• Forget The Levies - No, I am not talking about New Orleans' type levies. I am talking about tax levies. With the current economic mess, the government should try to avoid raising taxes. I know we have a short-fall, but we need to look at cutting back our spending. Hopefully you will carry through on your campaign promise to do that. Also, government needs to be like businesses and put away extra money from good times for downturns.
• Floridarize The Landscape - Okay, "Floridarize" is not really a word but I need something to keep the FTL theme going. We need to plant smarter landscaping that can handle the heat and drought times of South Florida. The city workers plant items (like St Augustine grass in medians) that require a lot of water and maintenance.
• Foreclose The Lots - Builders (i.e. corporations - not individual homeowners) have stopped projects mid-way through have left neighborhoods looking like a mess. Where I live there are a couple of these partial finished projects with debris piles and homes in various states of development. I have seen the same thing in other neighborhoods around the city. The builders need to be fined. If they cannot pay the fine and cleanup the lots, the city should foreclose on them. They should be auctioned to FTL residents (not back to builders). The previous regime let builders run wild in neighborhoods and destroyed the character of some. In these tough economic times individuals should be given some grace on finishing their home projects.

There are some others that I could put down, but I thinkthese are some more of the more important challenges we face. We look forward to the administration that will hopefully bring our city back on track.