With hurricane season approaching, buildings' ability to weather the storm is paramount. To this end, the Department of Transportation (DOT) recently awarded $5.8 million toward the upkeep and improvement of the Lynx Central Station in Orlando, which Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL) recently announced.
Despite a decline in numbers since 2019, when Lynx served 25 million rides, the service still manages to provide approximately 18 million rides per year, as stated on its website. The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly influenced these figures, with ridership recovering but shifting due to factors such as the statewide SunRail system, fluctuations in gas prices, and the popularity of rideshare services like Uber and Lyft.
These figures underscore the urgency of the Lynx Central Station being fully operational even after a hurricane, especially considering the forecast for the 2024 hurricane season, which is expected to be one of the most active on record.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, in April, meteorologists predict the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season will see approximately 24 named tropical storms and 11 hurricanes. Worryingly, six of those eleven could become major hurricanes with winds over 111 miles an hour.
As a result, the Lynx Central Station was awarded nearly $6 million to improve its hurricane resilience, potentially for the next twenty years.
Rep. Frost echoed the predictions in his press release: "As experts predict a dangerously active hurricane season, it's critical that our communities are built to withstand any storm. Ensuring our public transportation system can prepare for, recover from, and adapt to the worsening effects of the climate crisis is crucial to making sure folk who rely on our bus system can continue to do so. This $5.8 million grant to LYNX Central Station will play a huge role in making sure the buses continue to run on time and the safety and longevity of our transportation system is protected."
The grant comes just over a week after Rep. Frost's Fixing Gaps in Hurricane Preparedness Act passed the House, a bipartisan piece of legislation co-sponsored by Representative Daniel Webster (R-FL).
