Cooper City workshop draws strong opposition to proposed Hiatus Road roundabout

Cooper City held a public workshop on Oct. 25, 2025, to present two roundabout designs for the Hiatus Road intersection serving Embassy Lakes and Rock Creek and to gather resident feedback. City Manager Alex Ray and staff described traffic data, funding sources and design alternatives; residents overwhelmingly opposed the proposed roundabout in an on-site and online poll.

The meeting matters because the project has been in planning for years, carries an estimated $1.9 million–$2.4 million construction cost depending on the design, and will require acquisition of private right-of-way and several months of construction that residents said will affect access and property values. The Commission has previously approved 60% design work and accepted grant funding; staff said the Commission will make a final decision in a future meeting (staff indicated October as the likely month for that vote).

Alex Ray, the city manager, told the assembled residents that "this project has been really going on for the better part of a decade," and that staff and consultants were at the workshop to explain the alternatives and collect public input. Arkano Zaid, the city's utilities director and city engineer, summarized why staff and consultants considered a traffic circle: after evaluating signal warrants and four-way stop criteria, engineers concluded other common traffic-calming measures were not feasible for this corridor. Zaid said, "the only option that we have is the traffic circle," citing speed and roadway classification…