Latest news with #AndrewMarra
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
West Palm has the 5th most scenic commute in the U.S., a new report says. Do you agree?
Many West Palm Beach residents know the pleasure of driving alongside the water on Flagler Drive, or catching a glimpse of the ocean while crossing a bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway into Palm Beach. Even cruising east on busy Okeechobee Boulevard, the city's main gateway, can impress commuters as they roll past the Henry Rolf statue, the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and CityPlace, climbing a gentle ridge toward unspooling views of downtown. Many of those same commuters, though, decry worsening day-to-day traffic as the city grows and the persistent construction of new high-rises produces more people — and road closures — in the city center. Now a national analysis has tried to quantify the pros and cons of West Palm Beach's commutes, and the city is getting high marks on one key element of its daily drives. The new analysis by the German car rental company SIXT+ ranked West Palm Beach's commute as the fifth-most-scenic in the United States. In a summary of West Palm Beach's commuting environment it writes: Nestled on the Lake Worth Lagoon, there's no shortage of panoramic palm tree-lined views to the neighboring Palm Beach Island just east of the city. The South Florida city has 61.9k Instagram hashtags, a perfect park rating, and 3 state parks nearby, making it a perfect escape for those who crave beauty beyond the grind of a 9-to-5. With an average commute time of 23 minutes, locals don't have to trade time for tranquility. West Palm Beach did not have as many scenic Instagram posts as its fellow top-5 cities, the report said, but it appeared to make up for it with a plentitude of parks and relatively short commutes. You can read highlights of the company's overall report, entitled 'The Commuting Index," at Clearwater Ocean City, Maryland Vancouver, Washington Wilmington, Delaware West Palm Beach To produce its ranking, the company said it examined 559 U.S. cities and analyzed average commute times, gas and toll prices, the number of public and state parks in the area and the number of Instagram hashtags mentioning the city. Even though complaints about traffic in the city center seem to have worsened in recent years, West Palm Beach residents still enjoy shorter commutes than most of their fellow county residents, with an average commute of 23 minutes, Census data show. As The Palm Beach Post has reported in an overview of average driving times, "workers living in and around the biggest city in Palm Beach County have shorter commutes than many other residents in the county, despite traffic jams on big roads such as Okeechobee Boulevard or Dixie Highway." Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm has top 5 scenic commutes in the U.S., SIXT+ reports
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
West Palm has the 5th most scenic commute in the U.S., a new report says. Do you agree?
Many West Palm Beach residents know the pleasure of driving alongside the water on Flagler Drive, or catching a glimpse of the ocean while crossing a bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway into Palm Beach. Even cruising east on busy Okeechobee Boulevard, the city's main gateway, can impress commuters as they roll past the Henry Rolf statue, the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and CityPlace, climbing a gentle ridge toward unspooling views of downtown. Many of those same commuters, though, decry worsening day-to-day traffic as the city grows and the persistent construction of new high-rises produces more people — and road closures — in the city center. Now a national analysis has tried to quantify the pros and cons of West Palm Beach's commutes, and the city is getting high marks on one key element of its daily drives. The new analysis by the German car rental company SIXT+ ranked West Palm Beach's commute as the fifth-most-scenic in the United States. In a summary of West Palm Beach's commuting environment it writes: Nestled on the Lake Worth Lagoon, there's no shortage of panoramic palm tree-lined views to the neighboring Palm Beach Island just east of the city. The South Florida city has 61.9k Instagram hashtags, a perfect park rating, and 3 state parks nearby, making it a perfect escape for those who crave beauty beyond the grind of a 9-to-5. With an average commute time of 23 minutes, locals don't have to trade time for tranquility. West Palm Beach did not have as many scenic Instagram posts as its fellow top-5 cities, the report said, but it appeared to make up for it with a plentitude of parks and relatively short commutes. You can read highlights of the company's overall report, entitled 'The Commuting Index," at Clearwater Ocean City, Maryland Vancouver, Washington Wilmington, Delaware West Palm Beach To produce its ranking, the company said it examined 559 U.S. cities and analyzed average commute times, gas and toll prices, the number of public and state parks in the area and the number of Instagram hashtags mentioning the city. Even though complaints about traffic in the city center seem to have worsened in recent years, West Palm Beach residents still enjoy shorter commutes than most of their fellow county residents, with an average commute of 23 minutes, Census data show. As The Palm Beach Post has reported in an overview of average driving times, "workers living in and around the biggest city in Palm Beach County have shorter commutes than many other residents in the county, despite traffic jams on big roads such as Okeechobee Boulevard or Dixie Highway." Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm has top 5 scenic commutes in the U.S., SIXT+ reports
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Palm Beach International Boat Show reports record attendance after a big change this year
The Palm Beach International Boat Show expanded by one day this year, and the move seems to have paid off. The five-day turnout for the festival on West Palm Beach's downtown waterfront had record numbers, according to the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, which hosts the event. "We had a record attendance of over 60,000 people with an extra day of the show,' said Alyssa Freeman, the organization's executive director, in a statement. 'In years past, we've averaged just over 55,000 guests." The event, which debuted in 1982, won permission from the city this year to add a fifth day, bringing it in line with boat shows in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. It ran from Wednesday, March 19 to Sunday, March 23. This year's show, which was produced by Informa Markets, also set an event record for the most boats, with more than 1,000 on display. Organizers say a successful boat show generates grant money that the organization uses for charitable purposes, and it also provides a substantial economic boost to the area. The week of the festival, hotel occupancy rates in downtown West Palm Beach and near the airport were 95%, 6 percentage points higher than the previous year, according to Discover The Palm Beaches, the county's tourism marketing arm. The Marine Industries Association said it plans to continue with its five-day format next year, with the event running March 25-29, 2026. Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: The Palm Beach International Boat Show sets an attendance record
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Investigators determine cause of fire that destroyed Jack the Bike Man warehouse in West Palm
WEST PALM BEACH — Investigators say one of the largest building fires in the city's recent history was caused by a problem in the building's electrical control panel. City authorities announced Friday, Feb. 21 an investigation had revealed the massive fire, in an unused warehouse owned by a venerable local bicycle charity, 'originated in the electrical control panel inside the building.' From there, they said, it spread up the century-old building's south wall and ignited Dade County pine in the ceiling. The fire was reported about 4 a.m. Wednesday at a 20,000-square-foot warehouse near Belvedere Road and South Dixie Highway owned by Jack The Bike Man, a nonprofit that provides bicycles to underprivileged children. It burned for more than eight hours as dozens of firefighters battled to control it, buffeting surrounding neighborhoods with smoke and briefly interrupting train service along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks that run alongside the building. The building, at 426 Claremore Drive, was not in use and being sold for $4.5 million. MORE: Traffic relief coming to West Palm Beach's busiest road, but it could take a while The charity operates out of a smaller building next to the warehouse and had been hoping to use proceeds from its sale to buy a permanent base for its bicycle donation and repair operations. Dade County Pine is native to South Florida but was harvested as far north as Georgia and Alabama. It is a subspecies of Longleaf Southern Yellow Pine and is a high-demand construction material in Florida because it is sturdy, dense, and highly resistant to decay and insect damage. However, the wood can be susceptible to fires. Many Florida homes in the late 1800s and early 1900s were built with Dade County Pine. Many of Florida's historic buildings were built with antique Dade County Pine flooring and beams, including The Bonnet House in Fort Lauderdale and the Key West Lighthouse, according to Albany Woodworks, which is a supplier of the wood. Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach: Warehouse fire caused by electrical panel
