FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Roads leading to Fort Lauderdale beach were jammed with traffic last weekend, and the sand on Fort Lauderdale beach was jammed with college students. That means — you guessed it — spring break is underway, and Fort Lauderdale police and Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue offered reminders to keep everyone safe.
Perhaps the most exciting new feature is the Fort Lauderdale AssisTent, which will be staffed by Community Emergency Response Team members during peak hours on the beach and downtown.
The AssisTent is a 10x10 tent and offers no-questions-asked medical or police assistance for people in uncomfortable or potentially dangerous situations, including being too intoxicated, having a medical issue, or a dead cell phone.
“They can come to that tent and these staff, who are medically trained, will assist them in that regard,” said Maj. Bill Schultz of the Fort Lauderdale police. “But they will also assist them if they have lost their friends, they’re not familiar with the area, which many visitors are not, they’ll assist them in getting either to their hotel or their Airbnb by making phone calls for them or locating their friends with them.
“They’ll also assist individuals who may have a dead cell phone and need assistance in that regard. Either way, the tent is there to answer our visitors, answer questions and assist them as they continue their celebrations here in Fort Lauderdale.”
Traffic will remain jammed and slow, officials said, which is why ride shares such as Uber are encouraged as well as the water taxi and public buses.
Javi Correoso, spokesperson for Uber in Florida, reminds those who use Uber to take trips booked only through the app, and to confirm the make and model of the car, license plate number, and name and picture of the driver before getting in a car.
Uber has designated pick-up and drop-off areas in the city and on the beach to ease the ride-sharing process by not having people run across streets and not disrupting traffic flow.
The downtown rideshare zone is in the 200 block of Southwest Fourth Avenue, south of Southwest Second Street, and the beach rideshare zone is Cortez Street, west of State Road A1A.
Correoso said rideshare patrons must be patient. He said Uber will have enough vehicles to satisfy demand, but he said high demand and traffic will mean rides could take a little more time than usual.
“We’ve seen our business rebound already to prepandemic levels,” he said, “so from a driver supply perspective here in South Florida, we’re at the historic levels we’ve always seen.”
This is the first time since 2019 spring break won’t be heavily affected by COVID, and Schultz said police are prepared.
“We absolutely expect double, if not triple, what we saw last year as far as attendance,” he said, adding there’s the potential for “tens of thousands” of spring breakers during the next few weeks.
Schultz said police will have extra officers working, including plain-clothes officers.
Alex Bagwell, Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue chief, suggested being near a lifeguard while on the beach because lifeguards can point out the safest places to swim in the ongoing rip currents.
Lifeguard hours are 9:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day until March 12. On March 13, hours change to 9:45 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Bagwell also reminded beachgoers to read the flags on the lifeguard stands (red, yellow, green and/or purple) and the signs on the lifeguard stands, including how to get out of a rip current (swim parallel to shore and then swim inward).
As far as other reminders and regulations, alcohol is prohibited on the beach, tents, tables and similar structures are prohibited on the beach, and music volume should be kept to a limited level.
This year's spring break in Fort Lauderdale, in general, is March 4 through April 3.
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