Letter: Bikes, cars do not mix on parts of South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach
For the last two years, Palm Beach has gotten a huge influx of new homeowners and curious tourists. With this increasing population comes different problems, which our town must deal with in a deliberate and immediate manner to preserve what we love about living here.
We have all noticed the increase of bicycling in the last few years. Most of the local hotels now offer bicycles for their guests to tour the island. Unfortunately, on certain streets, bicycling and vehicular traffic do not mix well.
Most tourists want to bike along South Ocean Boulevard to be able to view the ocean. It is undeniable that this is a beautiful ride but it has become a potentially dangerous situation for all of us.
South of Midtown Beach after Gulfstream Road, South Ocean Boulevard narrows quite a bit. There are no sidewalks and no bike lanes. South Ocean Boulevard in this area is a town road and not A1A, a state-owned road as many people think. It is a heavily traveled road south toward Mar-a-Lago, especially during the hours of 3:30 and 6 p.m., and in season it is all hours of the day.
There is little or no room for both northbound and southbound car traffic and people on bicycles. It has become a very dangerous situation.
I have personally seen many close calls with vehicles and people on bikes as I live on South Ocean Boulevard. Tourists on bikes are not paying attention to driving their bikes. Rather, they are viewing the ocean, looking at the houses or on their phone, talking or even taking videos.
I witnessed a family of four (mother, father and two little girls) last season almost get completely wiped out.
And this was not the only near accident I witnessed . It was happening repeatedly. And it will happen again this season, I am sure.
I know that Palm Beach wants to be a "tourist friendly" town but safety needs to be the priority, and something needs to be done before the busy season starts. With the increasing number of cars and bikes going up and down South Ocean Boulevard, it will only be a matter of time before these close calls turn into tragedy for both the tourists, the residents and the town itself. This stretch of road is town-owned, so lawsuits are bound to occur.
I am not sure what can and should be done but I know I do not want to see anyone get hurt. Tourists should be encouraged to use our beautiful bike trail or even to bike down South County Road, which is wider and has bike lanes in place. Maybe prohibiting bike traffic along this section of road during certain hours of the day would help.
I have confidence that our Town Council can come up with and implement a plan soon so that potential tragedy will be avoided.
Janet Levy
Palm Beach
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Letter: Bikes, vehicles not a good mix on parts of South Ocean Blvd. in Palm Beach
