Regional planning council outlines Safe Streets for All safety action plan and 25‑mile bike network for Greenacres

Kim Delaney and Tom Lanahan of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council presented a high‑level Safe Streets for All safety action plan to the Greenacres Planning & Zoning Board on June 12, describing crash patterns, priority corridors and a catalog of engineering and transit measures the council recommends the city adopt or pursue.

Delaney, division director for the council, said the plan grew from a five‑year crash analysis that the council used to identify hot spots and corridors for improvement. “The goal of a safety action plan…is to eliminate roadway fatalities and serious injury crashes for all users of the road,” Delaney said, describing the plan’s Vision Zero‑oriented approach and a suite of design, transit and speed‑management tools.

Delaney told the board the regional analysis shows roughly 1,500 crashes a year on Greenacres’ transportation network and about 7,500 crashes over the past five years; some crashes were minor, others serious or fatal. The presentation emphasized vulnerable users — pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders and schoolchildren — and tied safety objectives to the city’s land‑use character: many destinations, numerous schools and a large school‑age population compared with the county.

Major recommendations include establishing a 25‑mile “premium” bicycle network (about 15 miles built to a higher standard), and a prioritized corridor list for capital improvements and grant applications. Delaney and Lanahan identified Sherwood Forest Boulevard and Biscayne Drive as two priority routes and recommended a range of interventions across corridors: wider multiuse paths on Sherwood Forest, protected or separated bicycle facilities where feasible, landscaped medians and splitter islands, transit shelters and lighting, textured or signalized crosswalks, and spot speed‑management (speed tables and rumble strips) on select segments.

Delaney highlighted Sherwood Forest as a corridor the plan recommends protecting and enhancing rather than widening. She said existing street‑tree canopy creates a “sense of enclosure” that calms drivers; county plans that would add a continuous center turn lane and remove trees would broaden the driver’s field of view and, in the council’s view, likely increase speeds. Delaney contrasted a desirable tree‑to‑pavement ratio of roughly 1:3 with a widened condition that could reach 1:9, saying higher ratios help reduce speed and improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Staff discussed coordination with county and state agencies. The presentation noted that the Transportation Planning Agency and state and federal funding sources (including Safe Streets for All federal funding) can support many of the recommended projects; Delaney said the regional council and the city will pursue grants and that some landscaping grants (state programs) can cover installation costs. Delaney also said DOT offered to conduct a road safety audit on Lake Worth Road and that DOT plans resurfacing work in 2031–2032 — an opportunity to seek safety improvements tied to resurfacing.

Board members and staff asked several technical and policy questions about corridor specifics, maintenance responsibilities and funding. City staff confirmed that if the city chose to add landscaping or other amenities on county roads the city would be responsible for maintenance unless grant terms specified otherwise. Delaney said the plan grew from months of public engagement — a workshop, agency interviews and a staff review — and encouraged the board to recommend the city adopt the plan and use it to pursue grant funding and design work.

Delaney noted the city already has many bus stops (nearly 100) and roughly 1,800 daily transit riders; she emphasized that improving pedestrian access to transit stops would increase transit usability and could reduce vehicle trips. The proposed premium bicycle network would connect schools, parks, the library, the community center and other destinations; the presentation showed two priority corridors that would connect Malaluca (Malleuca) to Forest Hill via Sherwood Forest and South 50th, and an east‑west premium route on Biscayne Drive.

Delaney closed by saying the plan document was provided to the city council and was expected to be discussed at the council’s next meeting; the council had seen a similar presentation and staff reported the council reaction was generally receptive. The city created an e‑mail address for continued public input and questions: safecity@greenacresfl.gov. Ending: Board members thanked the presenters and returned to the published agenda.