Royal Palm Beach is trying to get drivers to hit the brakes.
A study presented to the Village Council on Aug. 21 found that some drivers frequently exceed the posted limits in village study areas and suggested a few different solutions to slow drivers down.
“We found the average driver’s going roughly 5 to 10 mph faster than the speed limit,” said Chris Bauso, a civil engineer with Erdman Anthony, which performed the study.
The study covered Crestwood and Royal Palm Beach boulevards, looking at speeding and traffic data at six places over two 72-hour periods.
The majority of cars going through at those times were going slightly over the posted 35 to 40 mph limits — about 38 to 48 mph.
The average daily traffic was busiest on Crestwood, from Crestwood Circle to Sycamore Drive, where the average speed was 45.5 mph in the 40 mph zone.
However, speeding violations were the starkest on Royal Palm Beach Boulevard at Sunflower Circle to 40th Street: The average speed was 43 mph in that area’s 35 mph limit.
Crestwood Boulevard South had the most crashes in 2024 with 81, five of which were speeding accidents. Royal Palm Beach Boulevard had 66 crashes, but 10 caused by speeding.
Royal Palm Beach weighs options to slow speeders on major village roads
Bauso said during the meeting that 85% of drivers “are risk averse: They’re reasonable. They will drive at speeds they deem safe and appropriate.”
When those drivers encounter people going much faster or slower than them is when accidents are prone to happen.
The report recommendations said either stop signs or traffic lights would be expensive and unlikely to slow drivers.
While radar feedback signs or additional officers were pitched as more effective options, there was also another suggestion: Raise the speed limits to reflect how fast drivers are already going.
“This change, therefore, is to help law-abiding citizens who are going the speed limit to basically keep up with the observed flow of traffic that most people are actually going,” Bauso said.
That’s not how all the council members saw it.
“Trying to address a speeding problem by raising the speed limit is beyond counterintuitive,” said Mayor Jeff Hmara at the meeting.
His preferred option — as well as many other council members — was putting up signs displaying drivers’ speeds, though Village Engineer Chris Marsh pointed out a few issues with that solution.
He said they’re already looking at six signs at about $6,000 each. Adding more might be expensive and a nuisance.
“Throwing up hundreds of these all over the village? I don’t think they’re beautiful, either,” Marsh said. “I think that they can be offensive, especially if we go into residential neighborhoods.”
Manpower an issue in catching speeders along Royal Palm Beach roads
Most speeding incidents are driven by the same offenders. Capt. Ulrich Naujoks of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said his department doesn’t really have the manpower to keep officers waiting to catch those speeders, though.
“You can let us know the license plate number and we may be able to go over and speak to them, but the problem is that’s a civil infraction not committed in the presence of the law-enforcement officer,” Naujoks said at the meeting. “So I can’t cite them.”
With the expense of changing the roads and already-narrow lanes on streets like Crestwood Boulevard, the village staff had some concerns about traffic-calming methods to slow down drivers.
Ultimately, the council unanimously moved to adjust village policy to add in the radar signs — with the possibility of revisiting changing the speed limit if the signs don’t make a difference in slowing drivers down after a year.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Will raising speed limits make streets safer? Royal Palm Beach balks at consultant’s idea
Reporting by Elise Catrion Gregg / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
