What is the Current Status of the Traffic Issues and Potential Roundabouts at Pensacola Beach?

There is a continuing push from some Pensacola Beach interests to add roundabouts and pedestrian underpasses (as depicted above)  at Pensacola Beach to improve traffic flow.  

We have discussed the traffic situation at Pensacola Beach for years.  Many solutions or potential solutions have been put forward, several have been implemented.  Not all beach interests are satisfied with what has been done to date.

I believe the biggest impediment to moving traffic to and from the beach was, is, and remains the toll booth.  I have loudly advocated that we get rid of the booth forever and make up the lost revenue by converting some areas of Casino Beach into paid parking.  This could more than make up for the revenue lost by removing the toll plaza.  So far nobody has stepped up to support this good idea.

Short of doing that, making the tolls automatic and syncing the lights through Gulf Breeze and at the core of Pensacola Beach drops travel time---- during peak usage days---- between the Gulf Breeze Chic Fil A over to the first light at Fort Pickens Road---- from nearly one hour down to 12 minutes!  As I always assumed (correctly)---------- the biggest traffic issue clogging up the route to the beach has been, was, and is the toll booth and non-synced lights through Gulf Breeze.

I brought forward a plan to continue taking cash tolls while suspending tolls and going into a "zero-fare" mode at times when the traffic back ups get severe.  After some initial pushback while other plans were tested, ultimately my "panic switch" concept was put into place this summer with very good results and with very little fanfare..... (although nobody has publicly acknowledged this--staff has confirmed it).

Just this past Saturday, for instance, the "panic switch" was activated for an hour and a half, and this resulted in a complete flushing of the gridlocked traffic.  Roughly 5300 cars went through the toll booths during this period and paid no toll--and once the traffic was pushed through, traffic flowed freely, and we resumed taking tolls again.

Even though we are working through that back-up issue and actually have a plan that keeps the cash flowing (and the cars flowing to the beach as well)--some beach lease holders and hoteliers insist that the entire problem is not yet corrected, and that beach traffic must be improved even more.

These folks want roundabouts on the beach--to keep traffic moving.

I have voted for the funding for the costs/feasibility of constructing roundabouts on the beach--largely in support of and showing deference to my former colleague in D4 Grover Robinson.  My yes vote was also largely due to the fact that the costs associated with these studies/plans was paid from the D4 discretionary LOST budget.  (We've spent $1.6 Million to date with Volkert on developing the cost estimate for this project.)

The price-tag:  $9.4 Million and 12 months time to complete according to Volkert.

Now there is a push to go forward and put this contract and this plan out to bid to construct the roundabouts and the pedestrian underpasses. There does not appear to be an appetite for taking a wait


 and see approach and monitoring and evaluating the fixes we have already funded and implemented.

So here is where it gets dicey for me.....

Look, with respect to roundabouts, I am agnostic. I've written about these features here and here, and  here, before.  I know we will never be able to construct enough infrastructure at the Beach to insure nobody waits in traffic or is inconvenienced on peak days in the Season.  That is neither feasible nor practical.  I believe the current improvements we have made, combined with the plan to develop an independent, direct right turn lane straight into Fort Pickens road, combined with the real-time control of the two core-area traffic signals--will be a solution that gets the job done out at the beach.  But with this said----- I do not necessarily disagree with the notion that segregating the pedestrians from the cars with underpasses and adding free-flowing roundabouts could help beach traffic.  I just spent time last month up in southern Wisconsin driving through a LOT of roundabouts--and I will say they work very well up there.  Check out this graphic showing all the roundabouts in Wisconsin--I drove through many of them in the Milwaukee area!)

For me the devil is and always has been in the details---- and in particular, the funding details.  I can be supportive if we are using D4 discretionary LOST funds for this project--just as I have been in every vote on this matter thus far.  I can be supportive if we levy the 5th cent on the hotel tax on out of town visitors-- and utilize some of these proceeds to complete these improvements.  I'll even look closely and consider supporting a rational plan that cobbles together funding from multiple sources (LOST, TDC, SRIA funds?) for this plan if my counterparts bring this forward.  There are ways I can come to a yes on these improvements.

But I do not believe there is support, nor do I believe there are three votes, for funding these improvements with Straight LOST 4 dollars--as we are in the red for the first several years already.  It will require creativity and compromise, in my estimation, to get this project moving forward with support of the board.  This is my opinion.