Not one but two roundabouts less than a quarter of a mile apart are emerging as the latest plan to manage traffic around the 42-home new Pulte development along 120th Avenue South, bordering Wellington’s equestrian areas.
Details came up for discussion at a meeting of Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Committee on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
Roundabouts steer traffic around a central island, relying heavily on yield signs around the circuit as opposed to traffic lights or multi-way stop signs at an intersection.
There was already one roundabout proposed for 120th Avenue South and Lake Worth Road. Now there could be another one about 1,300 feet south of that on 120th, at the entrance to the new residential community.
In an earlier plan, builders proposed a left turn lane for southbound traffic on narrow 120th into the community entrance. After consultation with village staff and others, the most recent idea began to take shape.
“We think the roundabout option is the better option,” said Jeff Schnars, president of Boca Raton-based Schnars Engineering Corp., working with Pulte on the project. “It truly does act as a better calming device, and we think it looks better.”
Committee Member Kirsten Kopp said she favors measures to slow traffic down and has changed her mind to support some roundabouts where they exist now. But she noted that not all drivers of horse trailers look forward to them.
Schnars said the middle island of the roundabout would have gentle sides, as opposed to hard curbs. That would allow trailers some leeway to edge over them safely if the driver finds it difficult to stay in the curved lane the whole way.
“This is the preferred option that the village negotiated with the applicant,” Village Engineer Jonathan Reinsvold said.
Committee Member Sarah Goos wondered if the roundabouts were ready to accommodate existing traffic, plus coming attractions, such as a new village aquatic center in the overall corridor around it. “I could see traffic really backing up,” she said.
Reinsvold said roundabouts are designed to slow traffic but ideally would not produce static back-ups.
Still, Goos said, “You have to yield.” If traffic is heavy, that can mean stopping, she said.
One advantage to the additional roundabout is that it tends to slow down drivers on 120th, where the posted speed may be 25 mph, but studies show that many drive closer to 45 mph, Reinsvold said.
In public comments at the meeting, resident Maureen Brennan said equestrians she knows did not want the residential community’s entrance to be on 120th in the first place, but the matter did not come before the Equestrian Preserve Committee before the homes were approved. The Pulte property sits just outside the preserve, though it will rely on a road that those inside the preserve also use.
“This roundabout or any kind of access into it is a problem,” Brennan said.
In the end, the committee voted unanimously to recommend that Wellington Village Council approve a roundabout at the community entrance instead of a turn lane.
In August, the council voted 3-2 to approve a plan for Pulte to build homes on land it bought from the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach, with pledges of more than $500,000 from the applicant toward road improvements. That will contribute to but not cover the full cost of road work, which otherwise comes from village funds or, should any be arranged, outside grants.
The 22.5-acre property sits just south of St. Therese De Lisieux Catholic Church. It is sometimes called the Canter project and is part of the Orange Point Planned Unit Development.
Meanwhile, the village is budgeting up to $4 million for a roundabout at 120th Avenue South and Lake Worth Road. There are three options there, Reinsvold said in a presentation. Differences involve, for example, whether to have 40th Street South, which leads largely to horse farms, directly connected to the roundabout.
Several committee members expressed support for a five-entrance option that leads 40th Street directly to the circle.
Counting other possible projects, there could be as many as five roundabouts along the 120th Avenue corridor, Reinsvold said.
“That’s a nightmare,” Committee Member Dr. Kristy Lund said. “I couldn’t imagine taking my trailer there.”
Reinsvold responded, “You’d be going slow. And that’s the point. It’s a pain. I hate to say it that way, but traffic calming is a pain.”
On another matter, Reinsvold said the southern portion of Flying Cow Ranch Road has re-opened with restrictions. Unpaved portions were closed earlier following concerns that trucks were using it as an informal village bypass. There is now a posted weight limit for vehicles of 16,000 pounds, he said.
As for whether it will eventually be paved or otherwise changed, “The plan for it is to stay exactly as it is,” Reinsvold said.
An update arrived on when the committee would likely hear about a plan to build 40 luxury homes in horse country courtesy of a development company founded by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner and billionaire Frank McCourt.
The Isla Carroll project would probably come before the committee in early January, Planning, Zoning & Building Director Tim Stillings said. It would then go to the village’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board and later the Wellington Village Council.
In other business, Ash Atkinson, a British-born equestrian who runs a hunter-jumper business in Wellington, joined the committee. Rachel Eidelman departed the panel after about eight years of service.
