The new shade sails at Fort Lauderdale’s Tunnel Top Plaza looked pretty for 57 days — until one breezy day.
Some of the beige-colored panels are now missing, blown down by 15 mph winds last week.
“The wind blew them off of the track and city staff took them down,” Mayor Dean Trantalis said Thursday. “They will be replaced. They are on order. They will be the same color and texture as the other ones.”
There’s now a plan in place to keep it from happening again.
“I’m hopeful in the future that our park rangers will draw the shade structures so they are not exposed to the wind,” Trantalis said. “We didn’t expect it to be that windy. Now we know that they are vulnerable to wind.”
Tunnel Top Plaza, a $12 million project funded by Fort Lauderdale and built by the state, opened in December 2023.
The shade sails went up on Feb. 13 in an effort to bring a touch of beauty and shade, adding another $62,000 to the tab.
Some were fans of the new look.
But critics warned the shade sails might blow away in a stiff wind.
When they were proven right, some poked fun on social media.
“Gone with the wind. Wasn’t that a movie?” one wrote. “Our money is blowing in the wind,” wrote another.
Vice Mayor Ben Sorensen, district commissioner for the neighborhood, says Fort Lauderdale is planning to replace the current shade sails with a more sturdy alternative.
“These were the most readily available shade structures,” Sorensen said. “We’ll be getting new shade structures that are more durable once we talk to the community and figure out what’s best in our environment. We have a host of options we will explore.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan