Designing roads properly can yield quality of life improvements

Lake Worth should redesign its neighborhood roads (as well as roads like Federal Hwy and Lake and Lucerne Ave) before taking on "worst first" rehabilitation and reconstruction projects.  Moving forward with traditional street design when rehabilitating worst first neighborhood roads before looking at design opportunities severely limits our horizons and possibilities.

When state DOTs bring streets through cities, they apply highway standards (above, Okeechobee Boulevard in West Palm Beach, Florida). (Screenshot via Google Maps)  

Photo printed in "Why 12-Foot Traffic Lanes are Disastrous and Must Be Replaced Now" by Jeff Speck in The Atlantic City Labs Oct. 6, 2014

There are a lot moving parts in a street right-of-way.  It's critical to design re-allocation of street right of way space to maximize the safety of vulnerable users and drivers through traffic calming, tree canopy and pervious surfaces and road noise prior to inking road rehabilitation and reconstruction project contracts.  Otherwise you limit the city's options to yesteryear's road design specs.    These Forward looking road re-design has quality of life and perceived value benefits that can make Lake Worth more attractive and desirable to those living outside of our city.

With that in mind here's a link (http://www.citylab.com/design/2014/10/why-12-foot-traffic-lanes-are-disastrous-for-safety-and-must-be-replaced-now/381117/)to New Urbanist Jeff Speck's smart story published in the Atlantic two years ago.   I met Jeff at that time when he spoke at West Palm Beach City Hall while he was consulting for the City of West Palm Beach.

Unfortunately, I walked out of fascinating and inspirational lecture to attend a Parrot Cove Neighborhood Meeting to listen to a road bond presentation by City Manager Michael Bornstein.  Mr. Bornstein's presentation was a complete letdown and my friend Jocelyn was so disappointed that we left Jeff Speck's lecture.  Two years later at another presentation by City Manager Bornstein I felt that same letdown.