LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — Residents of the Arden community say they feel trapped whenever major accidents shut down Southern Boulevard, prompting a search for solutions from county officials.
The concerns stem from even before a massive accident back in November 2024 that claimed the lives of three Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office motormen and shut down Southern Boulevard. The closure blocked off the Arden community for hours. WPTV's Michael Hoffman was there, and it was then that Arden residents started telling him about the issue.
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Nearly a year and a half later, the issue remains.
"We're trapped," Sue Loyzelle said.
Loyzelle has lived in Arden for nearly five years and says they have always had this issue. Residents want the problem solved by either an extension into Loxahatchee Groves by way of Okeechobee Boulevard or east into the new Artistry Lakes community.
"Can we just have an emergency exit so if we have an accident out at Southern, we can go east through Artistry Lakes and then go out the back way and vice versa?" Loyzelle said.
"What's going to happen at our north exit that we're hoping to get on Okeechobee Road? Are they going to do a condition later and take it out of the mix?" Loyzelle said.
Searching for answers, Hoffman spoke with County Mayor Sara Baxter about the concerns.
"We've heard them loud and clear that they want an alternate exit," Baxter said.
Baxter says the county cannot actually require Artistry Lakes to build the eastern exit because the right-of-way belongs to the developer. With the Okeechobee extension, the county set the money aside decades ago.
"Because it was so long ago, and I think people gave up on it ever connecting. There have been homes that have been built that would prevent that connection. So we at the county have designated a feasibility study to look at possible alignments, or if it's even possible to connect the roads," Baxter said.
That feasibility study will look into the economic impact, the impact on those communities, and more to see if a connection is possible. With homes there now, Baxter says it might be a conversation about eminent domain.
"So there are two different developments in this area that have competing interests, and that's what the feasibility will help give us a lot of answers to bring to both neighborhoods, both areas and give them everything that we have," Baxter said.
Baxter says the study has begun, and once it is finished, the county will have answers. But until then, residents like Loyzelle are still in limbo.
"If there's a fatality, we aren't getting out of here," Loyzelle said.
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