Palm Coast public works crews on July 2 and 3 will install flashing-red stop signs at two Town Center intersections that have long exasperated drivers. Expect lane closures.
The intersection at Town center Boulevard and Royal Palms Parkway and the intersection at Town Center Boulevard and Old Kings Road will both be converted to three-way stop-sign intersections.
Overnight crews will do the work starting at 4 p.m. on July 2 and ending at 7 a.m. July 3, the day the county and the nation are observing Independence Day. Lane closures will begin at 4 p.m. on July 2 at both intersections.
The Old Kings Road-Town Center intersection is currently signalized. The signal will be removed. At the Royal Palms intersection, there is a lone stop sign for Royal Palms traffic trying to turn right or left onto Town Center Boulevard. That has created backups of up to 400 feet on Royal Palms in morning rush hours and 260 feet in afternoon rush hours, according to a city analysis. The backups have resulted in recurring complaints to City Council members.
The Palm Coast City Council approved the $15,000 changes at a meeting in April as part of a larger, $675,000 appropriation to design the widening of Town Center Boulevard from north of Central Avenue to Royal Palms Parkway and reengineer two roundabouts. That construction is not expected for several more years.
The flashing-red changes are not intended to be permanent. A more permanent, and to city engineers more ideal, solution at both Old Kings and Royal Palms intersections with Town center would be roundabouts. The Sabal Palms Preserve development, expected to total some 300 single-family houses at build-out, and a new housing development for seniors just north of the poorly designed Old Kings-Town Center intersection, are increasing traffic and adding to challenges. The city was hoping to secure a legislative appropriation to reengineer the Old Kings-Town Center intersection. That has not been successful so far.
A simulation by Palm Coast’s traffic engineer on how the stop signs are expected to let traffic flow more smoothly:
DP says
Severe backup problems. Hahaaaaaaa, they claim we have backups now, which we do. But can’t wait for the city to claim we need more money to fix the problem. A problem caused by growth, poorly spent impact fee’s, or a very low impact fee received. Or better yet a very poor department head, and thier incompetent traffic engineers. 5 years ago the city claimed they needed a traffic signal at Old Kings & Town Ctr. All is good, now the light is not working, so we replace it with a 3 way flashing stop lights. Same with the royal palms intersection. Instead with right away available on old Kings rd N, and Town ctr, turn lanes could have been installed to relieve traffic. The only concern then would have been SB old Kings. How about the city manage, and collect appropriate impact fee’s, be proactive, instead of reactive. This too will fail, causing the current citizens more money to fix. The developments in that immediate area should have been made to make thises improvements.
celia says
What is needed to do there is have the developers and the contractors using now Town Center Blvd to store their heavy equipment lately to pay for the tubing of the canal there going under I-95 and use the space to 4 lane the underpass and the traffic back up will be resolved. Big bad decision of Carl Cote running our city now to do away with the expensive traffic lights he had us pay there years ago…When is the council to put the the breaks to this chief without engineering degree? Why current city manager going along with such non sense trying to benefit developers and their contractors storing equipment now in very narrow and potholed by their heavy trucks, Town Center Blvd?
celia says
What a waste of our hard earned taxes by an incompetent city traffic engineering Dept, Just to benefit the contractor storing their heavy equipment right on Town Center Blvd and on the back of Palmcoasters? Fifteen Thousand Dollars decided by non professional individuals at the city dpt. Better a long line and safe on a red light than accidents waiting to happen given a 3 way stop light that will be violated daily…please! Who could think that these new deranged speeding drivers around us are going to stop first come first serve? Laughable! Looks like the decision maker does not reside in Palm Coast doesn’t care or endure the mayhem traffic in PC 24-7.
Steve Barnier says
Well these brilliant engineers will soon get a lesson
Just wait until 95 is shut down and everyone bails onto old kings
I have seen it backed up 1/3 on the way north now. With a stop sign my guess is it goes all the way to PC parkway
Then add an accident at the town center/old kings intersection and you will have grid lock in all 3 directions
Maybe they should get their tuition back
Greg Ryan says
Suggest we have two tow trucks and a sheriff parked there 24/7. There will be many people that will scream out: I’M NEXT & I’m going!
JimboXYZ says
Welcome to Alfinville, FL. Aren’t they going to widen the road (s) there ? Makes Lehigh Trail crossing more interesting. So are3 those lights only going to be flashing during peak traffic. Makes no sense to have that in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep ? Might as well have a couple of roundabouts there instead to keep traffic flowing. It’s still going to be a stop, start process for rush hour. Someone wasn’t paying attention when I brought this up at every Alfin rubber stamp approval 2021-Jan 2025. What a Vision (of 2050) that didn’t make it to 2025 ?
Jay Tomm says
So for YEARS people have been plowing down town center with no stop. Now your putting a stop within 2 weeks? I wonder how many crashes there will be & I hope no one looses life because someone that’s been driving this way for YEARS is going to forget the stop. Even with the flashing light.
And changing the old kings one to a stop from a LIGHT is stupid.
TR says
This is the dumbest idea ever. You can not trust drivers to control alternating people to make turns while waiting at this intersection. A traffic signal is working, but they just need to change the timing of the light. I hope they leave the traffic light there and just shut them off while it is proven to be a dumb idea to use flashing stop signage. When it make a bigger problem, all they have to do is turn the signal back on.
elroy says
what a brilliant idea, “Joking”, with all the different drivers living here from different parts of the country this is going to be a cluster screw up .
Palm Harbor Drive and clubhouse. That’s a three-way stop sign actually four ways I believe and it is confusing to some people . The city traffic engineer, who came up with this idea should sue his college to get his money back
Bob says
Long overdue.
BobAnonanon says
The problem is that from Royal Palms to Old Kings needs to be four lanes. And that’s what impact fees need to cover.
PaulT says
Absurd.
The traffic signal on Old Kings needs a northbound turn lane, not a 3 way stop.
The junction of Royal Palms and Town Center Blvd. should be upgraded to a roundabout. it is certain That junction ks certain to see more and more traffic as people avoid the cluttered chaos of SR 100 east of BelleTerre Parkway. Traffic is at a crawl along that stretch and will get far worse when the SR 100 Walmart is built.
‘The City has no funds’? Reverse the property tax rebate on the Town Center data center. The developer falsified the planning application so the City needs to renegotiate,
Country Road Take Me Home says
Their plan is laughable. Once these changes have been made, the amount of vehicles traveling those intersections daily will cause even more mayhem. Turn lanes at Old Kings and Town Center Blvd should have been considered. Not 3-way stop signs. This all seems counter intuitive to me. The round about at Town Center Blvd and Royal Palms might work but not for long. Wait until the mega Walmart is built. We’re not going to be able to get from point A to point B without huge traffic delays. Does the City of Palm Coast plan include bus transportation in our future? Cha-ching…….
Crystal says
Three way stop signs are a death trap just like four way stop signs. Why oh why would you spend money to fix something that is not broken. With the exception of a turning lane the light works just fine. With a traffic light you know your turn is coming and safely at that, with the stop signs at 5:00pm I can just imagine the back up on both roads (Old Kings Rd and Town Center Dr), the horns beeping, tempers flaring, people want to get home not sit in a line of cars waiting to see who is gonna go first.
I guess this is gonna be another road I will not be traveling anymore.
celia says
Crystal the ignorant and arrogant idea of a departmental chief that is lately running this city and has no experience or any engineering degree! But boy he has the twisted ways to brainwash our council and mayor to approve his nonsense…attached juicy cost to us in work material and ” astronomical paid consultants”. Look what done and the millions cost to White View Parkway designed by ITT 4 lanes correctly and our mastermind none engineer degree decided to push for a 2 lane reduction “in a growing city” based in the frivolous excuse of many accidents. We have had as many accidents and deaths in Palm Coast parkway but we do not dig it out and rebuild right at millions cost! The door should be open for one more at least, soon.
Land of no turn signals says says
The real fix is another building development on Old Kings in that area! Say around 3,400 homes.