Palm Beach officials call for fewer rush hour events at Mar-a-Lago to ease traffic issues

Draft plans to alleviate traffic issues around former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club are getting an update, with fewer rush hour events and more communication with Palm Beach officials as the town works to address congestion throughout the island.

The changes to the traffic plan, which is pending council approval at the end of the season, are the result of a two-hour meeting between town officials, Mar-a-Lago representatives and the Secret Service on Dec. 4, council president Maggie Zeidman said at Tuesday's meeting.

More: Palm Beach works to find solutions for traffic congestion

The updates to the declaration of use agreement for Mar-a-Lago were part of a larger update on the town's traffic mitigation measures, with a growing number of cars on the island and officials working to keep those cars flowing.

"We're on a barrier island. We're not going to make any new roadways," said police Chief Nicholas Caristo, adding, "It's not a problem that's going to be solved. It's a problem that's going to be managed. And that's what the police department is doing. We're going to manage it."

The recent meeting at Mar-a-Lago followed two incidents where standstill traffic during a pair of early-season fundraising events for Trump's campaign at the historic estate at 1100 S. Ocean Blvd. caused ripple effects across the island. The council at its Nov. 14 meeting shared frustration over backups along South Ocean Boulevard, including one on Oct. 26 that caused a Safeguard Palm Beach South End Safety Forum to start 30 minutes late.

Past Coverage: Palm Beach Town Council to address concerns about traffic management at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday

During the backup for guests to get into the Oct. 26 event at Mar-a-Lago, officials said the club had not opened its gate on South Ocean Boulevard when guests began to arrive, which meant cars began to queue in the north- and southbound lanes.

The Dec. 4 gathering included Zeidman and Caristo; Palm Beach police Major John Scanlan and Lt. David Watson; four Secret Service agents, including the field supervisor for Mar-a-Lago; the club's event planner; and attorney Harvey Oyer, who represents the Mar-a-Lago Club, Zeidman said.

Among the proposed changes to the draft traffic plan agreed to at the meeting, Zeidman said:

• There will be no events between 3 and 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

• The club will need to use the parking lot of the Bath and Tennis Club across Southern Boulevard for traffic staging for events with 250 or more people.

• Palm Beach police must be notified before each event, and if the Bath and Tennis Club is not available, then alternate plans must be made.

Oyer will present the new draft of the declaration of use agreement to the council in January, Zeidman said.

"They were very gracious. They were cooperative," she said, adding that she feels the club's new event coordinator and the Secret Service are collaborating better.

"They don't want any issues with the town," Caristo said. He acknowledged that the traffic plan may continue to need adjustments, but the current issues have been corrected, he said.

Town police "will be on top of them," with two officers at every event to make sure the traffic plan is followed, Caristo said.

But, he said, Mar-a-Lago's events are not the only contributing factor when it comes to tough traffic in that area.

He pointed to construction permits at homes north and south of Mar-a-Lago along South Ocean Boulevard. Since the beginning of the year, there have been occasional lane closures for work on those properties, Caristo said.

Though the permits issued by the town allow those companies to work until 5 p.m., the town has asked them to shut down at 4 p.m. and begin at 8:30 or 9 a.m., Caristo said.

"They were compliant," he said, noting there was no pushback. The issue is particularly dangerous when vehicles stack all the way from the Bath and Tennis Club next to Mar-a-Lago, north into Midtown.

"We can't have that," Caristo said. "That's a huge safety issue."

In the past year, there have been 16 crashes around that area that caused lane closures, he said. There also have been malfunctions of the Southern Boulevard bridge and issues with large groups of bicyclists that have caused tie-ups, Caristo said. Officers have cited some cyclists who do not ride single-file along the narrow South Ocean Boulevard, he said.

Town taking more steps to ease congestion

Caristo on Tuesday also gave the council an overview of other steps the town has taken to help alleviate traffic issues.

Data from the Florida Department of Transportation shows there are an average of 70,000 cars per day on the island, Caristo said, reminding council members that is an annual average: "Now, I know for a fact off-season that figure is much lower. In season, that's going to be much higher," he said.

Town officials have worked with traffic management departments in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County to better time the lights on the west side of the three bridges that connect Palm Beach to the mainland, particularly at peak hours, Caristo said.

He also provided an update on bridge opening schedules, after he and Mayor Danielle Moore sent a letter to the U.S. Coast Guard earlier this year asking for delayed bridge openings during peak hours.

After months of back and forth, the Coast Guard recently submitted a notice of proposed rule making to permanently delay the openings for all three bridges during peak hours in the morning and afternoon, Caristo said. The only snag is that a temporary trial run of delayed openings in the morning and afternoon for the Royal Park and Southern Boulevard bridges won't begin until February, he said.

"That's a positive direction for the future of this island," Caristo said.

The police department is working with the town's public works team to solve traffic flow issues on the island itself, he said: Their teams identified areas that caused congestion, and the town has made several changes as a result, Caristo said.

Noting that traffic was backing up on Bradley Place approaching Royal Poinciana Way at Sunset Avenue, Caristo and public works director Paul Brazil worked to find a solution, first by trying a right-turn only from westbound Sunset onto Bradley Place, and then converting the 200 block of Sunset to one-way eastbound traffic only.

That change took effect in June.

Another difficult intersection, Caristo said, is at Brazilian Avenue and South County Road, which he called "a nonconforming intersection." The spot, which is just north of the police department in Midtown, is prone to tie-up with cars going east and west, and some stopping in the middle to make U-turns, he said.

"It kills that flow of traffic," Caristo said.

By making cars going east and west on Brazilian unable to cross South County Road — they must turn right when they get there — the flow has improved significantly, he said.

Most recently, the town decided to make the 100 block of Barton Avenue westbound-only, effective Dec. 15.

That decision was done to prevent vehicles from stacking on southbound South County Road, Caristo said.

"I know some people don't like that, but I have to look at what's best for the entire community," he said.

Traffic at that intersection right now is "a disaster" during busy hours, Caristo said.

After that change is made, officers will monitor the area to watch for any issues, he said.

Longtime Palm Beach resident William Walde, who lives in the 100 block of Barton Avenue, said he would like to see a more comprehensive plan for how to address traffic issues in the town. He noted that he did not know about the change to the traffic pattern on his street until he read about it in the Palm Beach Daily News last month.

He also asked that Barton not be turned into a parking lot for the nearby Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, of which Walde is a member.

Still, Walde said that if Caristo feels the change is in the best interest of the town, he supports it, and he encouraged his neighbors to do so as well: "If it's for the good of the town, we have to support it," Walde said.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Mar-a-Lago Club traffic issues prompt changes from Palm Beach officials