We're starting to hear some of the results from a four-day workshop at the Convention Center in West Palm Beach last week regarding easing traffic along Okeechobee Boulevard.
Mayor Jeri Muoio says experts in the field together with the public came up with some possible solutions.
"What they're ultimately going to do is list the pros and cons of each of the ideas. Then we'll have to decide. Also they're going to do short term fixes and long term."
Some of the short term solutions?
"We can fix the lights and sequence those better. We can arrange some of the turn lanes and things on Okeechobee. We can certainly look at a park and ride where we can get rapid transit or a bus lane on Okeechobee."
She's hopeful that some of the short term solutions could happen within a few months, but the mayor isn't sure how long it might take to make some of those changes since it involves multiple governments to make the decisions.
One long-term idea that came up was tunneling Okeechobee, though the mayor said that would be more of a long shot. Also at the event, traffic consultants hired by the city to conduct a mobility study shared some of what was learned.
"Some of the data was very interesting. One of the data points is that in the last ten years, the traffic on Okeechobee has only increased by less than one percent."
Still, Muoio tells us residents have been complaining for some time that rush hour along Okeechobee Boulevard can be a nightmare.
Image: City of West Palm Beach