The County Commission has at least temporarily suspended use of red light cameras. There were cameras in operation at two intersections in West Boca – at Lyons & Glades, and at Palmetto Park & Powerline. The closest other one was in Delray at Atlantic and Jog.
This follows on a court decision from the Fourth District Court of Appeal involving the city of Hollywood (Broward County) which decided that law enforcement cannot be outsourced to private companies. That decision is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/4D12-1312.rhg_.pdf”]
Per WPTV, the City of Boca Raton is continuing to use cameras for now.
Thanks to a reader for the tip.
Category: Roads-Traffic
Panhandlers: Andy O'Brien Responds
Update: Commissioner Abrams did respond, briefly. See bottom of the article.
After three attempts we’ve still received no response from Commissioner Abrams and Berger on the panhandling issue in West Boca and the rest of unincorporated Palm Beach County.
Today we sent an e-mail to Andy O’Brien, who is challenging Abrams in the current election for the seat in District 4. Unlike Abrams, O’Brien responded quickly. Here’s what he had to say:
I would favor an approach such as they have in Boca Raton and find the County Attorney’s opinion curious. My first principal as a Commissioner is to protect citizens safety. While care must be taken not to violate anyone’s constitutional rights, care must also be taken to find a balance where non-panhandling citizens are not endangered.
Said more plainly, I will put this question in my (large) pile of items not being dealt with by my opponent and once elected will take up the issue with the county attorney and fellow commissioners so as to find that balance.
Andy O’Brien
Commissioner Abrams’ response:
As an update, at our meeting yesterday, the Board discussed the possibility of a blanket ban, and the county attorney’s office will be providing additional information, and then the Board will determine if it wishes to consider same.
Accident at Lyons and Clint Moore
A reader just reported to us that there’s an accident at Lyons and Clint Moore. From the photo above it looks like the collision was fairly minor and hopefully there are no serious injuries. Update: Additional reader photo added at bottom.
However, it does appear to be causing traffic problems at the intersection, per Google Maps:
We recommend avoiding the intersection for at least half an hour.
From the photo it looks like a Mercedes S Class met with a Lexus RX, and we think we see airbag deployment on the Lexus passenger side.
Update: Another reader sent us a shot from a different angle.
Accident on Turnpike Southbound – North of Glades
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue tweeted that there is an accident on the Turnpike, southbound, north of Glades Road. We don’t have more information yet, but they don’t tweet every accident so this one may be more serious.
We do see significant traffic impact on Google Maps. It’s significantly north of the Glades Road interchange, so if you’re getting on the Turnpike it should be fine. For any drivers coming southbound to get off at Glades or further south, expect significant delays. The red line signifies very low speeds.
Biden & Crist Jam Traffic In West Boca
We heard from many readers today complaining about horrendous traffic and an overwhelming police presence. This was apparently caused by Vice President Biden’s visit to Century Village on Lyons Road.
Readers reported that Yamato Road was blocked westbound from Jog. Other readers reported problems all the way from I-95 to Lyons. We also saw a traffic jam on Glades Road approaching the Turnpike, and heard reports of problems at Glades and Lyons, as well as on Lyons itself.
One of our readers sent us several photos of the police. There were plenty on motorcycles:
There were plenty of cars:
And they were on the roadway, here at Lyons and Kimberly in front of Century Village:
Readers told us that Biden and Governor candidate Charlie Crist were accompanied by other local Democrat officials including Congressman Ted Deutch, State Senator Joe Abruzzo and others. We wonder if the votes this helps them get in Century Village are offset by the thousands of drivers who were inconvenienced.
But the truth is this kind of over-the-top treatment of government officials is a bipartisan affair. For voters who are really bothered by it, we would suggest voting for third-party candidates.