No Marathon For The Town of Palm Beach

The Town of Palm Beach will not be a part of The Eau Palm Beach Marathon & Run Fest’s route this year. A good majority of Town of Palm Beach staff, and residents alike, have expressed concerns about bringing a marathon to the island.

Last week, Meryl Leventon, the event manager for the marathon, requested an appeal to be put in front of the town council and reviewed. She wanted 3 miles of the total 26.2 mile race to take place in town. As is, the race begins in Downtown West Palm Beach on South Flagler Drive, dips into Lake Worth, and finishes up at the Meyer Amphitheatre. However, it was denied in a 3-2 vote by councilmembers. This means no marathon for the Town of Palm Beach.

Although Nick Coniglio, Mayor Gail Coniglio’s son, plays a very active role in this event and also plead with city staff—they would not budge. And this unwillingness to falter has to do with concerns from multiple parties.

Marathon For The Town of Palm Beach

Of the main concerns for residents of Palm Beach Island, are the traffic nuisances and subsequent rerouting of traffic if the marathon comes to town. Kirk Blouin  Director of Public Safety, said that motorists South of Banyan Road would have to proceed to West Palm Beach in order to travel North. Blouin said a concern on behalf of the Police and Fire Departments is the, “delay in getting emergency vehicles to and from the scene in the area South of Banyan Road.”

Blouin also told us that, “Although the Police and Fire Departments have concerns, as listed above, should this or another event be approved in the future then each respective department would be tasked with making it the best event possible while trying to mitigate any negative consequences.”

In order for this event to ever take place in the Town of Palm Beach, the Town Manager or a majority of the Town Council would have to agree to it. This seems unlikely, for now.