Drivers warn of blind spots at 2 downtown intersections from new shade trees

Lake Worth Beach City Commission was scheduled to discuss the dahoon hollies March 17 but removed the agenda item last minute, sparking criticism from one elected official

THE DAHOON HOLLIES, planted along Lake and Lucerne avenues last month, were meant to bring shade and charm to downtown Lake Worth Beach.

But at two intersections, some residents and business owners say, low-hanging crowns on the young trees are blocking critical sightlines for motorists and pedestrians.

One resident said it’s especially dangerous at Lucerne and North Palmway, two blocks from the Lake Worth Bridge. Cars coming off the bridge often approach that intersection in excess of 35 miles per hour, the bridge’s posted speed limit. The speed limit on Lucerne is 25 mph.

“Parked trucks and cars always compromise the driver’s view of oncoming traffic, but these newly planted trees make it very much more difficult to see and track the speed of oncoming vehicles on Lucerne,’’ Michael Certo, a seasonal Bryant Park resident, wrote in a social media post that he shared with Mayor Betty Resch in an email March 15.

“If an accident occurs,’’ he said, “the city may have some liability.’’

His email included a photograph Certo shot from his northbound vehicle at a North Palmway stop sign as he waited to turn left onto westbound Lucerne. The looking-east image, seen below. shows two dahoon hollies, staggered on the south sidewalk, with a parked car in between, partially blocking the view of oncoming cars on Lucerne.

That same view is shown in the video at the top of this story, recorded by the Lake Worth Beach Independent.

(MICHAEL CERTO)

Certo, who lives a block south of the intersection on South Palmway, said he has “seen numerous close calls,” including an SUV nearly T-boned by a westbound vehicle on Lucerne at 5:30 p.m. March 14.

“Making it more dangerous, these trees are staggered in such a way that they also block the sightlines of drivers in the left lane of Lucerne,’’ he said. “It is now very much more difficult for them to see vehicles attempting to enter the roadway” from North Palmway.

It’s not the only intersection motorists have found challenging.

South Palm Park resident Greg Richter said he has had trouble turning right on red onto eastbound Lake Avenue from K Street because his view is partially blocked by a dahoon holly on the sidewalk in front of Lilo’s Streetfood & Bar.

That same view is shown in the video below, recorded by the Lake Worth Beach Independent.

“It’s very scary,’’ he said, adding that he wished the city would have purchased mature hollies with higher crowns that don’t block driver sightlines.

The City Commission was scheduled to discuss the trees March 17, an agenda item added weeks ago at the request of Commissioner Anthony Segrich, who thinks the city made a mistake purchasing the 13 dahoon hollies.

The city spent nearly $51,500 on the new trees. Not long after the trees were planted during the week of Feb. 9, many residents and businesses complained the crowns were blocking pedestrians’ access on the sidewalk and extending into parallel parking lanes on the street.

The contractor pruned the hollies, exposing more of the trunks and apparently alleviating those initial complaints. But Segrich said he has received at least 10 reports from people who say the trees are still too short and their crowns block critical sightlines.

Segrich hoped commissioners would discuss all of the concerns March 17 and determine whether the trees should be removed.

But Mayor Betty Resch, at the start of the meeting, persuaded a commission majority to delete the tree discussion from the agenda. She said there was nothing to discuss because the commission had already voted twice to approve the trees.

‘‘We can’t revisit every decision we make,’’ she said during a brief debate with Segrich.

Segrich pushed back.

“The discussion was to talk about the potential that it was a mistake and maybe take them out or relocate them,’’ he said. “I believe if we make a mistake, we should correct it and have that discussion.’’

When commissioner Mimi May said she’d be willing to reconsider the trees if they are a safety hazard, Segrich told his colleagues that he has received complaints from residents about blocked sightlines.

“I’ve been told by business owners that people have almost been hit and that it’s a large concern,’’ Segrich said.

Resch, without mentioning Certo’s name, acknowledged receiving an email from a South Palmway resident with safety concerns.

“We can certainly deal with individual problems that arise,’’ she said before the commission voted to cancel the discussion.

The next day, Certo forwarded to the other four city commissioners the email he’d sent March 15 to Resch and the Public Works department.

On March 19, Commissioner Chris McVoy forwarded Certo’s email to Interim City Manager Jamie Brown and Assistant City Manager Troy Perry. “I do think it is important that you are aware of this concern and put some thought into how to mitigate the problem,’’ McVoy wrote.

Looking east on Lucerne Avenue from North Palmway in April 2024, more than a year before the dahoon hollies were planted. (GOOGLE)

Brown has not replied to a March 23 email from The Lake Worth Beach Independent asking if the city plans to remove any of the trees in response to safety concerns from residents.

Resch has publicly butted heads with Segrich before on a public tree project, when he raised questions last fall about whether the city followed proper procedures by allowing a citizens group to plant a circle of silver buttonwoods in Bryant Park.

Segrich said he was disappointed by the commission’s last-minute cancellation of the March 17 dahoon hollies discussion.

The agenda was relatively light with plenty of time for a robust discussion, he said.

“My colleagues were more concerned about the fact that we voted on the project vs the actual outcome or the safety concerns raised,’’ he wrote in the comments under Certo’s post on the Lake Worth Beach Now! Facebook page.

Segrich urged concerned residents to demand action by emailing commissioners or talking to them at commission meetings during public comments.

“Otherwise we are stuck with these trees until a horrible accident happens or…they grow to an acceptable height,’’ which could take at least 15 years, he wrote.