Spring is here and Summer is around the corner. We have already experienced a few traffic back ups and packed beaches because of Spring Break. We are very busy here at PBA working with our local elected officials to figure out how to mitigate these problems and work towards a more efficient management of the beach and our leasehold dollars.
Another matter we are actively working on is bringing the option of fee simple title to our leaseholders. As we stated, our proposal would not mandate it, but give leaseholders the option of taking title to their property. We are awaiting the election to our District US Congressional seat before we can proceed, but we have been speaking to our elected officials and educating everyone about what this means. We also want to maintain SRIA. This would require a different funding stream, but it is all very doable.
We all know as leaseholders (and the visitors let them know as well in the Haas Poll) that the beach needs to look a little spiffier and we need to do a better job with traffic management and wayward pedestrians jay-walking everywhere. There is a design team currently meeting to beautify the entry onto Pensacola Beach and to look at a parking garage at Casino Beach. At PBA we have given our input about consolidating sheriff, fire, SRIA, and lifeguard facilities as well as where a parking garage should or should not go. The future of the beach is being planned now, but we also need to figure out what to do in the meantime about traffic and parking. We’ve been very vocal about the need for officers or someone to keep pedestrians in their place and to facilitate the traffic that we encounter at the main intersection. If AI can do it, they haven’t figured it out yet in traffic management… but are they really trying? The light monitor (person) only works on weekends, so that leaves us in a quandary every other beautiful day in the summer, because no one is making adjustments as needed and the timing of the light is a mess. It will continue to be a mess until a plan has been prioritized. A local beach resource told me it took one year to convince the traffic engineering department to add 30 seconds to the light in order to accommodate for Casino Beach emptying onto Ft. Pickens. That is unacceptable. Solutions to problems should be managed more quickly than that!
Our Commissioner is working on these issues and wants to hear your feedback and ideas at district4@myescambia.com.
Changes are coming to the beach. Ideas like paid parking throughout and/or toll increases are going to be necessary in order to pay for the continued beach renourishment that takes place every 10 years or as needed after a storm. Keeping paradise beautiful is expensive and 100% of our beaches, with the exception of one small business strip along Ft. Pickens, are public. The public who use the beach and pass through our toll booths must bear some of the burden of maintaining this beautiful place we call Pensacola Beach.
Join PBA today and help us fight for the beach . PBAdvocates.org
Rhonda Dorfman
