The City of Fort Lauderdale has, over time, developed a unique, intricate and complex urban area mass transit system. Residents and visitors to our city can experience travel through our metropolis via air, boat, train, truck, automobile, motorcycle and bicycle. The City is more than 32 square miles in size, with more than 400 miles of city street surface, 50 City bridges (eight of which are lift and one swing), 85 miles of canals and waterways and a rail system that expands the entire length of the city from north to south. The rail system also includes a rail storage yard for rail cars trans loading materials and equipment.
These same transportation corridors provide daily easement in and about our City for more than 150,000 residents and an additional 50,000 per day peak season visitors. During emergency operations these travel ways must also be available to mobilize, deploy and transport people, materials, goods and services to and from a potentially disaster impacted area of the city. It is therefore imperative (when necessary) that the City implement plans that will address transportation of debris to clear roadways, navigable waterways and other transportation passages.
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, train and bus stations and our boat marina facilities also collectively accommodate millions of travelers each year. Daily travel throughout this type of urban area environment can (statistically) increase the probability for accidents to occur.
The City is prepared to respond to any potential mass transit accident with its own resources and should a catastrophic event occur, other county, state, federal and/or private assets will provide the additional aid that is needed. Extensive planning, training, cooperation and assistance from other political districts, public safety and emergency management organizations, including mutual aid agreements with other jurisdictions, and hospitals that are equipped to manage and handle mass casualties, is what is required to achieve this level of preparedness.
Additional information can be obtained pertaining to Mass Transit Accidents from the National Transportation and Safety Boards Web site at http://www.ntsb.gov/.