ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. — Residents and business owners in Royal Palm Beach are raising concerns about a dangerous intersection on Southern Boulevard, where they have been asking for a stoplight for at least a decade.
Making left turns out of Cypress Key Shoppes onto Southern Boulevard to head east is risky. The Village Council is also concerned about the intersection, but a stoplight has not been installed yet.
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"It's terrifying sometimes during the day," Matthew McCurry said.
McCurry makes the drive every day.
"It really is dangerous getting across," McCurry said.
He and other residents want a traffic light to keep accidents from happening.
"Sometimes during the day, you have cars that are flying through, and then five or six people are in the center of the median. It takes forever to get out. You know, from time to time, and a couple of our residents who live in our community, they've been in accidents," McCurry said.
Despite multiple emails back and forth, McCurry said nothing has been done.
"When are we gonna get this done?" McCurry said.
I brought the concern to Rich Valuntas, a council member in Royal Palm Beach. For the last decade or so, getting a stoplight is exactly what he has been trying to do.
"I've been involved since before the inception of Cypress Key," Valuntas said.
When asked what the hang-up is, since the council and residents are on board, Valuntas pointed to the Florida Department of Transportation.
"I wish I had that information for you, but it is, in my understanding, it's in FDOT's ball. It's in their court," Valuntas said.
Valuntas said the conversation about a light prompted FDOT to conduct a traffic study in August 2025. The study looked at different criteria that would warrant a light. It found that while the intersection met some criteria, it did not meet all of them.
Valuntas said FDOT is looking into a no-left-turn lane instead of a light. He said that while he is not an engineer, it just makes sense for a light to go up.
"We're going through the process. And I was hoping the process last year would have come out, okay, this light is warranted, and we would already be, I don't know if it would be up yet, but however long it takes to put up a light, that a light would actually be done by this time. But that's not the case," Valuntas said.
I reached out to FDOT asking for reasons why the light has not been installed and am waiting for its response.
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