Council favors advancing plan to restore 'Middle Road' name, reassert local control over Okeechobee Boulevard

Councilmembers discussed transportation planning and the town’s ability to control the striping and lane configuration on Okeechobee Boulevard, a county road that passes through the town.

A councilmember proposed renaming the section of Okeechobee Boulevard that runs through the town back to its former name, Middle Road, and the council expressed consensus to place the name change on a future agenda. Supporters said the original name better reflects the road’s place in the community and may help in litigation or intergovernmental negotiations over lane configuration.

Council discussion emphasized a key legal point: Palm Beach County owns the roadway, but the town asserts primary traffic‑control authority under its comprehensive plan and related authorities. Councilmembers noted that the town’s comp plan language (the “rural tier” protections the council referenced) and other local controls allow the town to require the road remain functionally two lanes by striping, even if the county holds the wider right‑of‑way. Several councilmembers said the town should bolster comprehensive‑plan language and other protections to reduce the risk of the county striping the road for more lanes.

Councilmembers asked staff to put the name‑change item on the next meeting agenda and to pursue clarifying language in the comprehensive plan and relevant intergovernmental coordination. No ordinance or formal comp‑plan amendment was adopted during the discussion; the council agreed to pursue the changes through the agenda and the charter/comp‑plan review processes.