It now looks like the Florida DOT will push forward with the expansion of State Road 7 but is won’t be for years. This has been widely debated and many of those in the neighboring communities of Ibis and Loxahatchee are those who are for most part against this road expansion. I have always kept an eye on the roadway right of way maps and traffic count maps kept by the county engineers. This is Palm Beach County and we are growing again and when we grow they add roads to accomodate the new houses and the cars that come along with it. Anyone who lives in the west communities knows that getting to and from there can be a real problem. There are only 2 east-west corridors being Okechobee and Northlake Blvd. And running between these two there is only 2 north-south corridors. This expansion will not aleviate the east west problem but it will direct traffic away from residential lined streets.
Palm Beach County just finished the section, between Persimmon Boulevard and 60th Street West. The next phase from 60th St to Northlake Blvd was to be done by the state and was supposed to begin in 2016. However, the state Department of Transportation said that won’t happen because it doesn’t have the money for the $42.2 million project. Rising costs on road projects as well as cutbacks means that money for some projects fell short. The roadway expansion maps always showed the road extending past Ibis and even on the north side of Northlake Blvd to connect with the Beeline at the end of PGA Blvd. This is really what is needed to alleviate the traffic bottleneck at Northlake and the Beeline. We now in the hands of the politicians who need to find the money to do what we need to get done. The expansion to Northlake has a minimal impact on the adjacent Grassy Waters Preserve so this really should go forward. As for expanding on the north side of Northlake perhaps this should be thought about about some more. The Minto West development has been approved to build over 4000 new homes in the western community and these tax payers deserve the roads their impact fees pay for. If we’re going to keep building houses then we need to keep building roads to them.
