City noted for safety measures and its relaxed lifestyle

Placid river — A peaceful lifestyle with a placid river and lots of greenery help make Port St. Lucie such a great place to live.

BY SUSAN BURGESS

Port St. Lucie has lots of golfers and lots of golf courses, ranging all the way from beginner to championship level.
ANTHONY INSWASTY

Port St. Lucie is one of the best places among small cities in the nation to live, says U.S. News & World Report. To make the top of the list, a place had to have good value, be a desirable place to live, have a strong job market and a high quality of life. The city was cited for its more relaxed atmosphere compared to its larger neighbors, its clean streets and quiet neighborhoods, scenic waters and lush golf courses.

PSL is One of the Best Places to Retire in the U.S. — U.S. News & World Report named Port St. Lucie the eighth best small city in the U.S. to retire. A small city is one that is under 500,000 people. The magazine looked at quality of life, the desire of people to live there and how much they valued living there. It also considered the proximity to water, with some areas having canals, the lagoon and easy access to it, and good recreational opportunities.

Second Safest Place to Live in the U.S. in 2022-23 — Despite having lost much of its rural character long ago, the city is still considered a safe place to live, according to U.S. News and World Report. The violent crime rate was lower than the national rate for cities of similar size in 2020, the last date for which statistics were available. The report measured each metro area’s murder, violent crime and property crime rates per 100,000 people, as determined by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports.

Sixth Most Affordable Place to Retire in America — After looking at 50 cities, the real estate website realtor.com determined that Port St. Lucie’s home prices, businesses appealing to seniors, and large numbers of people age 50 and older made it a great and affordable place to retire. Traverse City, Michigan, was at the top of the list.

Community events at the pavilion area of MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Event Center tend to feel a bit more comfortable during the fall and winter months when the temperatures are cooler. Oktoberfest is coming to the pavilion Sept. 30-Oct. 1. For this and other events around the community, check out Things To Do, beginning on Page 42

Communications Award — For its outstanding campaign to slow down speedy drivers, the city’s communications department was commended by the Public Relations Society of America for its excellent multifaceted campaign. With complaints rolling in from residents all over the city about unsafe speeds on streets where neighbors walk, ride bikes and kids head to or from school, the city asked residents to call in to PSL1 hotline where trained call-takers were waiting instead of St. Lucie County’s emergency 911 number.

The city’s communications department developed an award-winning ad campaign to slow speeders down. The city council dropped the speed limit on neighborhood streets throughout the city to 25 miles per hour in an effort to save lives and to help prevent accidents and injuries. CITY OF PORT ST. LUCIE

A grassroots campaign was developed between city officials and the police department. Neighborhood speed limits were reduced from 35 to 25 mph, making it more likely victims would survive. They worked with homeowner associations, neighborhood leaders and on social media to get the word out. And police stepped up enforcement where the most complaints were made. The program is still relatively young but because of its success in reaching thousands of drivers, it will continue.

See the original article in the print publication

Sept. 17, 2022