Pick your transportation option: Consultants want to hear from the public

Congestion, more roads are a concern among Palm Beach County respondents but many want mass transit; bike lanes not so much.

What would you say if someone asked you what transportation advancements you would want to see in Palm Beach County by 2050?

Or what transportation problems are the most challenging today?

Those are two of the nine questions consultants posed for the public at four work sessions last week. They plan to ask the same questions at four more sessions Wednesday and Thursday. 

About 120 residents attended, recording their responses on cellphones to give consultants — and the audience — instant feedback. 

In The Acreage, where single-family homes on large lots predominate, 22% of the 50 residents attending Wednesday night said they’d like to see “more roads.” 

But “more frequent trains, rail lines and stations” grabbed the most votes at sessions in Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach and Delray Beach.

Among improvements people wanted to see the least: “more bicycle lanes.”

In kicking off the quiz, consultant Claudia Bilotto of WSP noted that 2022 U.S. Census data showed that 97.1% of local commutes are by car and just 2.9% by bus, bike or foot.

The sessions are not geared toward local complaints about bad intersections and congestion but, rather, to gauge opinions about long-term solutions, the first stage of a yearlong effort to develop the county’s first transportation master plan.

At all four locations, residents told the consultants that “traffic congestion” is the most pressing transportation challenge they face.

“Insufficient access to public transportation” figured as the No. 2 most pressing challenge in Delray, West Palm and Gardens. 

In The Acreage, however, that concern fell to fifth. “Poor roadway conditions” took second there, followed by “limited connectivity between neighborhoods, cities and counties,” which also scored third in Gardens and West Palm.

How people in the various parts of the county view the same problems is part of the challenge of piecing together a master plan that could justify raising sales taxes to pay for a wide variety of improvements, including more mass transit or a coastal commuter train. 

The county has engaged all 39 of its cities in the selection and oversight of the consultant to carve out a plan that all would consider.

At the Delray session, which attracted 23 people to the Arts Garage Thursday night, 14% of the respondents picked “self-driving/autonmous vehicles” as the transportation advancement they would anticipate or want to see by 2050. That choice drew a lower percentage at the other three locations, bested by “more bus routes” or “more roads.”

Residents don’t have to show up to share their opinions. They can fill out a form on the plan’s website, which offers more extensive surveys for the general public, business community and technical experts.  

Here are the remainder of the scheduled public forums:

Wednesday, Sept. 17

• 1 to 3 pm: Canyon Branch Library, 8915 Senator Joe Abruzzo Ave., Boynton Beach.
• 6 to 8 pm: Governmental Center Chambers, 301 N. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach.

Thursday, Sept. 18

• 2 to 4 pm: Riviera Beach CRA Community Center Clean and Safe Office, 1229 E. Blue Heron Blvd., Riviera Beach.
• 6 to 8 pm: Palm Beach County Vista Center offices, Hearing Room 47, 2300 N. Jog Road, West Palm Beach.