Residents urge quicker action, more alternatives for Palmetto Park Road; city says ALTA study will model options

Public commenters at the Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency meeting on July 22 pressed city staff for faster action and more design options for Palmetto Park Road.

Andrea Levine O'Rourke, who said she brought an initiative on downtown improvements almost two and a half years ago, urged the board not to "keep kicking the can down the road" and asked for alternatives that would improve intersection safety, walkability and small-business vitality. "Since those meters went in, I can tell you people are not parking along the street," she said, describing on-street parking on Palmetto Park Road as largely unused since metered parking was installed.

John Hojos, a business owner on East Palmetto Park Road, told the board that city staff recently notified businesses that front parking would be eliminated and warned that removing on-street spaces would hurt small downtown businesses that rely on short-term parking. "They told us they're going to eliminate all the front parking in East Palmetto Park Road," Hojos said.

A commenter who the chair later addressed as "Dr. Merlin" urged that the ALTA study present two or three design alternatives and the pros and cons for each, including traffic analyses, rather than advancing a single design that might foreclose discussion.

In response, Mr. Brown said the ALTA study "is designed to consider alternatives," including synchro traffic analysis that will show how traffic would redistribute under different configurations. He told the board the project remains on the consultant's timeline and that a second work order would be considered only after staff knows the preferred direction. "There will be alternatives and there will be analysis of the alternatives," he said.

Commissioner Singer asked about speeding enforcement downtown; Mr. Brown said enforcement activities and citations have increased and the number of violations has fallen, particularly in the downtown area.

Questions were also raised about sequencing work orders and how the city's Vision Zero action plan will be considered as staff moves from study to any design or construction steps. Staff said Vision Zero goals will be taken into account at every step but that a follow-up work order will await staff direction once alternatives are analyzed.

The transcript shows robust public concern about parking, safety and the pace of downtown improvements; staff committed to analyzing multiple alternatives and providing additional detail as the ALTA work proceeds.