Flagler Shore has helped waterfront

I applaud the West Palm Beach mayor and city staff for their underappreciated work. I also support the Flagler Shore project.

After reading all the negative comments on this proposed project, I wanted the city to know that there are people who support it. I understand there is no project that could have 100 percent approval. I have lived downtown on Flagler for 11 years and have slowly seen our small city grow for the best.

I remember when people fought relocating our library. The end result was a beautiful waterfront park. I believe the same result could be obtained by creating more green space along our waterfront.

I use this space almost daily and the path can get congested with bicycles, walkers, joggers and bench/wall sitters. While the test was performed, I did use the closed road and enjoyed the enlarged safe space.

Having four lanes of traffic along one of our city’s most beautiful areas is unfortunate planning.

With four lanes, cars do speed and ignore crosswalks, making crossing to the path challenging.

Having two lanes of traffic during our test period slowed car speeds and made pedestrian crossing much easier and safer. I also found driving time less with the two lanes, since the traffic lights were set to flash instead of red/green.

Perhaps a compromise may be three lanes, where the center lane could be a left-turn lane for northbound traffic.

Either way, increasing the green space along our beautiful waterfront is a great idea and I thank our city for giving it a try.

PETER LEMP, WEST PALM BEACH