Lauderdale Beach Live Cam

Expressways connected to the Florida State Turnpike, federal highways, state roads, and wide cross-county throughways keep things moving in Greater Fort Lauderdale. The newest is Interstate 595, or the Port Everglades Expressway, which has convenient connections to Alligator Alley and I-75. Joining downtown Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, and the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport to the state's west coast, I-595 also provides access to I-95, the Florida Turnpike, and the Sawgrass Expressway, another quick-trip roadway speeding north-south travel in the western part of the region. Interstate 95 provides the north-south link that merges South Florida with the entire east coast of the country. Interstate 95 now sports high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes reserved for carpoolers and complimentary park-and-ride facilities connecting with public transportation. Just five miles west of I-95 is the Florida Turnpike, the state's main toll road, connect-ing Miami and the center of the state to Orlando and beyond.

Tri-Rail traverses 67 miles of tracks, making 15 stops on its run. The train has 30 weekday runs for commuters plus weekend and special event service, including transporting sports fans to Miami Arena for Miami Heat games and to Joe Robbie Stadium for Miami Dolphin games. Free parking is provided at most train stations and free feeder buses are also available.

Commuting Made Easier, Downtown Fort Lauderdale Transportation Management Association - Transportation Management Association (TMA), a new commuter-computer operation, is now offering free downtown-destination express bus service. Having successfully lobbied for more bus shelters to keep riders out of the elements, TMA is creating a system to help carpoolers find each other. TMA also created and operates the Commuter Store, a one-stop operation stocked with commuter rail passes; bus, trolley, and water taxi schedules; and other "toys" for commuters.

Gold Coast Commuter Services - To encourage commuting, regional plans for an express bus from western residential communities to downtown are under way, thanks to the support of Gold Coast Commuter Services, which works with other regional planners to create mass transit plans. Gold Coast Commuter Services can also match carpool participants and disperse information on regional transportation throughout the tricounty region.

Train - Amtrak's silver streakers connect Greater Fort Lauderdale to the rest of the country. The Silver Star and the Silver Meteor have daily schedules to and from New York, and three times a week, the Sunset Limited rolls in from Los Angeles via New Orleans and Tallahassee. Auto Train, which operates from Sanford, about a three-hour drive north, takes cars, drivers, and passengers north on a nonstop ride that ends near Washington, D.C.

Trolleys - For short trips around downtown Fort Lauderdale and along the beach, the region's San Francisco-style, free-of-charge, air conditioned trolleys are both fun and fast. Engine-run and on wheels, the ornate vehicles deliver passengers to lunch and appointments and can be hailed at any point along the route.

When there's rarely a rainy day and it never snows, it's difficult to find an excuse not get out and see and take part in what Greater Fort Lauderdale has to offer. With more than 50 golf courses, 550 tennis courts and 288 parks. The city also boasts professional baseball, football, basketball, hockey, rugby and lacrosse teams. And while you are here visiting, don't miss the many Cultural Events, Festivals and Attractions our fair city has to offer. And of course if things get a bit hot for you, finding a beach to take a dip is only a stones throw away.

C-O-L-D is a four-letter word in Greater Fort Lauderdale where temperatures rarely drop below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite its subtropical location, the region is blessed by year-round ocean breezes that keep summer mercury in the 80s and 90s and winter temperatures a toasty 65 to 75 degrees. Occasional cold snaps (of 40 degrees) sometimes occur in late December or early January, but below-freezing temperatures have occurred on only a few days in 50 years. Fog is also rare. Each year the region has about 3,000 sunny hours. Most precipitation falls in June and September, which average nine and eight inches of rain, respectively. Winter months from December to April are the dry season.

It is our goal to provide you with as much information as possible to make your journey to Fort Lauderdale enjoyable. By working closely with the Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the Hotel/Motel Association, and other industry organizations, the Chamber will continue to nurture and promote Greater Fort Lauderdale's growing image as a first-class tourist destination.

Fort Lauderdale is a major resort offering a year-round subtropical climate unsurpassed in the continental United States. Fort Lauderdale is a recreational paradise including beautiful beaches, parks, boating, fishing, diving, golf, tennis, sporting events, cultural events and an excellent variety of restaurants. In short it's a great place to live.

Fort Lauderdale is a cosmopolitan urban center with an intriguing collection of cities sharing sunny days and tropical nights. Here 28 municipalities flow together, yet each maintains its own distinct identity.

Greater Fort Lauderdale where temperatures rarely drop below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite its subtropical location, the region is blessed by year-round ocean breezes that keep summer mercury in the 80s and 90s and winter temperatures a toasty 65 to 75 degrees. Occasional cold snaps (of 40 degrees) sometimes occur in late December or early January, but below-freezing temperatures have occurred on only a few days in 50 years. Fog is also rare. Each year the region has about 3,000 sunny hours. Most precipitation falls in June and September, which average nine and eight inches of rain, respectively. Winter months from December to April are the dry season.

Greater Fort Lauderdale fascination with business comes as no surprise; it all started here a century ago with some pelts, a few beads, and …viola, a trade was made. The scope of trading has undergone some radical changes in Greater Fort Lauderdale. Millions of dollars now change hands daily, but the foundation remains the same: a regional business environment that welcomes entrepreneurs and encourages win-win deals.

Broward is a charter-government county with a seven-member Board of elected County Commissioners and a full-time County administrator. In addition to the County Commissioners, the School Board, the Sheriff, the Property Appraiser, the Supervisor of Elections and members of the judiciary hold elected offices. There are 28 separate, self-governing municipalities in Broward County ranging in population from Lazy Lake with 33 inhabitants to Fort Lauderdale with over 149,000 residents. All of the cities have a form of elected governing body. The major municipalities have a city manager/commission form of government.

Greater Fort Lauderdale is a paradise for automobile tourists

One can cruise along the sunny seacoast. Or drive the variegated streets of this South Florida community, from the modern downtown area to the quaint, and oh-so-chic, shops area of Las Olas Boulevard. One can steer silently beside canals where manatees play or even the everglades with its colorful birds and other wildlife.

The maximum speed limit on the expressways of Greater Fort Lauderdale is 55 to 65 mph. Drivers must wear seatbelts. So, too, must passengers in the front seat. Children three years old and younger must ride in child-restraint seats in either the back seat or the front seat. Children four or five years old must be in a child-restraint seat or a seat belt in either the back seat or the front seat.

Traffic in Fort Lauderdale usually moves smoothly, facilitated in part by the freedom given to drivers to make right turns at red lights after coming to a complete stop. Certain intersections do not qualify for the right-turn-after-red rule and are identified by signs. At these locations, drivers must wait for the traffic lights to signal them on.

The logic behind the layout and designations of streets (streets, courts, lanes, etc.) in Greater Fort Lauderdale is precise but, when described in detail to a newcomer, also overwhelming. There are, however, certain fundamental facts that one must know in order to get around.

If one is driving in a north-south direction, one will be traversing an "avenue," or perhaps a "drive." Or a highway.

One travels east and west, however, by means of a "street" or a "boulevard" or a road.

There is more to Fort Lauderdale's street naming conventions, which one can learn after a little experience with the area.

The charm of the Fort Lauderdale area also carries with it the seeds of a transportation problem. Countless canals, lakes, and other waterways crop up everywhere in this "Venice of America." Unlike in many other regions, a driver usually cannot just point his or her car in a particular direction and expect to get very far. Inevitably, a picturesque waterway of one sort or another will bar one's path.

This problem is solved by learning the list of major east-west and north-south highways, a task every Fort Lauderdale driver -- resident and visitor alike -- accomplishes early.

If one is traveling in a north-south direction, Highway A1A can transport one gracefully and slowly in a winding path along the ocean's edge. A little to the west, the straighter, faster U.S. 1 is available, running through a continuously commercial area. Further west is I-95, with its curving exit ramps and speeding flow of steel bodies, slowed to a stall at rush hour. Further west yet is the north-south portion of I-75, which bends into an east-west direction after traveling northward from Hallandale to Plantation. Next reached in a westerly direction is the Florida Turnpike, which requires the payment of a toll. Westernmost of the north-south expressways, and also requiring a toll, is the Sawgrass Expressway, which begins in Plantation, where the north-pointing segment of I-75 ends, and reaches as far north as Deerfield Beach before veering into an easterly direction.

East-west travelers in the southern area of Greater Fort Lauderdale use Hallandale Beach Boulevard from the ocean's edge, which transforms in name as it speeds west, to become Hallandale Parkway. Next northward among the major east-west streets is Hollywood Boulevard, then more northward, Sheridan Street, still in Hollywood.

Farther north is Dania's Griffin Road. Just north of this is I-595, which travels roughly east-west (more exactly southest-northwest) and changes its name to I-75 when it reaches the western region of Greater Fort Lauderdale.

This is followed, in order northward, by the east-west moving Davie Boulevard, Broward Boulevard, Las Olas Boulevard, Sunrise Boulevard, Oakland Park Boulevard, and Commercial Boulevard, all in Fort Lauderdale. Then by Atlantic Boulevard, Copans Road, and Sample Road in Pompano Beach. Next northward is the east-west segment of the Sawgrass Expressway, then Hillsboro Boulevard, both in Deerfield Beach.

In the Greater Fort Lauderdale area, one pays the six percent sales tax on purchases and restaurant meals that is typical of most U.S. cities. This tax does not apply, however, to groceries or medicines. An additional three percent tax is paid on tourist accommodations.

Restaurants in Fort Lauderdale usually do not add a gratuity to the bill. One can leave a tip of 15 percent for service of good quality or 20 percent for excellent service.

The normal tip for doormen and parking attendants, as well as for valets, is 1 dollar.

The tip for a taxi ride is the same as for a restaurant meal; that is, 15-20 percent.

The Fort Lauderdale weather is the envy of the nation. The average temperature throughout the year is between 71 degrees Farenheit and 90 degrees Farenheit. Winter temperatures are usually in the mid-70s, though an occasional cooler spell does come along. The visibility condition to be expected is--sunny.

It's easy to underestimate the power of the sun when one is eager to tan. The best approach is patience and preparedness. More than ten or fifteen minutes of horizontal, largely bare exposure to the midday sun is an experience one will not want to repeat.

Sunscreen is generally recommended. The SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of a sunscreen signifies how many times longer one can stay in the sun with the sunscreen than without it.

Fort Lauderdale excels at making everyone feel at home. There are places throughout the area for every type of clothing--from casual shorts and shirt or blouse to the most formal attire.

Usually, Fort Lauderdale visitors and residents choose to dress informally. But one will need a jacket or a dress for the more exclusive restaurants or the more formal hotels. And in the winter, the temperature might even dip down below 70 degrees Farenheit, so one should pack a light jacket or sweater.

As in most resort areas, one should wear swimming suits only at swimming areas.

Traveling with athletic equipment can be awkward. In Greater Fort Lauderdale, one can often rent golf equipment or diving gear.