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.