Tequesta mobility plan names 10 priority projects; consultants emphasize bike‑ped safety and quick‑build options

Kittelson Associates presented a draft mobility plan to the Village of Tequesta council identifying a long list of candidate projects and a top 10 priority list aimed at improving pedestrian and bicycle safety, traffic calming and park connections.

“We kicked this project off a few months ago, looking at a mobility plan for the village,” JP Wieser, a principal with Kittelson Associates, told the council. He said the plan is “intended to be a living document that sets out to connect the community, to the places here, enhance safety, improve traffic, and develop multimodal improvements.”

Consultants reported a needs assessment that combined travel‑pattern data, crash records and public input. They said they identified 27 candidate projects and expect to refine the top 10 priority projects as public feedback continues. Areas raised repeatedly in the analysis and outreach included US 1, Old Dixie Highway and Beach Road for crash concentrations, and localized speeding and crossing issues on Willow Drive and at the point where Tequesta Drive narrows from four lanes to two.

Consultants described outreach that included a public event at a March food‑truck night with more than 100 participants and an online map that had received about 43–50 comments; a community survey had received about 14 responses initially and several dozen more over a weekend. Respondents prioritized the Tequesta Drive Complete Streets project and several intersection safety projects, and also expressed interest in a village parks connector that would link ocean and river areas.

The plan groups projects into six categories: traffic operations and calming, safety, multimodal access, pedestrian facilities, transit and sustainability, streetscape and wayfinding. JP Wieser said the team will produce planning‑level typical sections, cost estimates and an implementation guide that includes “quick‑build” kits of parts for lower‑cost, near‑term improvements and a toolbox of traffic‑calming measures for future resident requests.

Consultants noted some projects will require interagency coordination: parts of the plan overlap county roads, FDOT facilities and neighboring Jupiter, and funding will likely mix village capital, Palm Beach TPA, county and state grants. The consultants recommended the council signal priorities and support for projects that will need outside funding and cooperation.

Council discussion touched on the Village Boulevard/Old Dixie intersection near Publix, where consultants noted sight‑line issues and suggested near‑term modifications (for example moving stop bars and removing a right‑turn lane) as lower‑cost safety measures while larger coordination or a roundabout would require county involvement.

The consultants will continue refining the priority list, provide planning‑level costs and coordinate an implementation and funding strategy to bring the highest‑priority quick‑build and capital projects forward for council consideration.