While it seems that many aspects of life have slowed down during the coronavirus pandemic, there’s no stopping the growth and improvements in Delray Beach. One of the most recent projects to gain traction is the collaboration between The City of Delray Beach and the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency to provide much-needed improvements to the Southwest Neighborhoods.
Roadway, alley, and utility infrastructure will be made in the Southwest Fourth Street, Southwest Sixth Street, Southwest Seventh Avenue and Southwest Third Court neighborhoods and will meet the needs of area residents, businesses and visitors. Preliminary steps for the Phase 1 improvements began Friday, June 19 and are scheduled to continue through September 2021. The details of Phase 2 are yet to be determined.
The Southwest Neighborhood is located southwest of Delray Beach’s central business district. The area was platted more than 50 years ago with most of the area platted between 1925 and 1961, and is comprised of approximately 1,900 parcels primarily zoned as residential.
The primary components of the project include resurfacing/reconstruction of 1.6 miles of roadway; construction of one mile of new permeable pavement alleyways; rehabilitation of the existing potable water, sanitary and storm sewer systems; improve area drainage and landscaped parkways; improve landscaping; install reclaimed water main improvements; improve sidewalk to meet ADA standards; and improve and update street lighting (LED).
“This project brings more lighting for safer neighborhoods and sidewalks for connectivity, additional green and landscapes areas, improve traffic circulation and roadway appearance, among others,” said Ivan Cabrera, Delray Beach CRA project manager. “These benefits improve the overall livability conditions and infrastructure of all the neighborhoods in the area.”
He states that the Southwest Neighborhood areas have needed to be improved, including providing a sidewalk network, better lighting, remedying drainage issues, improving utilities and landscaping, and more. These improvements fall in line with the goals and objectives included in the CRA Redevelopment Plan and the Southwest Area Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan.
Another key component of this project is to complete public outreach throughout the design process, and resident input is encouraged! Community members who are interested in learning more about the projects, tracking the updates and progress, and providing feedback are able to visit http://sw4thstreet.com to email the design team and find more information. Part of the City’s goal is to have active neighborhood engagement throughout the design and construction of this project, as the organizers believe that it’s a very important project and the community’s input will help to make it better.
So if you’re in the Southwest Neighborhood area, check out the improvements and get excited for the neighborhood betterment!
