Palm Beach Town Council cites traffic as it threatens to limit events at Mar-a-Lago
After a Monday evening event at Mar-a-Lago left cars bumper to bumper on South Ocean Boulevard, Town Council President Margaret Zeidman issued a clear message to former President Donald Trump's club: “Either get your act together, or we will get it together for you.”
Town officials are weighing the possibility of limiting events at the former president’s residence if what they described as traffic mismanagement continues.
“If in the end we have to restrict, if we can, their events, then we will do so,” Zeidman said.
Her comments during Tuesday’s Town Council meeting hint at an increasingly tense relationship between town officials and Mar-a-Lago regarding the club's management of traffic during events.
"It's the events in this town that are really the problem, because everyone comes at one time," said Zeidman. "And it's such a tiny town we can't accommodate it."
The council's comments could be problematic considering Mar-a-Lago's role in the fundraising efforts for Trump's reelection campaign.
More: Upped value of Mar-a-Lago, other Palm Beach County property boosts Trump's tax bills
Mar-a-Lago recently hosted two major fundraising events, with the Oct. 26 event raking in an estimated $6 million — according to Politico — one of the campaign's largest single-night hauls.
That event led to the first major complaint about traffic for the season.
According to Zeidman, traffic stemming from the club delayed the start of the Oct. 26 Safeguard Palm Beach South End Safety Forum by 30 minutes. The event was held at the South Fire Station, which is south of Mar-a-Lago.
“Everybody was late, and they had to start it a half hour later, because of an event in Mar-a-Lago,” Zeidman said.
Town officials said Mar-a-Lago had not opened its South Ocean Boulevard gate by the time guests started arriving, causing traffic to stack on the northbound and southbound lanes. Normally, off-duty officers would be present to help diffuse traffic, but the club had requested off-duty officers at a later time, according to department spokesperson Maj. John Scanlan.
Palm Beach Police Chief Nicholas Caristo intervened, ordering cars stacking on the South Ocean Boulevard southbound lane to drive past Mar-a-Lago and return via the northbound lane.
"No guests were allowed into Mar-a-Lago until the traffic was alleviated," Caristo said during the Oct. 26 forum. "We're not going to tolerate it."
The Mar-a-Lago Traffic Management Plan agreement between the club and the town — which was revised in May — requires incoming traffic to the club to limit itself to the northbound lane.
The plan states that if the policy is not followed, "any vehicle stacking on southbound South Ocean Blvd. would block through traffic not travelling to Mar-a-Lago."
More: Memorial for Mar-a-Lago builder Marjorie Merriweather Post returns to Southern Boulevard
On Monday, the traffic was caused by a storm of ride-share vehicles and private shuttle buses dropping off guests on South Ocean Boulevard, Scanlan said. Event organizers had sent out guidance recommending guests to use ride-sharing services, he said.
However, because of security concerns, U.S. Secret Service officers at Mar-a-Lago refused to allow any ride-share vehicle to enter the property.
Off-duty officers were present, Scanlan said, but were busy having to split their focus between managing traffic and ensuring that guests crossed the street safely. Though not banned under the Traffic Management Plan, Scanlan said the department does not support the use of ride-sharing services for evening events, as it causes significant traffic and poses a danger to guests crossing the street.
Zeidman said the incident indicated the Secret Service and event organizers had not communicated clearly regarding traffic management.
"One hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing," she said.
Mayor Danielle Moore and council member Ted Cooney highlighted the possibility of having Mar-a-Lago's Southern Boulevard gate as the primary entrance for events.
Moore cited this year's Palm Beach Police and Fire Rescue Ball as an example of using the Southern Boulevard entrance to mitigate traffic.
"I was through security in less than two minutes," Moore said.
In the end, no motions were passed, but the council will revisit Mar-a-Lago's traffic management during its Dec. 12 meeting when Caristo makes his presentation on the police department's townwide traffic study.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Citing traffic, Palm Beach threatens to limit events at Mar-a-Lago
