Town officials say they are noticing worsening traffic congestion on the island since the July 20 closure of South Ocean Boulevard near Mar-a-Lago.
The shutdown of a stretch of the major transportation artery, ordered by the U.S. Secret Service for security reasons, has effectively divided the northern and southern portions of the island.
With the county schools having started their new year this week, the town already seeing traffic tie-ups on and near the Royal Park (middle) Bridge, Town Manager Kirk Blouin told the Town Council earlier this week.
Blouin said the traffic snarls will intensify after seasonal residents begin returning to the island in October.
“I personally expect, with the full road closure, it will be gridlock for miles in each direction,” Blouin said at Tuesday’s meeting.
The Secret Service ordered the closure of South Ocean Boulevard, between South County Road and the Southern Boulevard traffic circle, at least until the November 5 presidential election and perhaps indefinitely. The decision is in effect 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Secret Service abruptly announced the decision a few days after Donald Trump, the former president and the GOP nominee for president in the November 5 election, was shot and wounded by an attempted assassin during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The barricades force motorists driving from one end of the island to the other to cross a bridge onto the mainland and and another bridge back onto the island. Local traffic is allowed into the residential area by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, which conducts security checks.
The town is “challenging or questioning” the legal authority of the Secret Service to order the road closed, particularly during periods when Trump is not in town, Blouin said.
Town attorney Joanne O’Connor sent a July 22 letter to the Secret Service asking the agency to “provide the legal authority authorizing it to implement the road closure for the specified duration and even when protectee(s) are not in residence in the Town.”
The town has not received a reply, and “they may not even give us a response,” Blouin said.
If there is no reply, the town will research its legal options, he said.
Council President Bobbie Lindsay said residents have swamped the town’s elected officials with questions and concerns.
“They all recognize where we are, but it doesn’t change the level of frustration,” Lindsay said. “And it’s not just our constituents. Our workers that support our businesses are having trouble getting on and off the island every day.”
Councilwoman Bridget Moran said residents are most concerned about emergency vehicles being able to pass through the checkpoints, and about response times.
Police Chief Nicholas Caristo said the town has a point person posted around the clock at the Mar-a-Lago command center, in radio contact with emergency responders.
Fire Rescue Chief Sean Baker said the town’s largest fire trucks can get past the checkpoints. But he said response times will be affected.
“There’s a gauntlet that we have to run,” he said.
Blouin noted that the county’s Trauma Hawk air ambulance service also has access to the area within the checkpoints.
The town is working closely with the sheriff’s office, Secret Service, Mar-a-Lago security, West Palm Beach, and Florida Department of Transportation to see what can be done to reduce the congestion.
Steps identified so far include adjusting the sequencing of traffic lights to improve the flow of vehicles and installing better signage near the northern checkpoint so delivery drivers and workers know they must have proper identification to get through. The Secret Service and sheriff’s office are also more efficiently directing traffic around large trucks that are stopped and checked before they pass the club, Caristo said.
The town has asked the U.S. Coast Guard to reduce the bridge openings to once per hour near Mar-a-Lago as it did when Trump was in town while he was the president. But the Coast Guard has said it cannot do that unless the Secret Service reactivates the maritime security zone that was in effect during his presidency, Caristo said.
Council member Julie Araskog asked what will be done about traffic and security when the Mar-a-Lago Club reopens for the social season this fall.
Mayor Danielle Moore said that, if the road remains closed, then the club should also stay closed. She said it makes no sense to step up security, then allow hundreds of people onto the property for events.
“There’s no way in God’s green earth that they can bring 350 people into that club,” Moore said. “It’s completely illogical that you’ve got a road closed and then you’re going to let 350 strangers into your club.”
The club’s operation is governed by a declaration-of-use agreement with the town. The Town Council in 1993 allowed the club to open as a special exception (conditional) use in a residential zoning district. Mar-a-Lago’s compliance with the agreement is tied to an occupational license issued to it by the town.
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