by Debbie Umbdenstock

I have resided in West Boca since 1988, and since that time I have witnessed a major increase of residents, visitors and, most importantly, traffic. In recent times, the traffic violations seem to have reached widespread proportions.

The county can make all the rules it desires. However, they will not work unless they are enforced. The lack of enforcement is a major issue for all of us who have to get in a car and drive. I think we have all witnessed cars making right turns from left lanes, the brazen running of red lights and people who honk at you when you stop for a yellow light, or even a red one. I assume we have all been a victim of people who honk at you when you stop for a red light and then go around you and blatantly run that light, or those who pass you on the shoulder of the road. The list of infractions goes on and on. Many such drivers seem to think that the "Rules of the Road" only apply to others, not to them. I am not sure why some people think that they are above the law.

I know many others in West Boca feel as I do -- once we get on the road we are taking our lives in our hands. I believe we need not only better law enforcement, but more of it. I think we are all well aware of the speed traps that are set up in front of Albertsons as you head south on 441, but more law enforcement is needed at the traffic lights themselves. More police cars positioned discretely to observe violators are also needed. Cameras at lights are a wonderful idea, and have worked in many other parts of the country.

On the majority of the roads in West Boca, cars pass you like you are standing still. The "Crotch Rockets" own the road and fly past you doing at least 60 to 70 miles an hour if not more.

Our taxes have increased dramatically over the last few years, but speaking for myself, I have not yet seen the benefits of these increases. It is evident that tax money is not going to law enforcement.

Living in West Boca is like living in the Wild West, when there was only one marshall for an enormous territory. Perhaps a sign needs to be posted as you enter West Boca that says "Enter at your own Risk!"

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The new West Delray Regional Park opened on October 19 after years of planning and preparation.

Burt Aaronson

As Commissioner Burt Aaronson noted at the opening dedication ceremony, it also came to pass because of the hard work of a great many people.

He especially singled out the vital role played by the three homeowner association umbrella organizations, whose names will soon appear on a huge plaque at the park’s entrance. They are the Alliance of Delray Residential Associations, The Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations and the West Boca Community Council.

The 314-acre park offers a canoe/kayak launching area, a remote control airplane field, a remote control boat lake, a primitive camping area, a mountain bike area and a hiking/nature trail. Several ceremony speakers offered first hand testimony of the great fishing to be found in the park’s lakes.

The land for the new park was previously owned by the Palm Beach Downs horse-training center. It is located on West Atlantic Avenue about a mile west of 441.

Aaronson took the occasion to laud the Palm Beach County leadership of County Administrator Bob Weisman and Parks Director Dennis Eshelman for heading up the best park program in Florida and one of the best in the entire country.

He announced that the new amphitheatre at West County Regional Park in West Boca was scheduled to open in March, 2008, and promised we would have “Shakespeare in the park” there next summer.

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Most of us who have lived in West Boca for any length of time have heard of the West Boca Community Council, but not as many have a clear idea of what it is and does.

Its origins can be traced to Flushing, New York, where a retired secretary and her lawyer husband decided in 1978 to live full time in the villa they purchased six years before in a brand new community on Glades and Lyons.

The wife became involved in her new community almost immediately and, as a Board member in Boca Lakes, took on a losing effort to stop the building of a shopping center that we know today as Boca Lyons.

Her husband suggested that if she wanted to win such battles in the future, she needed more allies.

She took his advice and rounded up four other fledgling HOAs to join forces with the one in Boca Lakes. They decided to call themselves the West Boca Community Council (WBCC) and elected the grandmother from Flushing as their first president. She served in that capacity for eight years, during which time the WBCC grew to 60 community homeowner associations representing over 50,000 people. She served as Chairperson for many years after stepping down as President, in which capacity she was succeeded by Milton Brenner, then the Honorable Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Winikoff and, since 2003, incumbent President Sheri Scarborough.

The late Fran Reich went on to win many battles as the organization she founded and built became a powerful force in Palm Beach County with politicians and bureaucrats alike. Her WBCC concept was adopted in West Boynton and West Delray, and to this day the three organizations combine forces on common causes on behalf of hundreds of thousands of South Floridians.

She became a legendary figure in the development of the area we call home – West Boca today would undoubtedly be a less desirable place to live were it not for her and her WBCC colleagues.

Here’s one of my favorite Fran Reich stories. Her concern about the growing traffic problem in West Boca led her to summon then County Commissioner Dennis Koehler to her home in the early 1980s. She sat him down in her kitchen and, Koehler later told the Sun-Sentinel, “was beating up on me for growth and development. She was griping about the traffic conditions on Glades Road.”

Reich proposed that a bridge be built over the Florida Turnpike so that Palmetto Park Road could be expanded all the way west to 441 and thereby relieve the congestion on Glades. She even presented Koehler with a financial plan to come up with the $6 million the project would cost. Within 28 hours, it was in the county’s road budget. “It was lightning speed”, he said, and “certainly would not have happened without Fran Reich and the WBCC.”

Next time you go over that bridge on Palmetto, take note of who it is named for. Now you know why.

More recently, Palm Beach County also named a 1,660-acre preserve just west of Waters Edge Elementary for Fran Reich, who for decades was an ardent campaigner for the restoration of the Everglades.

The land we now call the Fran Reich Preserve very nearly became a Solid Waste Authority dump and incinerator in the 1980s, similar to what you drive by on the east side of the Turnpike bordering Deerfield and Pompano Beach. Reich and the WBCC waged a 12-year campaign against this project, which included a boisterous meeting of 4,000 West Bocans that helped usher in a great victory. Imagine what that dump would have done for our property values – especially if you live in Boca Falls or Boca Winds!

Fran Reich and her successors were also on the front line to stop a planned airport and the construction of an expressway in West Boca. They helped foil plans for a bullet train that would have run just west of communities like The Shores, Saturnia and Boca Falls. Most recently, they were instrumental in stopping the expansion of a Broward thoroughfare through the heart of West Boca. Over the years they have fought for great schools, better traffic control and worked closely with law enforcement to make West Boca a safer place for all.

Throughout its history, the WBCC has followed the vision of its founder, which she described as working for “quality of life” issues. The Council has long been known for doing its homework, keeping its cool, and remaining non-partisan, which traits were modus operandi for Fran Reich.

The WBCC is now made up of some 115 community associations and represents the interests of more than 200,000 residents, who are always welcome to attend the monthly meetings of the West Boca Community Council.

What issues would you like to see the WBCC take on next?

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