Clearlake District

• Extend Fern Street across the CSX railway to Australian Avenue.
  The City has long believed that an additional railroad crossing and connection across the CSX railway from Fern Street would help in alleviating traffic congestion and provide enhanced mobility options. This was confirmed by the 2018 mobility plan and the City continues to work with the FEC Railroad to obtain approval for the crossing. The CRA believes this is a critical enhancement in the Clearlake District and will analyze funding opportunities to assist in the construction. The design phase of the Fern Street Crossing will begin in late 2023.

Develop a state-of-the-art transportation hub around the Historic Seaboard Train Station.

• Enhance the Seaboard Train Station historic building. In conjunction with the Transit Oriented Development (“TOD”), the City and CRA recognize the importance of enhancing the Seaboard Train Station as a transportation hub to encourage transit users and ease traffic conditions in the Downtown. CRA staff continues to coordinate with the City, and other transportation providers currently located within the building, on possible improvement to this facility to accommodate all the multimodal users more efficiently.
• Relocate a portion of the Palm Tran operation to the Seaboard Train Station site. As part of the future mobility of the city as well as the TOD construction, Palm Beach County is exploring the relocation of some of the Palm Tran routes to the east side of the CSX tracks within the Seaboard Train Station site and along Tamarind Avenue. The CRA will assist in planning the design of this future relocation.

Enhance the pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure within the area.

• Provide pedestrian enhancements to the east-west corridors that connect the Seaboard Train Station with the core of downtown. As higher intensity development continues to occur in this area, the mix of office and residential uses adjacent to a transit facility create a demand for appropriate pedestrian infrastructure to be in place to continue to spur redevelopment. CRA staff will study pedestrian corridors to access and connect this area with the rest of the downtown and provide appropriate shade and lighting to increase the transit rider’s comfort.
• Improve pedestrian facilities along Tamarind Avenue. Connectivity across Tamarind Avenue from the Seaboard Train Station to the east has long been a challenge, as well as a lack of pedestrian facilities along Tamarind Avenue and adjacent to the CSX railway. The CRA has identified the section of Tamarind Avenue between Okeechobee Boulevard and Banyan Boulevard as a major infrastructure project to be designed and completed within the next several years. An initial phase of this project will include the addition of a stoplight at Datura Avenue to assist with pedestrian crossings from the Seaboard Train Station.

The CRA will continue to support the redevelopment of the site known as the “wedge piece” abutting the Seaboard Train station to the west. Palm Beach County identified the “wedge piece” as a future Intermodal Facility and transferred this parcel to the South Florida Regional Transit Authority (“SFRTA”) for future redevelopment.

The vision of the TOD is for a pedestrian friendly, neighborhood village comprising a mix of uses, green connections, and plazas with pedestrian and transit connectivity. The uses proposed include a multimodal facility, housing (including workforce and market rate, as well as rental and homeownership), educational, office (including government/agency offices), hotel, retail, and parking. The CRA is currently working with the developer to provide incentives for the public portion of the TOD.