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 constraints.

Diana White, the traffic engineer with the Coronado Group, presented two design alternatives. Alternative A is a larger-diameter roundabout with an exclusive northbound right-turn lane into Embassy Lakes; staff estimated it would require approximately 9,500 square feet of right-of-way from Embassy Lakes and cost about $2.4 million including right-of-way acquisition, lighting and landscaping. Alternative B is a smaller-diameter roundabout; staff estimated it would require about 4,377 square feet from Embassy Lakes and cost about $1.9 million, a roughly $500,000 difference from Alternative A.

Staff described the project's funding as a mix of previously secured and newly secured grants plus local match. Presentations said the city received an earlier state earmark of about $370,000 with a roughly $150,000 local match (about $520,000 originally available for the project). More recently, staff said they secured $1,000,000 in county surtax funding and that the city would provide about a $100,000 match, together putting grant funding near $1.6 million; additional landscaping and beautification costs would come from citywide beautification funds. Staff emphasized the project was at roughly 60% design and had not yet been put out to bid.

Residents raised multiple concerns during an extended public-comment period: increased traffic stacking at the Embassy Lakes guardhouse and the possibility of temporarily reduced or single‑gate access during construction; potential loss or relocation of landscaping and private irrigation infrastructure; diminished sightlines for pedestrians and golf-cart users; and whether a roundabout would actually reduce speeds or instead create new conflict points. Several residents asked why the city had not pursued more enforcement or alternative speed‑reduction measures first, such as stepped-up police enforcement, electronic speed displays, flashing warning signs or other corridor treatments.

Broward County and state constraints were cited at the meeting. Staff said the city has recently negotiated authority to set local speed limits (subject to a traffic study) after years of county review. City staff and the police captain also explained that Florida law limits automated ticketing by camera to school speed‑zone enforcement, so automated camera tickets for general speed enforcement are not available at this location under current law.

The Cooper City Police captain summarized crash report classifications for the intersection: over the 10‑year period used in staff's presentation, left‑turn and angle crashes were the most common crash types recorded at that location. Staff presented a figure of 37 crashes at the intersection over the study period (about 3–4 per year) and showed the city's total of 4,905 intersection crashes across 340 intersections during the same period; staff noted the Hiatus intersection had more than double the city average per intersection.

At the end of the meeting staff ran an interactive poll (in-person and online) to gauge attendee preference among the presented options. Staff reported 169 total responses: roughly 19–20% favored a roundabout and roughly 80% opposed it. City staff said they would summarize comments and present the public feedback to the Commission before any final decision on whether to proceed to 90% design, bidding and construction.

No formal Commission vote or binding decision was taken at the workshop. Staff emphasized the next formal step would be direction from the City Commission; if the Commission instructs staff to proceed, the city would complete the remaining design, clear right-of-way acquisitions and advertise the project for construction bids. Staff said they would also follow up with residents who requested additional data and would provide the crash‑study maps and more detailed intersection comparisons on request.

The workshop highlighted a recurring tension in local infrastructure projects: a decade‑long planning process, dedicated grant funding tied to a particular solution, and residents who favor less invasive or phased approaches. City staff said they would prepare materials for the Commission that reflect the technical evaluations and the community feedback captured at the meeting.

Ending

The Commission has not set a final public hearing date for a decision. Staff told residents they will distribute the crash‑analysis maps and design details to interested parties and will present the public feedback to the Commission at the next available meeting. Residents who want follow‑up were invited to leave contact information with city communications staff.