Any blog written today will be anti-climatic. We all have our eyes on the Marathon bombers.
Lantana, the Flower
Pink is the color associated with warmth and love,
but it hasn't transcended when it comes to ingress into Lantana and its road block which was a loud message to Lake Worth. We don't want your speeding cars or you low lives coming down our road into our town.
Lantana now has a gated community. Essentially in the eastern area, there are only 4 roads into Lantana from Lake Worth: Dixie Highway, I-95, North Ridge Road (which you would enter after one turn off of Tropical Drive from 12 Avenue South) or Andrew Redding Road after detouring off of North Ridge and driving around Barton Elementary School where children are bused.
Lantana, now a gated community
As we wanted to get the "real" scoop (not the political message) as to why this road was blocked off, we drove to Catherine Skervin's house on Southwinds Drive, the activist who is getting the credit for the petition drive and making Lantana a gated community, at least from its undesirable neighbors to the north. Unfortunately there was no phone number in the book for her and we could not knock on her door--she lives in a gated house in her newly created gated community. Read about Catherine who has been a loud voice in Lantana and who has fought to reduce crime in her neighborhood with petitions and drive. She literally has taken on the gangs.
Lantana only has 10,423 people and 4164 households in the town, but a handful of people had enough clout to shut off a public road. Now where will the "speeders" and Lake Worth undesirables go? Detour to Andrew Redding Road right next to Barton Elementary?
Whatever happened to speed bumps? Whatever happened to goodwill?
I live on S. Lake Drive in Lantana and there could not have been a better decision then to gate off some of the through roads into that neighborhood. No different then what Lake Worth did on some of the streets accessing S. Palmway from Federal Hwy.
ReplyDeleteLake Worth has ZERO blocked roads...no gates.
ReplyDeleteThere absolutely was at least three and maybe four roads that were blocked off leading into South Palmway in the 1000 block and others. Mr. Guthrie will know about this as it was done in his neighborhood in the late 1990's and early 2000's and it had a very positive effect on that neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteNot aware of any gated roads but perhaps Chip can weigh in. Was this done to prevent criminals coming into the neighborhood?
ReplyDeleteYes it was done to assist with crime. It gave the criminals less ways to access and vacate the neighborhood. The roads were not gated off per se they were abandoned and the adjoining landowners were responsible for fencing it off and maintaining the abandoned right of way. It worked well in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteStill believe it was to prevent criminals coming in from Lake Worth, the only reason to block off roads.
ReplyDeleteLake Clark Shore put gate separate from Lake Worth near 95 highway many years ago. Lady is smart to fence yard, keep strangers from knocking on door with no invitation.
ReplyDeletePolish Chris
Wish the merchants of Lantana well! I live SE Lake Worth, and always took the 12th S and cut by Barton, now I'll support LW businesses, as it should be.
ReplyDeleteWithin South Palm Park there is a gated community "Indigo Terrace" in the 1600 block of South Lakeside Dr.
ReplyDeleteThe unpaved streets from Federal Hwy to Palmway that were blocked off at the alley are 7th, 9th, 10th, 13th and 16th.
There are no gates.
This is also done to other avenues in other parts of the city on the unpaved avenues.
Some were abandoned to the adjacent owners, some were granted "use permits" and some were simply blocked depending on whether utilities are present in those areas or the possibility of future need.
Chip Guthrie
Good work Catherine. Thank you Lynn for giving attention to this, but I am confused, how does this make the Town of Lantana a gated community?
ReplyDeleteHey Polish C--some people make a lot of waves and then make themselves inaccessible or stay anonymous. What's a girl to do :) especially if you want answers.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous--it makes Lantana a gated community in that particular community. Yes?
ReplyDeleteHer neighbor across the street doesn't know who she is. These girls checked. I think LW should have been notified before this closure. Shows what Lantana thinks of Bornstein. Most people don't live with a locked gate around their house unless they are obsessed with crime and safety. maybe a good thing?.
ReplyDeleteShe was motivated by a couple of things. Crime and getting fired by Publix.
ReplyDeletePolish Chris, bah humbug.
ReplyDeleteRidge Road is NOT in any way an abandoned road. It is a PUBLIC road for God's sake! People speed down my road all the time. Can I get a gate? Of course not! Maybe we should really make this woman's dreams come true and put up a gate on Andrew Redding road. Lantana can do what Lantana wants, but this is pretty crappy of them.
ReplyDeleteMy only question is WHO funds the maintenance of said roads?
ReplyDeleteAnyone have an answer?
I can understand why roads might be closed, its happened in Lake Worth and in West Palm (especially the Northwood section) and primarily seems to be motivated by crime, but also speeding and traffic.
ReplyDeleteBut normally there is a public hearing and both municipalities would be involved. I'm surprised that this would pass muster without Lake Worth's involvement.
I shop at the Lantana Publix quite often (more greenwise selection than our Publix) but I have never in 10+ years taken this route to Publix. I normally try to keep my ingress and egress to the major roads and wouldn't cut through a neighborhood unless I had to.
I don't know where you live, above, but great for you . No matter which Publix I go to around here, I have to drive thru neighborhoods. So what's your point? My point is that this is a PUBLIC road. there are only TWO ways to get to and from Lake Worth/Lantana in this area , and Lantana just blocked one of those routes off. With NO notification to Lake Worth. Lantana has also created a more dangerous situation for the little kids walking to and from Barton elementary. It's already a nightmare at drop off and pickup time.If the people in that neighborhood want to live behind gates, let them all move to gated communities.
ReplyDeleteYou will never get to talk to katie skervine unless she wants to talk to you. She is that kind of person. She has cameras all around her house and she is watching you! She does not like the word no from you.
ReplyDeleteShe sounds like a determined woman and that is a trait I admire. As an activist, I know that she will give me the "truth."
ReplyDeleteDidn't see any cameras around her house though. Cameras? Gated? Definitely someone who wants to keep the bad guys out.