I sent the following e-mail to Palm Beach County Traffic Engineering on May 12, and received their reply on May 16, that Okeechobee Blvd. is under the control of the Town of Loxahatchee Groves and to contact them. On May 16, I e-mailed the same letter to all five members of the town council. While the county had a quick response, none of Loxahatchee Groves council members seem to have the courtesy to do likewise, six weeks and counting.
The speed limit on Okeechobee Blvd. between Royal Palm Beach Elementary School and Loxahatchee Groves Elementary School has been set too low. For decades, it was 45 mph. The Town of Loxahatchee Groves stated the speed limit would be lowered from 45 to 30 in exchange for the town doing the road maintenance. That argument is now a moot point, since the road has recently been re-paved via the one-penny sales tax. Loxahatchee Groves has been having discussions concerning the fact that they don’t have sufficient funds to maintain interior roads, so for them to pay to maintain Okeechobee is not realistic. Okeechobee west of Loxahatchee Groves Elementary is 45 mph, and the surroundings are no different than what is east of the school. I read where the mayor stated that he hoped that the lower speed limit would cause more businesses to be noticed. I already know where the businesses are, and the lower speed limit has caused me to no longer shop at the Red Barn and Sherwin-Williams Paint because of having to travel miles at a non-realistic speed limit. As a 40-plus year law enforcement officer, including traffic enforcement and traffic homicide, I am aware that an artificially low speed limit is dangerous.
Sandy Molenda, Loxahatchee
