For those of you who opposed the RaceTrac gas station because of the private school in the area, or because of the potential traffic issues, where have you been and where are you now?
H.L. Johnson Elementary School is on the corner of Crestwood Blvd. and Royal Palm Beach Blvd. It is an A-rated school with 866 students. Monday mornings, when the school is in session, 1,019 cars hit the intersection of Crestwood and Royal Palm Beach boulevards. Crestwood turns into La Mancha once you cross over Royal Palm Beach Blvd.
Our councilmen approved a new development to go in behind the school, which will bring an estimated 800 additional cars to that intersection. A way to relieve this already-congested traffic issue would be to open the Madrid Street roundabout to State Road 7. However, Councilman David Swift, some of his neighbors and our councilmen stopped it from being opened, as he lives on the corner of Madrid and La Mancha. Now that roundabout is slated to be removed when construction of the SR 7 enhancements begin.
So, ladies and gentlemen who were opposed to the RaceTrac, where are you now? Where have you been? If you are truly concerned about the kids and the traffic, why aren’t you fighting to open the Madrid/SR 7 roundabout that will reduce the traffic in front of H.L. Johnson, or was it just a political move for name recognition?
Laurel Bennett, Royal Palm Beach
The people were there for Madrid and spoke out in force just as they did on the Race Trac. The problem is that this council of men is NOT LISTENING! They are bent on doing what they want and have no motivation to do what the majority of the people want. They have no FEAR because they do not believe that the voters will rise up and vote them out. So what are YOU going to do? Are you going to stick with your concerns and ask your friends and family to vote the incumbants out? You have two weeks to help make change and get Madrid votes on the council – can you do it?