Traffic

When Hurricane Opal hit in 1995, it took me 10 hours to get to Andelusia (sp) Alabama. That's only 60 miles up the road.

No one has changed or improved the hurricane evacuation routes and our population has grown much larger in the last 12 years.

Also, I think the local officials should ask the tourist to leave early, but for some odd reason, the tourist are not asked to leave early as they are in the Keys.

I have thought about this so many times and frankly, it frightens me.

Just getting the masses out of harm's way in case of a storm is going to be a major thing, could you imagine the insanity if there was an accident to contend with as well?

yes, I can imagine it, and it frightens me too.

This morning the traffic was creeping along, bumper to bumper, with SUVs hauling boats; campers; vehicles loaded up with kids, etc. And, certain people get impatient, try to see or get around the congestion...and it's a crash just waiting to happen.

When I asked the woman at the Sheriff's office why there weren't cops out directing traffic, she said, we have one at the intersection of 20 and 331..I said yes, but he/she is not out of the car directing traffic...the car is sitting with the lights flashing...she hung up on me!

No one has improved the roads, no one tells the tourists to leave early in a storm, no one asks the companies to stagger their check-in/check-out times during the season...our local government and law enforcement seem determined to arrest people for transpassing on the beach in the case of the sheriff's office; and never finding a development order or a small scale amendment they won't approve on the part of the County Commission. All while the TDC spends hundreds of thousands of dollars luring more tourists...it is insanity!

is bumper to bumper on 331 North. I left Sowal at 10:50 to go to DFS. traffic was moving at 5 mph--I called the Sheriff's office and they said no crashes, just volumn...and that it was that way all the way to DFS.

I turned around and came back home

all I can think of, is what happens if we have a storm during the busy season?

Where were the infrastructure planners when the local government was approving all this development...a two lane highway into (and out of) "the world's most beautiful beaches...."

You beat me to the post!
If you left at 10:50 I was right with you. we didn't get up 331 to I10 for well over an hour. Then heading east there was a wreck near pensacola -- another 45 min --- then accross the causway over Moblie Bay we lost another hour due to traffic volume.

All I could think of is what a hurricane evacuation would be like.

Actually in the case of storms the EOC does make mandatory evacuations for tourists. If Hurricane Dennis is what we can expect in the future it was great. Mandatory evac's for tourists started 72 hours out and as I was driving around with 24 hours to spare it was a ghost town and that was July 4th week! In the past however, I agree it was a nightmare.

I would be curious though if anyone had problems with evacuating for Dennis in 2005 as I believe that will be the new standard.

In both Hurricane Ivan and Dennis, no one ordered mandatory evacuation for tourist any earlier than for the locals. The tourist were driving all around cloggin up traffic watching the locals try to secure their property. They only left when it was ordered for everyone to go.

When I evacuated for Ivan, I went to Jacksonville. It took me about 12 hours and I did not wait until the last minute. Also, had I stayed on the "evacuation route", it would have taken much longer.

Fortunately, I picked up a few back roads that got me to I10 much faster than following the marked route. Almost ran over a Walton County Deputy because he wanted me to go one way and I went the other.

I didn't evacuate for Dennis. Just couldn't take it. Don't know if I would make the same decision again.

One cop on 331 and 5 cops cuffing and arresting a peaceable trespasser seems like a poor focus of county resources. I have not seen one deputy on 30A to slow down the crazed drivers after being here for over a week. Deputies spending their time removing 10 year old trespassers from beaches but no one watching the dangerous drivers.

As a tourist I would agree that getting us out of the way so residents can get their stuff in order is more than reasonable. What reason would a tourist have to remain other than get in the way.

BeachSI02, do you have anything official on the EOC telling tourists they must leave early? If so, I don't think it was being done last time we evacuated....I would like to know what the official statement is. Thanks.

BeachSI02 is correct. We did ask the visitors to leave earlier in the evacuation for Dennis. Our biggest problem is our evacuation time, up to 28 to 30 hours, which we've been told is second only to Key West. At that point, we've still got bright skies and calm weather, making it hard to convince folks they need to get on the road.

Hopefully the Freeport Bypass will shave some time off that when it's opened soon, but it's still a long time before landfall that we have to encourage folks to leave. The county has been urging the state and the feds to four-lane 331 since the 1970's -- to little avail. There is some progress, but FDOT is working it in segments. The PD&E (design and engineering) was done for the whole thing in 1995 (from U.S. 98 to I-10). On the U.S. 98 to the bridge segment, you should see bulldozers working soon. The segment from SR 20 in Freeport to the north side of the bridge is still in right of way acquisition, and so on.

At Hurricane Conference this year we learned that the State emergency response folks are trying to get away from "voluntary" and "mandatory" evacuations. Evacuation is what it is -- get out. Of course, the insurance companies and hospitality industry still want to know exactly when evacuation is ordered, not suggested, since there are financial considerations.

A little personal responsibility goes a long way. We all know about the road in and out, so if you're able, leave early. Hopefully, the beach will still be there after the storm is over.

I live to visit the beach but you can bet that if a storm is brewing, I will high tail it north as soon as I know it. Homeowners should be provided the courtesy of closing up their properties and having roads clear of tourist traffic.

Yes, I agree. The thing that is so frustrating here is that much of the traffic problem is predictable; but it seems (I am sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong) it seems that no one is managing the situation.

On June 30, the traffic volume on all roads leading into the beach was unbelieveable. 331 was backed up bumper to bumper (and almost not moving) southbound from the Walmart in DFS to Freeport. There were some cops out around 5 p.m. I was driving to a wedding in DFS from Santa Rosa. It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get there (normally a half hour trip) and I was going northbound.

My son and his family were driving from Mississippi a normal 3 hour trip, it took
over 5 hours. They missed the wedding.

That was the beginning of the holiday weekend surge of tourists. Today, they were all going northbound on 331--and there seemed to be no notice to travelers about the delays, no cops directing traffic...little being done to manage a potentially dangerous situation. My recollection is that it is not much better during evacuation--but, I normally leave pretty early so there may be some management as the storm gets closer.

This lack of management, lack of vision, lack of common sense approach to everyday situations is what drives me crazy here in paradise. It's not as though we don't know tourists are coming--the TDC will tell you we are one of the #1 drive-to destinations in the country! We market for that--so, why don't we manage the traffic! Same reason we haven't managed the development and aren't managing the private ownership of the beach situation I guess

In Destin, the tourist were not ask to evacuate earlier. I actually called the mayor and ask why they weren't. I was told something about it is illegal to "make" people leave in Florida.

I understand you can't make the property owners leave their property, however, it doesn't make sense why you can't make a non-resident leave property they don't own....

The person who posted it doesn't look like anyone is managing things... this is so true. Excuse my expression, but I have been convinced for years that no one has the ba*&'s to say no. Frustrating.

Yippie, you may be right. If anyone did, we wouldn't have to look at Emerald Grand when we drive/fly over the Destin Bridge!

Where were the infrastructure planners when the local government was approving all this development...a two lane highway into (and out of) "the world's most beautiful beaches...."

I think a better question is why are the cops there directing traffic, easing the flow? A few cops directing traffic won't cure all, but it could certainly help speed things along in Freeport and Defuniak.

BeachSI02, do you have anything official on the EOC telling tourists they must leave early? If so, I don't think it was being done last time we evacuated....I would like to know what the official statement is. Thanks.

Others on this thread are better suited to fill in details but I can tell you that numerous emails and public address statements are sent out to: all bed tax collectors that have registered an email with the TDC, Chamber of Commerce Businessess, and local, state and regional media. These statements are drafted by the Director of Citizen Services or his designee for the County and approved by the EOC.

Maybe someone should post them on Sowal too

Yippie, you may be right. If anyone did, we wouldn't have to look at Emerald Grand when we drive/fly over the Destin Bridge!

That building.... not only is it hidious, but there are major problems with the construction of it. Bad issues.

Others on this thread are better suited to fill in details but I can tell you that numerous emails and public address statements are sent out to: all bed tax collectors that have registered an email with the TDC, Chamber of Commerce Businessess, and local, state and regional media. These statements are drafted by the Director of Citizen Services or his designee for the County and approved by the EOC.

Maybe someone should post them on Sowal too

Maybe so, but someone has got to act. That's the problem, no one will act on these statements.

Everyone is "afraid it will be bad for tourism" or they are so greedy, they don't want to risk losing a few nights rent or commissions.

What they don't understand is ultimately, they are putting everyone at risk by not acting. Sometimes as a local, I watch decisions that are made and feel like I am less important than our tourist even though I contribute year round.

Maybe so, but someone has got to act. That's the problem, no one will act on these statements.

Everyone is "afraid it will be bad for tourism" or they are so greedy, they don't want to risk losing a few nights rent or commissions.

What they don't understand is ultimately, they are putting everyone at risk by not acting. Sometimes as a local, I watch decisions that are made and feel like I am less important than our tourist even though I contribute year round.

I have to disagree on this one as the TDC was the agency that sent out emails and faxes to bed tax collectors, chamber of commerce members, etc before there was a Citizen Services Department. This was from I think 1999 or 2000 through 2003. In 2004, Citizen Sevices took it over. I know the Citizen Services Director reads this website which is why I put in the plug for sowal;-) .

If you post other locations or other means, I am sure he will add those to his list. People are acting so tell them where to act, I for one think sowal is a good one.

Like I said earlier, I believe that since sowal was a ghost town the last 24 hours before Dennis hit then something is working let's all help to make it better!

There appear to be many things that could be improved with the local government...it seems to be mostly reactive instead of planning, or managing, the problems.

perhaps we need a different kind of government. A County Manager perhaps--anyone have any thoughts?

My experience with Ivan and Dennis was that the majority of tourists leave or cancel when a hurricane or tropical storm is reported. I'm usually one of the last to leave just to avoid the 98/331 cluster.

Someone told me that the "official" evacuation plan solely consists of them recognizing that it is impossible to evacuate the area because of the increased population.

My experience with Ivan and Dennis was that the majority of tourists leave or cancel when a hurricane or tropical storm is reported. I'm usually one of the last to leave just to avoid the 98/331 cluster.

Someone told me that the "official" evacuation plan solely consists of them recognizing that it is impossible to evacuate the area because of the increased population.

I understand and would cancel too. I actually have stayed and haven't evacuated since 2000 but they may change because I no longer have the steel-reinforced, concrete block home I used too.;-)

I hope someone will chime in with an official description of how the evacuation works too. For what its worth, here is the County's Hurricane Information webpage: http://www.co.walton.fl.us/default.asp?ID=63

I have to disagree on this one as the TDC was the agency that sent out emails and faxes to bed tax collectors, chamber of commerce members, etc before there was a Citizen Services Department. This was from I think 1999 or 2000 through 2003. In 2004, Citizen Sevices took it over. I know the Citizen Services Director reads this website which is why I put in the plug for sowal;-) .

If you post other locations or other means, I am sure he will add those to his list. People are acting so tell them where to act, I for one think sowal is a good one.

Like I said earlier, I believe that since sowal was a ghost town the last 24 hours before Dennis hit then something is working let's all help to make it better!

Sorry, I should have clarified what area I was in. Okaloosa County, City of Destin. They did not ask tourist to leave early. Only on the morning Dennis was going to come ashore was there breathing room.

Sorry, I should have clarified what area I was in. Okaloosa County, City of Destin. They did not ask tourist to leave early. Only on the morning Dennis was going to come ashore was there breathing room.

No problem, thanks for the clarification!!

Many thanks to BeachSiO2 for the plug, and yes, SoWal is now on the distribution list for county evacuation orders, press releases, and the like. We'll be judicious about it so's not to bore anyone with things that don't pertain to SoWal; but our goal is to communicate what the county is doing. "News you can use" is the aim here.

I'd appreciate any input for other media that you think useful in meeting this goal. We send our releases out to most of the mainstream media -- tv and radio stations, and the print media. I'm open to anything that works, and I learn something new about my job just about every day.

Gwen Break at The Walton Sun has been good about putting our stuff out on the EmeraldCoast.com portal if it won't wait until Saturday morning. The same goes for Mark and Renee over at SeaBreeze 106 and Art Dees at WZEP. They've been there when we've needed them. There's nothing like the electronic media for immediacy. However, in a market with so many choices and listening habits it is really hard to know what everybody listens to. Tell me what you listen to and we'll add them to the list if they're not already on it. E-mail me at litken@co.walton.fl.us.

With regard to the evacuation procedure, it's pretty simple. There's one way out. Early is better if you have a choice, and you might have more choices of routes out, too.

Having said that, every storm is different. Those who were around for Opal in 1995 may recall that she danced off the coast for days before coming in as a direct hit. Ivan and Dennis were fairly straightforward, but moved quickly. As has already been observed here, Dennis went fairly well evacuation-wise. We were really dreading Katrina when she was headed straight for us as a Cat 5 before veering off to New Orleans.

Public safety is the key objective, and those in the EOC who issue evacuation orders take that responsibility very seriously. If we issue the order prematurely and the storm goes away, we lose credibility for the next storm that comes along -- if we wait until it's a certainty (which no hurricane is), it's too late and people endure long lines of traffic as a minimum. Thank goodness we've not lost anyone to a storm.

Yes, when we left on last Saturday it took us a good hour and a half to get to I-10. My questions is that I saw what appeared to be a new road being constructed in Freeport at the light. Is that road going to go through to I-10 and if so will it be a pass over or another light?

North Lake, actually there could be alternative ways out given a little management of the traffic situation and some coordination. I can think of several ways that people on different sections of 30A could go in addition to 331, especially if there was a staggered evacuation....and last Sunday there could have been traffic management and re-routing onto Highway 20 up to Crestview; Highway 20 over to Highway 81....there are options if you guys would just think about it in a more expansive way and educate the tourists.