City hears competing visions for Palmetto Park Road as consultants flag safety trade‑offs

Consultants from Alta Planning & Design told the Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency on Nov. 20 that East Palmetto Park Road faces a difficult set of trade‑offs between safety, parking and traffic flow as the city evaluates ways to make downtown more walkable.

"In the last five years between 2018 and 2023, almost 1,900 crashes occurred in downtown," Alta’s presenter said, adding that six people died in those crashes and that the Dixie and U.S. 1 intersections are crash hot spots. He also noted the city’s recent $4,000,000 Safe Streets for All demonstration grant in support of Vision Zero work.

The Alta team laid out several options for the corridor between east of U.S. 1 and NE 5th Avenue: a no‑build/enhanced streetscape that preserves five travel lanes but expands shade and sidewalks; removal of a single eastbound lane to add pedestrian space and a curbside "flex zone"; a full road diet that would reduce the corridor to three lanes (including turn lanes); and policy‑level reprogramming that converts curb lanes by time of day. Alta and staff emphasized these are concept‑level designs and that detailed engineering, utility work and coordination with FDOT will be required for any substantial rebuild.

"Not one option is perfect for all these different trade‑offs," the consultant said, urging the board to weigh effects on emergency access, evacuation routes and off‑system traffic diversion.

Deputy Mayor Drucker urged bold action in the name of Vision Zero, telling the board: "If you want to have Vision Zero and truly, truly save lives, like public safety, we're going to have to make hard choices." Several other commissioners said they supported the Vision Zero goal but wanted more data and a downtown master plan before committing to corridor reconstruction.

A volunteer citizen collective that has studied the corridor for three years presented an alternative that leans into the city’s 2007 downtown plan: Andrea Levine O'Rourke told the board the group favors a three‑lane cross‑section with an exclusive center emergency lane, expanded sidewalks, parking retained on both sides and place‑making elements. "We are a volunteer citizen collective on a mission to accelerate action in the downtown to cultivate walkability, connectivity and place making," she said, arguing a three‑lane layout can still support evacuation operations.

Designer Juan Caicedo showed sketches that included tight crosswalks, enhanced pedestrian crossings and elevated, high‑line–style connections in places. The presenters said their concept aims to preserve or replace curb parking while making the pedestrian realm wider and more shaded.

Public commenters echoed safety concerns at specific intersections; one resident urged the city to address a "very dangerous" crossing at Palmetto and NE 5th Avenue and advocated low‑cost fixes—high‑visibility markings and short‑term pilot treatments—while the city develops a longer‑term plan.

Staff said incremental safety projects are feasible and that some improvements—tightening turn radii, clearer crosswalks and signal timing—can be coordinated with FDOT’s work on U.S. 1. Alta and staff also presented Synchro traffic modeling showing that removing one lane could add roughly a minute of travel time during the PM peak on the studied segment, while a full road diet would produce larger average delays; staff framed those as averages that vary by time of day.

The board did not take a formal policy vote on a preferred cross‑section. Several members requested additional studies, a coordinated downtown master or mobility plan that links the government campus project and FDOT efforts, and opportunities for quick‑build pilot projects to test changes before committing to major capital work.

Next steps: staff said it will use the feedback to scope further feasibility work and task orders for Alta, engage emergency services and FDOT on constrained segments, and bring follow‑up analysis and public‑engagement opportunities back to the CRA for direction.