Mayor urges public to pitch in during Okeechobee Blvd closure

Flex your work hours.

Work from home.

Carpool and park for free

Take TriRail and get free coffee.

Those are the top four things West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio is urging in order to get through the All Aboard Florida shut down of Okeechobee Boulevard.

At a news conference that was streamed live on the city's Periscope and Twitter accounts: @WestPalmBch, Mayor Muoio called on business owners to allow employees to flex their hours, work from home or take alternative transportation next Monday and Tuesday. The goal is to reduce downtown rush hour traffic as much as possible while the railroad has Okeechobee Boulevard closed.

All Aboard Florida will be shutting down Okeechobee Boulevard in both directions at the FEC tracks (alongside Quadrille Boulevard) beginning Friday, May 13th at 8pm. They will remain closed until Tuesday, May 17th at 6pm.

Mayor Muoio announced Monday several steps being taken by the city to reduce traffic during the two week days of the closure.

TAKE TRIRAIL AND GET FREE COFFEE

The city wants people to take TriRail to downtown West Palm Beach. In order to encourage ridership, it is putting extra trolleys on the TriRail/Downtown routes during rush hours. It has also arranged for three downtown coffee houses to offer discounts or free coffee to anyone presenting a TriRail ticket from either of those two days.

Both Starbucks and 'C' Street Cafe on Clematis Street will give out free coffee, and Sub Culture Culture will offer 20% off your check during those two days.

CARPOOL AND GET FREE PARKING

The city is also asking drivers to carpool in order to reduce traffic. To encourage carpooling, the city will offer free parking for carpoolers in both the City Center garage and the Clematis garage.

Simply arrive at the garages after 7am on Monday or Tuesday, and if your car has two or more people, you will receive a voucher for free parking. Give the voucher to the garage attendant when you leave and your parking for the day is free. (You need to leave the garage by 7pm on the same day to get the free parking.)

Saying that the city is going to lead by example, Mayor Muoio also announced that for the first time, she has allowed Department Directors to give their employees the flexibility to work remotely if possible.

FOR INFORMATION ON THE CLOSURE, YOU CAN VISIT wpb.org/closure