Mark the family calendar for BIKE PALM BEACH on March 19! Activities will include a group bike ride, a bike safety rodeo for children, food trucks and music.

Event partners:

• Palm Beach MPO
• Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation
• Safe Kids Palm Beach County
• Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
• FDOT Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow

Click for flyer.

The MPO's new bike suitability map indicates the Bicycle Level of Service (BLOS) for roads within Palm Beach County. The BLOS is a calculation of how comfortable a bicyclist may feel on a particular roadway based on roadway speeds, traffic volumes and the amount of space provided for bicyclists to operate.

The MPO is distributing 15,000 copies of the folded map, being distributed through local bike shops, special events, adn community partners. Please contact the MPO if you would like to suggest a specific outlet for distribution.

To review the map online, click here.

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Competing for Federal Grants Training - Feb. 27 - Mar. 3

This training will be held in Ft. Lauderdale, and is hosted by the Broward MPO.
Click for pricing, registration and additional details.

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Local Road Safety Plan Development Workshop - Mar. 2 

"Moving Towards Zero Deaths." That is the subtitle for this Palm Beach County sponsored workshop to underscore its importance. Despite past efforts, there have been an average of more than 150 fatal or severe injury crashes in the county each year between 2011-2014. Your participation is needed to move towards zero deaths!

After group discussions and a review of data, participants will prioritize the following areas of critical emphasis:

Everyone is invited to participate in the workshop on Thursday, Mar. 2.  Registration begins at 8:30 and hte workshop is 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Lunch will be provided. The workshop location is the first floor of Palm Beach County's Vista Center building located at 2300 N. Jog Rd., West Palm Beach, FL 33411. The building is located just north of the intersection of Okeechobee Blvd. and Jog Rd., and is accessible by transit. Click to view the Palm Tran bus schedule. Click for the event flyer, and please share this notice. Advance reservations are requested. Please click to email Susan Levesque or call 561-684-4144. 

MPO Board Retreat Includes Rail Station Tour

Fifteen elected officials from Palm Beach County, its municipalities, and the Port of Palm Beach, were among 35 participants in the MPO's third annual retreat held on Jan. 19. All Aboard Florida President Mike Reininger led a hard hat tour of the company's Brightline station, currently under construction in downtown West Palm Beach. The first Brightline trains began testing along the track on the same day, and passenger service to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami is scheduled to begin this year.  

The MPO retreat began at the West Palm Beach City Hall with a presentation by Assistant City Administrator Scott Kelly, and ended with thirteen participants taking a tour on bikes provided by SkyBike which operates bike rental stations throughout the downtown. Click to view retreat photos.   

The Palm Beach MPO thanks the City of West Palm Beach, SkyBike, and All Aborad Florida for their contributions to a well-attended retreat that highlighted new transportation and informative retreat.

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Jim Smith (S.A.F.E.) and the City of West Palm Beach
Among Safe Streets Summit Award Winners

For the first time, the fourth annual Safe Streets Summit held Jan. 26-27, was a regional, collaborative effort between the Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade metropolitan planning organizations. The fully booked summit brought together more than 260 public officials, technical staff, community partners and national speakers to elevate efforts on the design of safe facilities for all transportation modes. 

Outstanding national speakers highlighted local - yet regionally connected - approaches to prioritizing complete streets throughout southeast Florida. The presentation of Charles Montgomery, author of Happy City, included two slides featuring Clematis St., which he described as his favorite street in Florida. The keynote was given by Emiko Atherton, Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition. The event website, www.SafeStreetsSummit.org, has additional information and will soon post links to videos of many of the presentations. You can also search #SafeStreetsSummit on social media for many great event photos and comments.

Each county's MPO recognized one outstanding individual safe streets champion plus one outstanding local government or agency. Click for profiles of award winners. Click to view event photos.

The Palm Beach MPO is excited to announce that the next regional Safe Streets Summit will be held in Palm Beach County in early 2018. 

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Delray Beach Complete Streets Project Ribbon Cutting

The Delray Beach CRA hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on January 13, 2017, to celebrate construction of a complete streets project along NE 2nd Ave. which received MPO funding. MPO Staff members Valerie Nielson and Franchesca Taylor participated in the program and ribbon cutting.

Photo (left):
(L-R) Margarita Yerastova, City of Delray Beach
Franchesca Taylor, Palm Beach MPO
Xavier Falconi, City of Delray Beach
City of Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein, also a member of the MPO Governing Board

MPO Funding Program Applications Due March 3

Online application forms and support materials are now available on the MPO website at PalmBeachMPO.org/funding for the MPO's Local Initiatives and Transportation Alternatives funding programs. Applications are due by 5:00 PM on March 3, 2017. The MPO staff is eager to work closely with potential applicants to ensure a strong field of competitive project applications for both programs. After careful review of the resources available on the MPO website, please contact the following staff members as soon as possible to discuss your proposed project applications: Local Initiatives program      Email Kevin Fischer or call 561-478-5747 Transportation Alternatives program (including Safe Routes to School)      Email Franchesca Taylor or call 561-478-5713

"Road diets" are a name for a roadway reconfiguration that reduces the number of traffic lanes to achieve a "complete streets" environment to accommodate a variety of transportation modes. The primary benefits include enhanced safety, mobility and access for all road users.

Transportation Disadvantaged Local Coordinating Board (LCB)