Boca preparing downtown for traffic district

By Dale M. King
CITY EDITOR

On paper, it looks like some major changes are coming to downtown Boca Raton.

But it’s more a matter of paperwork – and the elimination of some unneeded work at one downtown intersection, said Development Services Director Jorge Camejo.

The Planning & Zoning Board will hold a public hearing July 15 in City Hall to tweak the downtown redevelopment area to make sure it is ready for the arrival of the Multi-Modal Transportation District (MMTD).

“This has to do with transportation,” said Camejo, explaining the drawing of the impacted area, which seems to include most of the downtown.

“It has to do with modifying certain traffic conditions,” he said.

If the proposal passes July 15, the city will not have to go through with the addition of one eastbound lane and one westbound lane at the intersection of Dixie Highway and Camino Real.

When a study was done years ago, he said, it was anticipated that the intersection would need the two additional lanes. However, the level of traffic has not reached what was anticipated.

If the city went ahead and put the two lanes in anyway, it would require land takings that would cost several thousand dollars. Basically, said Camejo, there is “no room” at the intersection for the two lanes.

He said the Florida Department of Transportation and the regional planning organization agree with the proposal.

As to the “tweaks,” he said, “We are mainly moving things around for the arrival of the MMTD.”  The Multi-Modal Transportation District encourages alternatives to automobiles, but it has an additional aspect of adding them in as part of zoning districts.

He said the plan, if adopted, “should have a positive impact on all downtown businesses.”