Throughout a busy winter season, the Town Council addressed a range of important issues, with traffic remaining at the forefront.

As concerns grow over gridlock in the town, council members approved new measures aimed at improving traffic flow.

During its December meeting at Town Hall, the council reviewed 28 traffic mitigation proposals intended to ease congestion on the island .

The town has rolled out a number of those proposals as the season wraps up, including regulating construction activity , bridge-op e ning management , and revised timelines for capital projects.

Other initiatives remain under review or have failed to gain approval.

A proposal that would require contractors for large or high-value construction projects to transport workers on and off the island is still being studied, while council members agreed to reject a measure that would limit the number of building permits in some parts of town .

At a public traffic forum held in February at Town Hall , Town Manager Kirk Blouin said the town’s traffic woes were caused by a range of factors, with the two most impactful being bridge openings, and the U.S. Secret Service's mandated closure of South Ocean Boulevard while President Donald Trump is at his Mar-a-Lago Club.

He pointed out that although the Coast Guard oversees the bridges into town, Mayor Danielle Moore successfully lobbied to cut bridge openings from twice to once an hour during morning and afternoon rush hours.

However, the number does not reflect bridge openings triggered by barge traffic to and from Palm Beach County’s Bonefish Cove Project .

“We asked them to delay the project, to work in the off hours, to work at night ... all those requests were denied, but the meeting and the communications did not stop,” Blouin said.

Work on the Bonefish Cove Project is expected to continue until August , while the closure of South Ocean Boulevard tied to Trump's visits to Palm Beach occur regularly.

During her state-of-the-town address at the Citizens' Association of Palm Beach's annual meeting in February, Moore acknowledged the difficulties South End residents encounter when traveling to the center of town during South Ocean Boulevard closures.

But she emphasized that the town is taking steps to alleviate traffic on the island, citing efforts by council member Lew Crampton and Council President Bobbie Lindsay to create a parking and traffic program for the town .

She also highlighted the town’s new Planning, Zoning, and Building Department software that allows for online applications, which has eased traffic at Town Hall.

"Town Hall can be complicated," she said. "So anything that decreases traffic in Midtown is a good thing."

Other key issues addressed by the council during the winter season included development, parking, undergrounding, water contract negotiations, and finalizing the comprehensive plan.

Development

The council reviewed a number of major development projects brought forward this season, including a substantial renovation and expansion of the Society of the Four Arts, a redevelopment of Palm Beach Synagogue, and the construction of a subterranean parking garage and Family Entertainment Center at The Breakers .

In January, the council approved a long-planned redevelopment project proposed by Palm Beach Synagogue that would expand and renovate the partially landmarked site at 120 N. County Road.

The vote came after nine hours of discussion and deliberation that included input from design and planning professionals, traffic consultants, attorneys, and dozens of residents and synagogue members who spoke in favor of and in opposition to the project.

In February, council members approved a special exception and site plan for the Four Arts to renovate and expand its Esther B. O’Keeffe and Rovensky buildings, along with some landscaping and signage around the organization's 10-acre Midtown campus.

At its April meeting, the council approved an updated plan for parking and traffic management at the Four Arts.

Also in April, council members granted approvals for The Breakers to replace its 12,136-square-foot, two-story Family Entertainment Center with a new 16,675-square-foot, three-story facility featuring a basement, and build a large subterranean parking lot and a small surface level lot for a combined 849 parking spaces.

A final council vote on the project is set for May .

A scheduled review by the council of plans to replace the Ambassador hotel and an adjacent lakeside building with three five-story ultra-luxe condos were put on hold in April after council members expressed concerns about the condition of the building.

The structure was later declared safe by the owner's structural engineer and the town .

The council continues to await word on a potential agreement between Paramount Theatre owner Lester Woerner and the town over the proposed redevelopment of the historic property.

Attorneys for Woerner's company, WEG Paramount, LLC, and the town remain engaged in discussions to settle their long-running dispute , with each side expected to submit a report detailing developments in the case by June 3.

Discussions between the two parties began in February, following Woerner’s request to postpone a contested hearing before Judge Francine Ffolkes .

The dispute between Woerner and the town stems from the town council's July 10, 2024, denial of WEG Paramount's special exception request for a 475-member private club on the property at 139 N. County Road.

Comprehensive Plan

A yearlong effort to update the town's Comprehensive Plan ended in February after the council voted unanimously to adopt the document following input from town officials, staff and residents.

The Comprehensive Plan, which must be updated every seven years, sets the foundation for decisions town leaders and departments will make going forward, such as the goals of the town’s coastal protection program and how much traffic can fill island roads before town staff must step in.

In November, the Town Council voted to approve the draft , which was then sent to state officials. The Comprehensive Plan was reviewed by the state for 60 days before it was sent back to town staff in January.

Parking

The town rolled out its paid parking system on Worth Avenue and South County Road in October.

New metered spaces replaced all the spaces — most of them free — on the 100 to 400 blocks of all the streets south of Seaview Avenue to Hammon Avenue, save for the area's residential spaces. A smartphone app, ParkMobile, controls what a motorist pays and how long the car can stay in a space without penalty.

Run time and parking session limits are available on the town's website .

The changes have drawn both praise and criticism.

In a statement to the Daily News last fall, the Worth Avenue Association thanked the town for crafting a plan that took town businesses into consideration, though some residents and visitors have complained about the elimination of free parking and the difficulty of using the ParkMobile app.

Residents who bought the resident parking permits introduced in November 2023 can park for two hours at any metered space at no additional charge.

Undergrounding

The town's undergrounding project is ongoing, town officials said, with completion anticipated in 2027.

The 10-year, $128 million town-wide project will bury all overhead, electrical, phone and cable television lines across the town.

All of the project's 15 construction zones are either complete or funded for construction, according to the town.

"Undergrounding is almost finished, hopefully," Moore said in February. "We're looking at a final completion date of 2027. I know that sounds like a long way away, but it's a 10-year project, and it's almost done."

Water contract

The town continues to explore potential water providers ahead of the Oct. 1, 2029, expiration of its current agreement with the city of West Palm Beach.

After reviewing six options provided by environmental consultant Kimley-Horn in 2022 , the town narrowed its list to two: continuing the current water-supply contract with the city of West Palm Beach and collaborating on a membrane-technology upgrade at its treatment plant; and contracting with the city of Lake Worth Beach — which does utilize membrane technology — to provide water.

The current water contract has two possible five-year extension options, and Moore said there is "little doubt" the town will need to exercise at least one of them to allow more time for deliberation.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News , part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at .