Letters

What can I say about overdevelopment that hasn’t already been said a thousand times? I have never known anyone that is at all happy with the direction that the development in Delray Beach has gone. When the iPic Theater went up, it appeared that the last nail had gone in the coffin, but lo and behold, the city commissioners were able to destroy the city even more by allowing the huge eyesore to be built on Atlantic and Federal.
Didn’t anybody learn their lesson with the traffic problem that was created with Delray Place on Linton and Federal? That plaza is a nightmare to get in and out of, let alone just to get by it! The monstrosity called “Delray Food Market” near Atlantic Avenue has been a whole year of construction creating a traffic nightmare. When it finally does conclude, the traffic issue will only get worse, not better.
The high-rise condominiums that are being built all over the city are deplorable and have added to the untenable situation for driving downtown. I can’t even imagine how small-business owners feel since the traffic problem has driven everyone away from going there. Everyone I know refuses to eat at any restaurant on or near Atlantic Avenue because it is such a nightmare to get there and to park. Valet prices are as much as the meal!
The Delray Beach city commissioners have (as a group) single-handedly destroyed Delray Beach to the point where it can never be restored or set right again. I have lived here all of my life, and over the past eight to 10 years I have seen the city deteriorate until it’s now out of control, becoming another Miami or Fort Lauderdale.
Our wonderful seaside village should have been left alone, because the commissioners will discover that any grubby little money they put in their pockets will not compensate for what they destroyed. This year alone, I heard every single one of my out-of-town guests say, “Delray has become a horrible place,” and they would never want to live here. I don’t even want to live here anymore. 
I will be looking for a new residence in the town of Palm Beach because they have managed to keep the character of their city without over-building and destroying its integrity.  

Susan Hansford
Delray Beach