Oh, for joy, for joy. Yet another new idea for our roads. A Diamond Divergent Exchange, another thing for me and for so many others to learn, supposedly something that will help traffic jams at Glades Road and I-95 and for sure help is desperately needed there. However, think of all the drivers not sure of where they are going, how to maneuver these new patterns, but oh, reduce speed while doing so -heaven forbid! Slow down so as to actually drive safely? Never! Or the dudes and dudettes who think a speed limit is only for the top end and crawl along at a stately 30 mph as oncoming cars desperately swerve to avoid hitting this almost standing still car. Oh yeah, yet more construction already delayed, more accommodations for increased traffic, yet more frustration and inevitably, more road rage and then? Go ask DeSantis.
All this waste of money and a vicious cycle perpetrated upon us due to the greedy machinations and maneuverings of fatcat corporations, greedy politicians, crooked souls looking to their bottom line. Somewhere in that mix is someone actually thinking it is for the good, the benefit of the citizens and travelers in the area, but not really. The answer is in the rethinking, the actual formation of a realistic, nature saving, human saving policy that will actually enrich the county, the state and definitely improve the lives of the residents.
We bought in 1998, in a previously built building, limiting our carbon footprint. We loved the area, the surrounding areas in their untouched states, and often drove aimlessly, headed toward the undeveloped areas, admiring farms, picking fruit and vegetables, already limited in numbers compared to previous years, and breathed in the fresh air. This was Florida, a life we chose for the rest of our lives. Or so we thought.
Okeechobee began a series of never-ending widening. The sweet country western end grew gruesomely, first past Jog, then State Road 7, then past Royal Palm, overdeveloped, and on into the massive acres of the western areas, dollar signs in their eyes and minds. All was food for the developers as unthinking, uncaring Palm Beach officials approved these new life quality destructive projects, as they anticipated financial gains - for the county, supposedly, and for whom else? Only the Shadow knows for sure. Southern, once a delightful country two lane road has now turned into a monster overhead highway, a sure place for a fruitful speed ticketing day.
The Florida we had loved, bought into, was going, going, not yet gone, but almost there, simply needing another few months to thoroughly destroy, pave over green areas, trees disappearing, temperatures rising as the cement areas reflect the heat rather than absorb it. "Office condominiums" rose in great numbers, lookalike buildings, even as the 'older' ones built oh, say a year or two ago, a month ago, remain largely unoccupied. Huge residential developments have paved over thousands of acres of G-d given land, empty through much of the year, financially overpriced, often cheaply built, and just waiting for the prices to fall so as to drown their owners, something that has already happened, with ugly sights then available for all to see and live with.
The roads are jammed with newcomers. The drive time has increased exponentially. The infernal and eternal road building is not sufficient and actually drives traffic growth as they open access for development. Where are the great brains who cannot see the damages done, the damages that will be done, even as they plan their Divergent Diamond Exchange. Sometimes diamonds are not anyone's best friend!!
Palm Beach County needs a shaking up. We need to preserve what is left. We need to limit building permits, the sizes and the policy of the developers to say one thing, and then increase the number of dwellings a hundred-fold or more. Our agricultural reserve is diminishing, our watersheds invaded, our roads rivaling NYC traffic, and there appears to be no end in sight. We have lost control or ceded it to the wrong powers that be.
Florida life, wherefore art thou? Where hast thee gone?
An answer, anyone? One with hope and sense, presenting a good possibility for a future of greenery, air, and calm.
Oh, perchance, perchance.
This gal does not value Diamonds. I prefer the jewels of Nature - which we have taken for granted and sold away.
Can we not think better? Plan better? Live better?
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