A new, easy way in to West Palm’s Brightline station
WEST PALM BEACH — All Aboard Florida’s Brightline train is all about comfort and convenience: a quick, hands-free trip to Fort Lauderdale or Miami while you sip a drink and work on your laptop.
The one inconvenience was getting to the station from Clematis Street. Until now, from Clematis you could see the station through a construction fence but would have to walk or drive around a long block in the heat to get there. Problem solved.
The train line has opened its new connector road, Quadrille Plaza Drive. It links Clematis, Datura and Evernia streets in one easy-to-traverse route to — and from — the station and its parking garage.
The 350-foot-long road, originally scheduled to open last Feb- ruary, is lined with young trees and sidewalks, making the pedestrian experience an easy two-minute walk from O’Shea’s Irish Pub, Subculture Coffee or any other Clematis dining, drinking or retail venues. For cars, it’s a two-lane road, with a right-turn only onto Clematis, opposite Subculture and the city parking garage.
The station opened in January, but the road had been sketched on West Palm’s long-range plans for years, long before Brightline came to be.
Meanwhile, West Palm Beach has commissioned artists Daily Tous les Jours, a troupe of Canadians, to enliven the other side of the tracks, the sidewalk on the western side of Quadrille Boulevard, paralleling the east side of the station. That stretch is something of a dead zone, as the tracks and the metal fence bordering them create an uninterrupted straight-away without shops or architectural points of interest.
The group, which created Clematis’ computerized musical swing set in spring 2016, plans another interactive work on Quadrille. Just what, they don’t know yet.
Members of the group visited a few months ago to get a feel for the location and survey locals. They hope to unveil their plan this fall.
“The intent is to inspire new possibilities for that boulevard, which has been mostly for cars and high-speed traffic,” co-founder Mouna Andraos said last month. “The city has been curious to see if there’s any way to make that area more hospitable and encourage walking along that part of the boulevard.”
All Aboard Florida, which operates Brightline, is owned by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC, a global investment management firm. Fortress Investment Group LLC is contracted to manage and advise New Media Investments Inc., which owns GateHouse Media, the parent company of The Palm Beach Post.