Former President Donald Trump said he did not want the road closure to be a burden on neighbors and the rest of Palm Beach.
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago: Aerial view of the former president’s Palm Beach club
What does Mar-a-Lago look like? A drone video shows an aerial view of former President Donald Trump’s home and private club in Palm Beach.
Greg Lovett, Palm Beach Post
- Trump is expected to be in town on Monday, August 19 and Tuesday, August 20.
An agreement has been reached to reopen a busy road near former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach during times when Trump is not home.
Mar-a-Lago, the U.S. Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies reached an agreement late last week to reopen South Ocean Boulevard adjacent to Trump’s estate when the president is not in Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago said in a news release ahead of a meeting scheduled for Monday morning between the Secret Service and Palm Beach City Manager Kirk Blouin.
According to a source, the city was expected to hear the proposal for the first time during this meeting.
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The agreement came days after the city council instructed staff at an Aug. 13 meeting to explore possible legal options – including revoking the club’s operating license – as frustration over the closure has grown and residents have flooded the city with concerns about safety and congestion.
After the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the road closure was ordered
The Secret Service ordered the road closed starting July 20 after an assassination attempt on Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, on July 13. South Ocean Boulevard has been closed 24 hours a day, seven days a week since the closure, whether Trump is home or not. Officials had previously said the road would remain closed at least until the general election on November 5.
Trump was “strongly opposed” to closing South Ocean Boulevard, the press release said.
“President Trump, the Trump family and the Mar-a-Lago Club do not wish to be a burden to anyone, especially their neighbors and the wider Palm Beach community,” a Trump family spokesperson said in the press release. “The Trumps have been members of the community for 30 years; it is their home and they share the sentiments of their fellow citizens.”
The Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies that provide security around Mar-a-Lago are committed to protecting Trump and his family, and the Trumps are grateful “for their important role in this mission,” the press release said.
Trump family: Satisfied with compromise “that benefits everyone”
“The Trump family is especially grateful for the willingness of these agencies to work with them and city officials to work out a compromise that benefits all parties involved,” Mar-a-Lago said in a press release.
Effective immediately, the affected section of South Ocean Boulevard will be reopened when Trump is not present. Whether or not the closure will be lifted will depend on how long Trump will be absent and how long it takes to remove and install the equipment needed for the closure.
According to a warning to pilots from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Trump is expected to return to Mar-a-Lago on Monday and stay until at least Tuesday, so the ban will remain in place at least until his departure.
When the road was closed in July, the Florida Department of Transportation – which owns the section of South Ocean Boulevard and manages it as State Route A1A – used a bulldozer to erect concrete barricades to block off portions of the Southern Boulevard roundabout. Motorists will be prevented from entering the roundabout and the lanes will be marked with orange traffic cones.
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Both the north and south checkpoints are manned by Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies under temporary tents. PBSO also has security checkpoints on the west side of the Southern Boulevard Bridge.
The closure came into effect a week after a 20-year-old gunman opened fire at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, injuring Trump and two of his supporters and killing another person. The Secret Service shot and killed the gunman.
The closure was one of several measures taken by the Secret Service to increase security around Trump and his properties, including Trump Tower in Manhattan and Trump’s club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Increased security at Mar-a-Lago has already been considered
Long-term security measures were already in the works before the latest measures, with the Secret Service working with the city and Mar-a-Lago to request a new guardhouse, which is currently being built just inside the club’s main entrance on South Ocean Boulevard.
Since the section of the South Ocean near Mar-a-Lago has been closed, officials say there have been increased traffic jams on the Royal Park Bridge, the middle of the three bridges that connect Palm Beach and West Palm Beach over the Intracoastal Waterway.
Palm Beach authorities opposed the indefinite closure and doubted that the street really needed to be closed during Trump’s absence.
When Trump was president, the Secret Service closed South Ocean Boulevard near Mar-a-Lago only when he was in Palm Beach.
The closure “effectively divides the city in half,” City Attorney Joanne O’Connor wrote in a July 22 letter to the Secret Service, urging the agency to “grant legal authority to implement the street closure for the specified duration, even if the person being protected does not live in the city.”
The full text of the press release from Mar-a-Lago:
Mar-a-Lago has worked with several law enforcement agencies, including the United States Secret Service, to reach a compromise that would allow the reopening of South Ocean Boulevard (State Route A1A) during the time the former President is not in residence at Mar-a-Lago.
Following the recent assassination attempt on the former president, the Secret Service announced that the agency would close the section of South Ocean Boulevard near Mar-a-Lago for the immediate future and would reevaluate the decision after the upcoming presidential election in November. Former President Trump was strongly opposed to the road closure. “President Trump, the Trump family and the Mar-a-Lago Club do not wish to be a burden to anyone, especially their neighbors and the larger Palm Beach community,” a family spokesperson added. “The Trumps have been members of the community for 30 years; it is their home and they share the sentiments of their fellow citizens.”
The Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are dedicated to protecting the President and the Trump family and are deeply appreciated for their important role in this mission. The Trump family is especially grateful for the willingness of these agencies to work with them and city officials to work out a compromise that benefits all parties involved.
Effective immediately, the affected section of South Ocean Boulevard will be reopened whenever the former President is not in office and subject to certain timelines for the installation of safety equipment.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Subscribe today to support our journalism.
