News

By Rich Pollack

Just when it looked like Palm Beach County was on track to finally build a controversial park in Highland Beach, the question of whether to continue with plans for Milani Park — and if so, how many parking spaces to put in it — has once again blown up at a County Commission meeting.

County commissioners on June 3 heard an impassioned plea to reduce parking from 100 spaces to just 25 from Cam Milani, whose family sold the land for the park to the county almost 40 years ago. Milani now doesn’t want the park, changing the family’s long-held position, and suggested the reduced parking as a compromise.

That request spurred a tense discussion among county commissioners, with some apparently sympathetic to Milani and to many residents of nearby condos, while Commissioner Marci Woodward, who represents the area, pushed back. She warned that taking a step backward as plans for the park progress would be a mistake.

Commissioner Joel Flores, who attended a meeting in early April where residents spoke out against the park and said he was originally in favor of 100 parking spaces, said he changed his position after the meeting.

“We’re building a park that nobody wants,” he said.

County staff members and Woodward responded, saying that the park would serve residents from throughout the county, not just Highland Beach. Commissioners were also told that there were people at the meeting Flores attended who supported the park but were too intimidated to speak out.

The 100 parking spaces, according to Assistant County Administrator Isami Ayala-Collazo, are required under a 2010 settlement agreement with the town that followed a lengthy legal battle. To go to 25 parking spaces would require reopening the settlement agreement, she said.

Woodward said that ceasing plans for the park could clear the way for development of townhouses, with the possibility that the Milani family would build them, on a portion of the 5.6-acre parcel that straddles State Road A1A. Part of the property includes a Native American burial ground and has additional historical significance, Woodward said.

“I would caution this board against doing anything that would jeopardize this park moving forward,” she said.

In the end, the commission instructed staff to meet with each commissioner individually to provide additional information.

While debate continues at the county level, Highland Beach town leaders are going on record and making it clear that they believe more needs to be done to ensure the safety of pedestrians traversing A1A as they go to and from a parking lot.

“I’m concerned with the traffic flow of people crossing with 100 cars coming and going in and out of the park,” Town Commissioner Jason Chudnofsky said during a commission meeting last month. “It isn’t about Milani Park coming in, that’s a given.”

Chudnofsky’s uneasiness and that of many residents was echoed in a letter Town Manager Marshall Labadie sent to County Administrator Verdenia Baker.

“As a community, we are deeply concerned that the development of Milani Park will lead to additional conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles — an outcome no one wants,” Labadie wrote.

The town manager wrote that Highland Beach had commissioned a review of a traffic study that was done by the county, and that review concluded that the analysis performed was not adequate to assess the “real-world traffic and pedestrian safety risks.”

In their assessment, the engineers hired by the town recommended that three more studies be done: a spot speed study, a study of how much time elapses between each car, and a count of non-motorized activity — pedestrian and bicycle.

Labadie urged the county to conduct those studies.

“It is essential that we do everything possible to ensure that this park — while intended to be a countywide asset — does not compromise the safety of those who use it or live nearby,” he wrote.

Ayala-Collazo said a reply is coming and will include a plan to address the town’s recommendations.

Ayala-Collazo said that the county is taking several steps to ensure the safety of pedestrians and motorists in the area and is considering harnessing some of the latest technology available.

Design plans for the area include a crosswalk. The design team is taking steps to ensure pedestrians use that crosswalk by including landscaping and low-profile fencing or railings.

“These measures are intended to discourage mid-block crossings and reinforce intuitive, predictable pedestrian movement,” she said.

Ayala-Collazo said that there have been productive meetings with Florida Department of Transportation representatives who must sign off on any changes affecting traffic on A1A.

She said that while a full traffic light is not likely, pedestrian-activated signals like those in Boca Raton and Highland Beach are being considered. The county’s design team is also looking into the feasibility of embedded crosswalk lighting and motion-triggered pedestrian detection.

Also being considered are raised medians to provide pedestrian refuge, sidewalks that extend into the roadway to shorten the crossing distance, as well as high-visibility crosswalk materials and signage.