As each car approached the roundabout where South Ocean Boulevard meets Southern Boulevard in Palm Beach on Saturday morning, there were more than a few brakes applied.
Although Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies urged drivers to keep moving, confusion inside each car was visible with drivers wanting to know: What was going on?
State and local officials announced Thursday and Friday that South Ocean Boulevard north of the roundabout would be closed indefinitely, extending to South County Road a little more than half a mile to the north.
It was the latest move by the U.S. Secret Service to beef up security at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, along with other Trump properties, following an assassination attempt at Trump’s July 13 campaign rally. in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The road is closed to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, officials said. Residents of residences affected by the closure must present identification to enter the area, and must exit and enter from the north. Only law enforcement and fire rescue can pass in both directions, officials said.
The closure took effect at 5 a.m. Saturday, Palm Beach officials announced Friday. This was before Saturday’s 4pm schedule announced on Thursday afternoon. Thursday’s announcement also said the closure would extend until the Nov. 5 general election “at the earliest.”
Trump is not at Mar-a-Lago, his primary residence. This summer, he traveled mostly between his residency at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club and campaign appearances, with a few stops at his Palm Beach club. Earlier this week, he was in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention. Later on Saturday, he will speak at a campaign rally in Michigan.
South Ocean Boulevard is closed beyond what was announced Thursday, when the city said the road would be closed from the roundabout north to Woodbridge Road, just beyond the Mar-a-Lago property line.
Instead, the city said Friday that, per Secret Service instructions, the closure would include more roads.
Drivers were left confused on Saturday morning, with no signage along the route to explain what was happening and why.
A bulldozer moved concrete barricades into place while orange traffic cones blocked eastbound drivers from entering the roundabout to travel north. Deputies directed confused drivers to navigate what at one point was a lane that would be opened to first allow northbound traffic to move west to south, and then to allow eastbound traffic to move. moved south to the Southern Ocean.
Cyclists who regularly use the route for Saturday morning rides were left baffled. Some stopped to see if they could maneuver through the barricades. One approaching from the north stopped his bike, put his hands on his hips and questioned why, if Trump is not in Mar-a-Lago, the road has to be closed.
That was the overwhelming question from local officials, many of whom said they were caught off guard by the Secret Service’s decision.
The closure is necessary “due to increased security measures involving Mar-a-Lago and persons protected by the U.S. Secret Service,” the Palm Beach Police alert said.
City Manager Kirk Blouin said Palm Beach plans to explore its options starting next week, telling the Daily News the city won’t be able to close the road indefinitely “unless we get the order.”
“If there is a ward in the residence, it makes sense,” he said. “If there’s no one there, I don’t understand closing the road at this time. I don’t know what information the government may have, or if it’s an instinctive reaction. , and we’ll get more information next week. We will contest the permanent closure of the road and we will try to work, obviously, with the federal government. We think anyone, regardless of political affiliation, should have done this. the necessary protections to keep them safe. But we need other options.”
Blouin said the city plans to request a letter from the Secret Service ordering the closure of South Ocean Boulevard.
“In the absence of a protectee at Mar-a-Lago, we are not willing to close the road,” he said. “That’s my opinion. The council may decide otherwise.”
“The safety of our protectees is the U.S. Secret Service’s top priority,” a U.S. Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement emailed to the Daily News. “Out of concern for operational security, the Secret Service does not discuss the means and methods used for our protective operations.”
Read more about safety and traffic in Mar-a-Lago.
This article originally appeared in the Palm Beach Daily News: Confusion as Secret Service closes road near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club
