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Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
Hwy 331 may soon become, the "Beach Highway" (at least that is how it is drafted)

At tonight's County Commissioners Meeting, they will be voting on whether or not to rename Hwy 331, from Alabama to Hwy 98, the "Beach Highway." The City of Paxton has already requested the change to the "Beach Highway." (This would apply to unincorporated areas only, unless Freeport, Paxton and Defuniak Springs want to change the name, too). Alabama's Crenshaw County Commission has already approved of the change for hwy 331 in their stretch.

Interestingly, there is one other submission to the Walton County Commission, which doesn't state the city name, nor state on the document, but is signed by H D Edgar, Mayor. The interesting part is the word, "THE." The letter recognizes Hwy 331 name change as:

(in quotes): "THE Beach Highway" (and "THE" is capitalized and within the quotes. )

Remember the group wanting to change the name of NW FL to "THE Beach?" I wonder if this will be slipped into the other changes as well. What will the other Counties think if Walton County is designated as having "THE Beach Highway," since they are planning on spending much money to brand NorthWest Florida as "THE Beach." Just wondering.
 

GoodWitch58

Beach Fanatic
Oct 10, 2005
4,816
1,921
do you suppose they'll want to paint it orange as well:dunno:
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
The document from Opp, AL, mentioned above, was a faxed copy, and the scanned image of the fax appears to be black font, but who knows, maybe in the Mayor's Office in Opp, "THE" is orange.
 

kkddbb

Banned
May 13, 2009
880
129
whats the point, i mean really? no matter what you call it, its the main route to the beach and has been forever. is by changing the name at this point going to bring about more dollars to the area? i dont think so. bay county voted to change beckridge road's name. other than recognizing someone that may very well deserve recognition, is this the time to tell business owners during the current market to change all their stationary to read the new address? i dont think so. its an expense i dont think many can absorb right about now. its another example on government having their interests in all the wrong places.
 

scooterbug44

SoWal Expert
May 8, 2007
16,732
3,330
Sowal
I can see "nicknaming" 331 "the beach highway" for fun and promotional purposes, but IMO we don't need to be wasting the money to:

1) rename it THE or add the color orange so some group of consultants who couldn't find THEIR arses w/ both orange hands can siphon off gov't funds and continue to piss me off w/ their idiocy

2) reprint all maps, signs, anything w/ an address on it, update everything
 

GoodWitch58

Beach Fanatic
Oct 10, 2005
4,816
1,921
seriously, I would prefer to see the "powers that be" focus on things that truly impact the beach experience for both the permanent resident and the visitor.

I don't believe either the name change or the marketing program to "brand" the area as The Beach will really make that much difference.

OTOH, the issues of:

private vs. public; lifeguards,flags and safety; turtle lighting; four-laning roads; proper intersection traffic signals; abandoned housing developments; abandoned property on the beach; noise ordinances; signage; recycling program; lack of economic development programs; need for more year-round jobs; unpaved roads; wetlands filled in; property clear-cut; open hit and run cases; the list is endless, and I didn't even think about it!

These are the things that affect the quality of our life here, and the experience of a visitor...much better to focus on positive, inclusive solutions to these and then the number of "heads in beds" will take care of itself. The TDC has done a great job over the years bringing in visitors with the BOSW tag and logo. I see no reason to change or impose another logo over that...

A community attracts people if it is welcoming, clean, and safe and if it provides both jobs and activities for its residents and visitors. We are fortunate to have the added benefit of our wonderful beach and unique environment. If we maintained what we naturally have and enhanced it in a positive, sustainable way, we would be fine. I see no harm in naming 331 the beach highway, but I agree that no dollars should be spent to change signage and maps, etc.

I am pretty sure none of us ever made a vacation decision based on the name of the road we needed to take to get to the destination.



I
 

Matt J

SWGB
May 9, 2007
24,643
9,496
Maybe they'll get sued for false advertising. Not sure about anyone else, but I must be missing the part where 331 dead ends into a beach.
 
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