Jupiter workshop focuses on slowing traffic and safer crossings for county-owned Center Street

John Sickler, the town’s director of planning and zoning, opened a public workshop in Jupiter to gather community input on two linked efforts: Palm Beach County’s Center Street roadway redesign and the town’s proposed zoning changes for the Center Street redevelopment overlay. "We're talking mostly about Center Street east of Loxahatchee River Road," Sickler said, noting participants could respond to live polls via Polco and that staff would post compiled comments online.

Kim Delaney, director of strategic development and policy at the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, framed the corridor as a county-owned urban collector used both by neighborhood residents and as part of a larger county network. Delaney said Center Street shows a growing pattern of serious-injury and fatal crashes on the corridor and described safety as the primary design objective. "The county budget has about $2,800,000 in the budget in 2028," she said, adding that community-requested amenities not currently in the county plan could require town contributions or joint grant applications.

Delaney described a menu of design options to calm traffic and protect vulnerable road users. Choices discussed included textured, raised or lighted crosswalks; median splitter islands and raised crossings; buffered or protected bike lanes; and wider multiuse paths where right-of-way allows. She noted that Center Street’s right-of-way generally ranges from about 60 to 75 feet, meaning some solutions may fit only on one side of the road. "If you're going 35 (mph), you actually can't really see pedestrians as well as at 25," she said, underlining the link between speed and crash severity.

Presenters pointed to the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency (TPA) designation of Center Street as a tier-1 bicycle facility, which improves competitiveness for bicycle-related grants. They also emphasized intersection-level tools such as roundabouts — which reduce crash severity by eliminating t-bone collisions — while acknowledging those features can be controversial in public meetings.

During an extended public-comment period, residents repeatedly raised speed, truck traffic and localized crash hot spots as urgent concerns. One resident who lives near a sharp curve said multiple vehicles have left the roadway and struck guardrails, and that "there was a fatality there years ago," urging action before another crash occurs. Another attendee asked that a previous county "no-through-truck" designation be restored after heavy vehicles increasingly use Center Street as a shortcut.

Staff said enforcement and design will need to work in tandem: physical changes can reduce cruising speeds and make the corridor feel more local, while enforcement addresses persistent noncompliant driving. Operational ideas discussed included limiting continuous use of the center turn lane, adding chevrons or flashing signs on the curve, and testing whether a 30 mph posted limit would be appropriate. Staff also noted solutions such as common public parking, shared stormwater systems with buy-in credits for small parcels, undergrounding utilities and tree-planting programs as pieces of a broader redevelopment strategy.

Next steps: staff will test alternatives in the county’s design process, analyze right-of-way constraints and costs, and present recommendations for council and future public hearings. The town and county urged continued public input online and via email as design testing continues.