I was happy to hear that the Royal Palm Beach Village Council has agreed to put the Madrid Street/State Road 7 connection on their agenda to discuss the possibility of opening this important and much-needed intersection. All I can say it was a long time coming and better late than never. Hopefully, they will approve it this time.
Years ago, when this most eastern portion of La Mancha Avenue was being dramatically improved for traffic, at first it didn’t seem to make sense. That portion of the avenue was and continues to be one of the least-traveled main roads in the village. However, when we heard about the Madrid connection, all the road improvements then made sense — all to better handle the additional traffic. Such a vital connection would dramatically improve many village residents’ drive time to and from home. Additionally, fire-rescue, police and medical services all agreed that as a result of this connection, they would be better able to serve our community, which was what we should expect to happen.
Unfortunately, this needed connection was voted down for political reasons and closed off with a mound of dirt. While I understand why residents in the immediate area of the connection really didn’t want it to open, their purported, though unfounded, reasons were emotionally charged (gangs, drugs, thousands of Acreage drivers, other speeders, home invasions, etc.) enough for the mayor to vote to keep it closed off.
I hope this time around, the council votes in favor of opening this needed connection because it would appear to be in the best interest of village residents, as well as the highest and best use for this portion of La Mancha Avenue.
Peter ReJune, Royal Palm Beach
