Lake Worth, Florida, entered the 1990s with its downtown declining as badly as its traffic problems were growing. Commercial vacancies ran as high as 50 percent, and the few pedestrians who ventured there found a deteriorating no-place, bare of enhancements and amenities, where crossing the street safely was a major challenge. Traffic zipped by with ease on Lake Avenue heading east and Lucerne Avenue heading west, the downtown's core streets. Speeds had reached 55 mph when a local teenager crashed into and totaled another car as it passed through an intersection.
In 1992, just when the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council wound up a Lake Worth downtown community planning charrette, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) initiated discussions with the city on the traffic safety issue. The charrette's results showed public preference for more pedestrian space, reduced speeds, and more parking on both Lake and Lucerne Avenues, results that were then incorporated in the Downtown Redevelopment and Revitalization Plan. FDOT, working with Lake Worth planner Gene Nowak and project manager Ray Smith, conducted an experiment. Using only paint, each street was significantly narrowed to two lanes with the third lane striped for parking. When accident rates fell by over 44 percent during the 1994/95 trial year, a heated discussion ensued--how would they allot the newly gained twelve feet of roadway? While the city of Lake Worth and the Treasure Coast Council opted for wide sidewalks, ten-foot lanes, and parking on both sides of the streets, FDOT emphasized bike lanes and keeping wider traffic lanes.
Working together for almost a year, the partners shaped a "win-win" compromise. Both Lake and Lucerne Avenues got narrower lanes, parallel parking, decorative light fixtures, planters, paver-block sidewalks and crosswalks, benches, trash containers, and other amenities in "you're in Lake Worth now" colors. Both streets also received 65-foot corner "bumpouts" that shorten street crossings for pedestrians and serve as convenient stops for the county bus and the "Lolly the Trolley" minibus. A westbound bike lane was added to Lucerne Avenue, and an eastbound lane was added on an adjacent street. Lake Avenue, Lake Worth's bonafide "Main Street," received widened sidewalks, including two blocks of 21-foot sidewalks at a point where a broader roadbed could be whittled down for more pedestrian space.
During construction, the city reached out to merchants to apprise them of progress and help them gain access to economic development grant funds. At the same time, to attract people to the new downtown, an "Evenings on the Avenues" festival was held the first and third Fridays every month downtown. Now a tradition, the events feature live music and sidewalk vendors, while many stores stay open late.
Once construction was completed in 1998, existing businesses began sprucing up, while new ones like restaurants, retailers, and art galleries moved in, and continue to do so. Vacancies now are practically nil, or as Gene Nowak puts it, "you'd be hard pressed to find 1,200 square feet in one place." Traffic rarely moves beyond 20 mph, and accidents have been cut in half. This attractive, bustling community place is filled with residents and visitors eating at the new outdoor cafes, shopping, "schmoozing," and strolling both day and night (since businesses stay open late). As an indication of the success of these changes, in a city of some 30,000, attendance at the annual downtown street painting festival has exceeded 100,000 in the past two years. Downtown property values were up $10 million in 1999, over 10 percent from the previous year.
The last phase of improvements, the reconstruction of State Road 5 and U.S. Highway 1, and construction of a roundabout that will serve as a traffic-calming gateway to Lake Worth's center, are now nearing completion. FDOT is already pointing to the completed improvements as an example of how transportation can help build livable communities. Rick Chesser, Secretary of FDOT District 4 and a staunch supporter of the Lake Worth project, talks about a new climate evolving at FDOT in which roadways don't always need to be "interstate designs." He's been giving presentations showing the importance of factoring communities into the state highway design process. "Finally there's recognition," he says, "that FDOT standards have a range that can be adapted to community needs."
Street painting fair, Lake Worth, Florida.
Wider sidewalks allow room for outdoor cafes, strolling, shopping, and "schmoozing."
FDOT tested how two lanes would work by "striping out" the third one. Accident rates fell by over 44%.
Paver block sidewalks and crosswalks, trash dispensers, trees, and other amenities have helped produce a place that welcomes people.
