Confirming that the recently revised traffic pattern at Hillsboro Commons plaza and Southeast 12th Avenue isn’t working as envisioned, Deerfield Beach commissioners voted May 14 to conduct a study leading to a possible undoing what traffic engineers have wrought -- and possibly restoring the left turn coming out of the Publix parking lot.
“I lived here before the revisions. I have lived here since and I think it’s a disaster,” District 1 Commissioner Joe Miller said, prior to the vote. “If you exit east of Publix, you have to turn south and go through the neighborhood and out on 15th or, you have to make a u-turn. Functionally it is a total drag and I deal with it on a daily basis.”
Miller is not alone. As part of the beautification of the Cove-area neighborhood, traffic engineers in 2009 revamped the area around the east side of Publix, and eliminated the two-way traffic pattern. In retrospect, however, “residents requested that the median be redesigned such that traffic exiting the plaza is allowed to take a left turn on to SE [stet] 12th Avenue to directly access Hillsboro Boulevard...” CRA Director Kris Mory noted her her memo to the board.
As it is now, drivers exiting the east side of Publix have no option but to head south on Southeast 12th Avenue until they can make a u-turn, or worse.
“The turn you make is illegal – and I’m not saying I make that turn,” said District 2 Commissioner Ben Preston, inspiring laughter.
With that, the commission voted to spend $8,290 sending engineers from Chen Moore Associates back to the drawing board to, in the words of Preston, “alleviate the strain in that area.”
That won’t be an easy task. As Mory noted, the alignment of the alley and Southeast 12th Avenue make it difficult to design a safe solution that takes into account things like sight triangles, lines of traffic waiting to turn, and lanes. Moreover, the busineses along that alley may have something to say about the change. “If there is substantial support,” she said, “the CRA will request a change order from MBR Construction for the improvement.”
Leading to more construction – or possibly deconstruction.

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Hours before the American Red Cross arrived to opened shelter on May 21 for victims of the tornado in Moore, Ok, first responders there were digging through rubble, many with their hands, to rescue dozens trapped in the debris. The effort was a reminder to South Florida – and all areas prone to natural disaster -- of the importance of first responders.
The Deerfield Beach Community Emergency Response Team already claims more than 1,300 trained responders. About 100 of them are active, and it currently is taking registrations for an upcoming seven-week training class that begins on Thursday, and continues on successive Thursdays through July 11, except on July 4.
Coordinating the training is Carol Sjursen. Sjursen recalls that the first time she heard the term “Community Emergency Response Team” it was because friends at hers in Coral Springs were signing up for the seven week class.
“I’m always taking classes of one type or another,” said Sjursen, who last week returned from earning national FEMA certification in Tallahassee for CERT program manager and CERT instructor class. “I had heard about it and we were all volunteers in Coral Springs at the time.”
Today, Sjursen is the Coordinator for Deerfield Beach’s CERT effort. She recruits and registers volunteers for seven-week classes, the next one starting Thursday. She organizes training sessions to help CERT volunteers keep their skills fresh. And she deploys the 100 trained CERT volunteers during emergencies like hurricanes and during nonemergencies like crowded festivals.
After Hurricane Wilma, for example, CERT team members first confirmed the safety of their own families, at their own houses. Then they moved through the city to gather information about downed power lines, obstructed roads, and people in need.
“They report their findings to the CERT coordinator and that enables the EOC (emergency operations center) to prioritize where to send the city’s resources,” she explained.
In that instance, CERT members were stationed at Quiet Waters Park, among other places. There, they spent eight hours a day manning stations that distributed water and ice to residents who lacked power. “We passed out water and ice to 950 cars an hour at Quiet Waters Park,” she said, “for a week. For eight hours a day.”
During times when there are no emergencies, CERT personnel assist with what Sjursen called “canteen and rehab service.” Roughly translated, that means when firefighters are fighting fires and tackling gas leaks, CERT personnel back them up by serving water at the front and by circulating cool water over their forearms, for example, to reduce their body temperature so they can return to fighting the fire.
CERT training classes run seven weeks, for three hours a session. They meet in the third floor training room of Fire Station 102. That’s the station at 1441 FAU Research Park Boulevard – also known as Southwest 11th Way, the station across from Cracker Barrel. Students will learn basic first aid, basic fire suppression and fire safety, light search and rescue, disaster psychology, terrorism and more.
To register, email name, address and cell phone number to Carol Sjursen, CERT Coordinator, at CERT@deerfield-beach.com, or call 954-803-6338.

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A tired section of a Cove neighborhood is beginning a Cinderella-like transformation.
On Monday, surveyors in safety vests took up tripods and rods and began laying the groundwork for a much-anticipated $1.53 million face lift.
Residents renting at Cove Gardens need not worry, however.
“All of the work is in the right-of-way except seven properties on Southeast Second Street,” confirmed Kris Mory, Community Redevelopment Agency director. “There, we are assisting property owners in moving their parking from the right of way.”
That proposition had at least one property owner disgruntled at a recent CRA meeting. Chuck Brown, of 1261 S.E. Second St., predicted he would lose his tenants if street revisions eliminated street parking. So a compromise was reached.
Tenants on Southeast Second Street will move cars from parking spaces perpendicular to their units to spaces parallel to their units, even though the parallel spaces would be technically illegal.
As Mory explained it, when the multi-family residences were developed in the 1950s, the city lacked what is known now as minimum standards. “There were not requirements for having so many parking spots,” she explained. “So, historically, people would park in what is technically the right-of-way.”
Since the original owners were never required to build parking on property, “in the spirit of partnership the … board direction was to create legal parking in their yards,” Mory said.
MBR Construction of Fort Lauderdale was the low bidder for the Cove Gardens Neighborhood Improvements Project. When the company begins removing the asphalt just south of Hillsboro Boulevard, it will have fulfilled a pledge to begin the project in May.
After the drainage system is repaired, to resolve flooding issues in the area, sidewalks and landscaping will be installed.
Taking the edge off those new parking requirements -- and all promised by January.

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The fourth annual "Spare Lives and Strike Out Cancer" Bowling Fundraiser, sponsored by the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Deerfield Beach, Lighthouse Point and Hillsboro Beach is organizing for June 22, but the focus now is on mustering teams.

Bowlers and sponsors are needed for an event billed as "a family friendly competition of spares and strikes." Registration for the June 22 fundraiser is at 4:30 at Diamond Strike Lanes, 2200 N. Federal Hwy. in Pompano Beach.

"We are looking for bowlers and sponsors to participate in this event," said publicity chair Suzanne Newman, in her press release. "Team packages of $150.00 (only $25.00 per bowler) include three hours of bowling for six people, shoes, pizza, wings, soda, raffles, prizes and fun!"

For $100 more, Sponsor Package includes a banner with a company logo placed over a particular lane, as well as advertising for a company. Participants must sign up before June 8, by contacting Karen Hardy, 954-242-5485 or karengle@yahoo.com. For sponsorship information, contact Nona Breitenstein at 954-304-4248 or nonabreit@gmail.com.

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The ever-bountiful Community Redevelopment Agency has insured that Deerfield Beach won’t be among cities eliminating July 4th celebrations this year. The commission, sitting as the governing board of the CRA, has approved funding the celebration with $75,000 raised by the special tax on improving property values within the designated CRA area. Rules require that CRA funds must be spent on events and projects that raise the profile and improve the area. In supporting the expenditure, CRA Director Kris Morey pointed out that thousands throng to the beach for the event each year. This year, the city has allocated $75,000 – not as much as some years, but it covers everything from the Valerie Tyson Band to $30,000 worth of fireworks by Zambelli Internationale – and the clean up aferwards..

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