In the face of a planned months-long closure of South Ocean Boulevard that would effectively cut the town in half, Palm Beach officials stood their ground — and got results.
We learned on Monday that the road will now be open when former President Donald Trump is not in town, major progress on an issue that threatened to created congestion in town even without the annual influx of people and vehicles that come with the start of season.
Mar-a-Lago, in a rare statement, was the first to share word of the agreement on the road closure schedule that it had worked out with the Secret Service, which had ordered the road closed 24 hours a day through at least the election in November, as part of increased security measures in the wake of the July 13 attempted assassination of Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania.
The closure took effect on July 20 and made the town's traffic situation significantly worse. Town Council members were unified in their sentiment that such a policy could not stand.
Related: Editorial: South Ocean road closure seems unnecessary, needs explanation
Town Attorney Joanne O'Connor wrote a July 22 letter to the Secret Service in which she noted that closing that section of South Ocean effectively cut the town in two. Town Manager Kirk Blouin and Police Chief Nicholas Caristo also worked to find solutions.
On Aug. 13, the issue of closing the Mar-a-Lago Club — which is actually possible under the declaration-of-use agreement Trump signed with the town — was floated by Mayor Danielle Moore.
"In my mind, if the road is closed, the Mar-a-Lago Club is closed," Ms. Moore said, after Council Member Julie Araskog raised the question of what would be done about traffic and security when the club reopens at the beginning of Palm Beach's social season this fall. "There's no way in God's green earth that they can bring 350 people into that club. It's completely illogical that you've got a road closed and then you're going to let 350 strangers into your club."
Before the Aug. 13 council meeting, there had been little reaction from the Secret Service or Mar-a-Lago to the town's concerns about the issues the road closure were causing and that undoubtedly would get worse once season begins.
We wonder if the threat of closing Mar-a-Lago is what finally moved the needle, especially for Mr. Trump.
The important thing is that the town made it clear that while Mr. Trump's security is paramount, it made no sense to have residents be unnecessarily inconvenienced as would be the case under the initial Secret Service policy. Even when Trump was president, the heavy security measures were implemented only when he was in town. Reverting to that policy in the wake of heightened security makes sense.
"There will still be serious traffic impacts resulting from intermittent S.R. A1A closures coupled with historic seasonal rises in traffic volume within the town," police spokesman Capt. Will Rothrock said. "We will continue to work towards short- and long-term solutions that address traffic impacts, safety, and security concerns of our Town’s residents with local and regional stakeholders."
We know officials continue to seek solutions for the town's traffic woes but they were not prepared to have anything make a bad situation worse, so kudos to them for pushing back on the closure of South Ocean and a plan that gave no consideration to residents.
And kudos to the Secret Service — and likely to Mr. Trump himself — for rethinking a policy that made little sense in the first place.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Editorial: Palm Beach officials stood up for residents; road closure deal the result
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