By Mary Hladky
One of Boca Raton residents’ unrelenting complaints is that many streets are unsafe.
Speaking up at City Council meetings, residents frequently cite East Palmetto Park Road, Federal Highway and State Road A1A.
They say drivers speed, are reckless and seem to have no regard for bicyclists and pedestrians.
New data compiled by the city shows that they aren’t whiners. They are right.
The number of crashes between 2018 and 2023 on Palmetto Park Road, from A1A to Southwest Seventh Avenue, totaled 933 with nine that resulted in death or serious injury.
Federal Highway from Camino Real to Yamato Road had 1,541 crashes, with 43 causing death or serious injury.
The relatively short stretch of A1A between Camino Real and Palmetto Park road had 103 crashes, with three causing injury or death.
But these are far from the only problematic roads.
Other examples include West Yamato Road from Federal Highway to Congress Avenue, which saw 980 crashes, of which 18 were severe. West Glades Road from Federal Highway to Jog Road had 2,454, with 32 severe.
West Palmetto Park Road from Boca Del Mar Drive to Northwest 12th Avenue tallied 1,011, with 13 severe. Spanish River Boulevard from A1A to Northwest Second Avenue had 445, with five severe.
A comparison with West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County and the state of Florida showed that Boca Raton had a higher crash rate per 100,000 people and a higher rate of serious injuries and fatalities.
Boca Raton had 95 serious injuries and deaths per 100,000 people compared to 86 in West Palm Beach and 62 in Palm Beach County.
“Florida is already one of the most dangerous states for road users — especially for people walking and biking,” the city report states. “In the City of Boca Raton, the risk is even greater.”
While only 2% of crashes in Boca resulted in serious injury or death, 8% involved bikers and 20% pedestrians.
It would not appear that Boca Raton-owned roads are a major factor.
City-owned roads comprise 57% of the city’s road network but have only 21% of the serious crashes. The Florida Department of Transportation and Palm Beach County own just 14% of the roads in Boca Raton, but those include some of the city’s major thoroughfares and account for 67% of serious crashes.
This data was gathered as the city puts into place a Vision Zero Action Plan.
Vision Zero is a strategy aimed at eliminating fatalities and injuries. It was first implemented in Sweden and now is in use across Europe and in American cities.
The City Council designated Boca Raton as a “Vision Zero City” in 2022 and is scheduled to put the program into effect at its Sept. 8 meeting.
“We are excited to get it rolling,” Zachary Bihr, the city’s public works and engineering director, said at an Aug. 24 council workshop meeting.
“Anything we can do to keep people safe … is a step in the right direction,” said Council member Yvette Drucker.
But Council member Stacy Sipple voiced her concern that, however well intentioned, the program might not meet the goal.
“I am all for saving lives and decreasing serious accidents, but I really don’t know how much this is going to help,” she said.
The concept is not to eliminate all crashes, but to reduce the number of serious ones. The approach is to view traffic deaths as preventable and to take into account driver mistakes.
It focuses on building safer streets, controlling traffic speeds, promoting responsible driving behavior and supporting technologies that prevent crashes.
The city has obtained three federal grants that, with city matching funds, total $7.4 million that will be used to kick-start improvements.
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