Michelle Kaplan

SIGNS FOR POLO PUSHED CLUB TO REAPPLY WITH STATE DOT

International Polo Club Palm Beach is going to reapply for directional signs off Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike, after a history of polo clubs in Wellington being denied signs by the state.

The Florida Department of Transportation denied the latest sign request, made in December 2005, saying new criteria for signs for limited-access facilities have to be within five miles of the interchange, and that the polo club is about 11.5 miles away, according to a letter from traffic studies project manager Julio Alegre.

“Furthermore, the subject interchange is currently under construction, and is already cluttered with destination guide signs,” the letter said.

But International Polo Club spokesman Tim O’Connor said directional signs for Lion Country Safari are posted, and that facility is more than 15 miles from I-95. (The attraction’s Web site states it is 15.5 miles west of I-95.)

“You will find signs out there before a rule was established,” Alegre said in response via e-mail. “We are currently in the process of eliminating all signs on state roads that do not comply with FDOT guidelines. …”

He expects all signs to be in compliance by 2011.

Alegre gave the club two suggestions in the letter. One would be to install temporary variable message signs along I-95 for the club’s major events. The other would be to provide daily attendance numbers over the past year with documentation. Then the department would review the information, and the club could reapply for permits for permanent signs.

International Polo Club manager Michael Brown said via e-mail that the effort will continue. O’Connor said he will provide the FDOT with the number it requested this month.

The club has seven polo fields, a stadium, viewing stands and box seating for more than 1,300 fans. During the 2007 season from Jan. 14 to April 22, the club will play host to six, high-goal tournaments in 15 weeks. The latest addition was announced in late June; the club added the 26-goal Gold Cup tournament to its lineup. The club also will host the Stanford U.S. Open Championship, as it has for the past three years.

O’Connor actually started applying for signs back in ’80s on behalf of another center, Palm Beach Polo & Country Club.

Club president Glenn Straub said they don’t plan to re-apply.

“We’ve never succeeded in getting it,” he said. “After 10 years, five years, three years, it wasn’t worth it to keep going. I don’t think we’re going to waste our energies. We’ll let people get lost. Maybe then they’ll complain.”

O’Connor remembered when the country club first asked for signs to steer polo aficionados in the right direction.

“They felt there wasn’t enough of a draw at the time,” O’Connor said. “We were trying to demonstrate it was a pretty good draw with 15,000 people out to see Prince Charles, Sarah Ferguson, Sly Stallone. We let it go. We have people wandering around, probably for 26 years now. If we put up the signs, they might get there.”

The International Polo Club Palm Beach is at 3667 120th Ave. S., between Pierson Road and Lake Worth Road in Wellington. For information, directions or ticket purchases, call 561-204-5687 or go to www.internationalpoloclub.com.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Abstract (Document Summary)

International Polo Club Palm Beach is going to reapply for directional signs off Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike, after a history of polo clubs in Wellington being denied signs by the state.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
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[Boynton Beach Edition]
South Florida Sun - Sentinel - Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Author:     Michelle Kaplan Special Correspondent
Date:     Sep 8, 2006
Start Page:     1
Section:     COMMUNITY NEWS
Text Word Count:     532