Coconut Creek approves traffic “flip” at Lions Creek Middle to ease school congestion

The Coconut Creek City Commission on April 10 approved a traffic improvement agreement with the Broward County School Board to change vehicle circulation at Lions Creek Middle School, swapping the parent drop-off and bus drop-off locations to move parent lines onto Johnson Road.

The agreement, presented by Bernadette Hughes, the city’s government affairs manager, is intended to reduce a decade-plus pattern of congestion that has extended onto Lyons Road and even toward the Sawgrass Expressway at times and has impeded emergency vehicle access for nearby neighborhoods including Cocoa Bay, Parkwood 6, Soar Bay, Cypress Walk and Sunrise Estates. “This issue has become a life safety issue,” Hughes said, citing blocked driveways and parents and students walking through traffic.

The city and school-board-backed plan would flip the current bus and parent drop-off configuration, move most parent traffic to Johnson Road and require the school board to provide engineering for the new layout. The agreement also commits the city to modify two driveways that now enter city rights-of-way and to construct those modifications as part of the plan. Police Chief Fred Hoefer participated in the discussion and Gray reaffirmed public-safety support for the change.

Why it matters: Residents and commissioners told the commission the congestion has created dangerous conditions for students, parents and first responders. Speakers at the meeting described near-misses, drivers passing on neighborhood streets and confrontations with law enforcement. Nancy Frey, Lions Creek PTSA vice president, warned the parking and traffic problems have affected the school’s ability to attract and retain students and could hurt long-term enrollment.

Commissioner Cindy Bridal and other commissioners urged swift action. Bridal said the change had been years in the making and commended the city and school staff for reaching the agreement. Bernadette Hughes said the school board would take the item up at its meeting next week and the parties anticipate implementing most of the physical changes over the summer so the new traffic pattern can be in place at the start of the next school year. “The goal is to accomplish this change over the summer,” Hughes said.

What was decided: The commission voted unanimously to authorize the city manager to execute the agreement. Commissioners later urged the city and school officials to ensure timely parent notification and clear messaging to minimize confusion during the transition. The agreement requires further approvals by the school board and additional coordination for traffic education and signage, which school staff will handle for parent notifications.

Public comment: Several residents from affected neighborhoods — including Colleen LaPlante and Irene Espinosa — described repeated incidents in which drivers passed at high speed, blocked driveways, or created unsafe walking conditions for students. Nancy Frey said the local PTA had been in contact with the city and school board and urged commission support.

Next steps: The item goes to the Broward County School Board for formal action next week; if approved there and by the city as required, work to reconfigure driveways and implement the traffic flip will proceed with an aim to complete major work over the summer and implement the new drop-off pattern before the next school year. The city will build the two driveway modifications; the school board handled engineering and parent communications.

Lions Creek-related meeting excerpt: “For more than a decade, the traffic configuration at Lions Creek Middle School has caused traffic congestion in and around the school,” Bernadette Hughes said during the commission meeting as she described the agreement before the commission. (Transcript excerpt: resolution 2024-057 presentation.)