Drivers on Floresta Drive will soon see new speed limit signs after the City Council unanimously approved Police Chief John Bolduc’s recommendations Monday night.
The residential corridor between Prima Vista and Port St. Lucie boulevards will be a consistent 35 mph once the new signs are installed.
The decision was made after seven speed studies were conducted late last year and the police department had time to go over the data. “It is a mountain,” Chief Bolduc told the council of the data collected. In his opinion, it would be best to set one speed limit for the corridor rather than keep the multiple zones.
The study did show that one direction of Floresta could be set at 45 mph and the other direction at 35 mph. But the chief said he didn’t like that idea. “That is not good practice,” he said of having differing speed limits.
State law allows municipalities to set their own speed limits for local roads – but only once studies are conducted and within certain parameters. In Port St. Lucie, the law allows for the police chief to make a recommendation to the council.
The council good-naturedly teased Chief Bolduc for his less-than-envious situation, needing to come up with a solution for the roadway. “It’s a hard decision to have to make,” Councilwoman Jolien Caraballo said, addressing Bolduc.
No one from the public addressed the matter prior to the vote, though Mayor Gregory Oravec shared correspondence he received from a St. Lucie West resident. That resident encouraged the council to keep the speed limits as they are. Oravec added that he followed up with the resident who told the mayor he drives Floresta at least once a week.
Councilman John Carvelli said supporting the chief’s recommendation was easy to do.
As part of that recommendation, the city is expected to install “smart” speed limit signs that flash and provide speed feedback, such as those found along Southbend Boulevard. Bolduc said the signs will also collect data the city could use for future analysis.
Despite the lowered speed limit and new signs, Bolduc expressed caution that more would need to be done to address the safety concerns along Floresta.
Near the elementary school and Wawa, there is increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic. There are swales along the roadway and limited sidewalks.
Bolduc encouraged the City Council to commission a design study for the road to determine potential traffic calming changes to the road’s design.
“We’ll need to do some temporary stuff” in the meantime, he said.
