Scenic 30A now 25 MPH between Watercolor and Grayton

[Zebraspots]

Yes, the separate golf cart path is incredibly stupid.

But the BCC has already approved of the plan and its advocates are currently seeking a grant to defray some of the costs.

This is Walton County, the stupider the idea, the more likely it is true!

Especially if people can make a profit at the taxpayer's expense.

 

[30aconcerned]

Completely justified.....

Posted on county web site today:
Posted on: December 3, 2012[h=3]WALTON COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS MOVES TO INCREASE SAFETY ALONG SCENIC 30A[/h]WALTON COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS MOVES TO INCREASE SAFETY ALONG SCENIC 30A
DeFuniak Springs, FL… In an effort to increase safety along Walton County’s Scenic 30A, the County’s Public Works Department has made a few changes with additional work to be done.
The project and processes that are currently being instituted were initially generated by citizen concerns that the area needed some additional safety measures put in place. The Department of Public Works began the planning process in early November and is currently working to ensure the safety of this stretch of road.
"Safety is our number one priority. This is a temporary measure instituted by the previous board until we build the bridge over Western Lake,” said District 5 Commissioner Cindy Meadows. “I will be proposing to the BCC that we use bed tax revenues to build the bridge and maintain the paths based on the Florida Attorney General recent opinion that bed tax revenues may be used if deemed tourist related by the governing body."
The project will include the following improvements:
1. Extend the existing 25 mph speed zone that begins west of Watercolor to encompass the two Western Lake vehicular bridges. (Complete)
2. Install informational signage to heighten driver awareness of the close proximity of pedestrians and bicyclists on the two bridges. (Complete)
3. Re-stripe the entire area and install more reflectors to heighten driver awareness. (In Progress)
4. Install candlesticks (flexible vertical visual/physical barriers) between the eastbound lane and the multi-use path/paved shoulder. (Forthcoming)
If the public should have any questions or concerns, please contact the Walton County Department of Public Works at 850-892-8108.

www.co.walton.fl.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=559

......with some possible tweak to the speed limit after the west end of the bridge. The golfers need to be kept off 30-A but this is about safety across a dangerous area of that highway.

 

[Jdarg]

I wish I could be there, but I'm giving final exams this week. My administrative assistant is in the hospital, so I have to be in GA.

Thanks for representin' those of us who agree with your intelligent and well-thought-out point of view.

Blaine went tonight, I am going Wednesday. He said it was, um, interesting.

 

[NotDeadYet]

I have long thought the bridge crossings are very dangerous. I think we are really lucky there hasn't been an awful accident there already. So I have no problem with 25 across the bridges. But I see a bit of a problem with putting the speed limit back to 45 at the end of the westernmost bridge. What about the traffic that is eastbound? I think expecting it to immediately drop down from 45 to 25 is unrealistic. And I know this will anger a lot of you, but I think 35 all the way to the stop sign at Grayton Corners is appropriate. There are always lots of cars turning in and out of Starbucks, the bank, all those businesses as you approach the intersection. I'd be okay with shortening up the distance west of the bridges where the limit is still 25, but not eliminating it entirely to give eastbound traffic an opportunity to slow down as they approach the bridges, and having it be 35 for the remainder. I'd also put the single yellow line only in the rural section and make it a double yellow again as soon as you get close to Starbucks.

 

[30A Skunkape]

I have long thought the bridge crossings are very dangerous. I think we are really lucky there hasn't been an awful accident there already. So I have no problem with 25 across the bridges. But I see a bit of a problem with putting the speed limit back to 45 at the end of the westernmost bridge. What about the traffic that is eastbound? I think expecting it to immediately drop down from 45 to 25 is unrealistic. And I know this will anger a lot of you, but I think 35 all the way to the stop sign at Grayton Corners is appropriate. There are always lots of cars turning in and out of Starbucks, the bank, all those businesses as you approach the intersection. I'd be okay with shortening up the distance west of the bridges where the limit is still 25, but not eliminating it entirely to give eastbound traffic an opportunity to slow down as they approach the bridges, and having it be 35 for the remainder. I'd also put the single yellow line only in the rural section and make it a double yellow again as soon as you get close to Starbucks.

I respectfully disagree with the idea that the westbound lane needs to be 35MPH. I again travelled the road today and know this is rural road disecting wetland on the southside and state forest on the northside of 30-A between the toe of the bridge and Lake Place. No crossroads or business driveways-the only exception is the driveway that I think the park rangers use to go back to a supply area and the state park entrance. Other than that, nothing in terms of across the HWY traffic. The limit already is 35MPH where there are drives intersecting 30-A. The amazing thing is that when one travels west down 30-A past Grayton Corner and the speed limit goes back to 45MPH, the road looks exactly like it does between the lake bridge and Lake Place-same shoulders, same placement of the bike path, same lack of intersections...so why do we need to make the change that just got jammed down our throat? Simple-follow the $$$!

 

[BeachRob]

I have long thought the bridge crossings are very dangerous. I think we are really lucky there hasn't been an awful accident there already. So I have no problem with 25 across the bridges. But I see a bit of a problem with putting the speed limit back to 45 at the end of the westernmost bridge. What about the traffic that is eastbound? I think expecting it to immediately drop down from 45 to 25 is unrealistic. And I know this will anger a lot of you, but I think 35 all the way to the stop sign at Grayton Corners is appropriate. There are always lots of cars turning in and out of Starbucks, the bank, all those businesses as you approach the intersection. I'd be okay with shortening up the distance west of the bridges where the limit is still 25, but not eliminating it entirely to give eastbound traffic an opportunity to slow down as they approach the bridges, and having it be 35 for the remainder. I'd also put the single yellow line only in the rural section and make it a double yellow again as soon as you get close to Starbucks.

Spot on, in terms of safety and rate of traffic- especially approaching the bridges.

I tend to disagree slightly about the open stretch. I feel like you could do 50, without jeopardizing anyone's safety. But, that is more subjective to individual opinion than the issue of the bridges.

The question I have, to anyone who thinks the entire stretch should be 35mph for safety reasons, "Would you support a speed limit of 36mph from the bridges to Grayton, instead of 35?"

Anyone reading this topic on the board needs to see this statute:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes...g=&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.2122.html

Basically, once you lower the speed limit to 35, there is nothing you can do about golf carts going 25mph(tops) from Watercolor to Grayton. This, I believe, is a potential problem.

At a certain point, it isn't about how fast you CAN go. It is about how fast you WILL go.

Think... 30-A traffic moving at a snail's pace along a 1.5 mile stretch of road. Angry drivers stacked behind a golf cart, waiting for chance to pass- shooting the gap.

I don't think anyone wants that.

[video]http://www.wgrz.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1296916908001[/video]

 

[avalon]

No matter the intention, the net effect of opening this stretch of 30A to golfcarts is being advanced. Build the bridge already and restore the speed limit to something sane. Maybe 36 is just right for safety too.

 

[NotDeadYet]

I would support 36 mph, yes. And your point about not how fast you can go, but how fast you will go, is part of why I think 45, or 50, is too high. When I drive 45 in a stretch of 30A where the limit is 45, I regularly get passed, sometimes across a double yellow.
And I don't see the sense in putting the limit up to 50 for a short stretch of the road, then back down again. I think that just confuses people.
Maybe next time I drive that way I'll measure it out and see if I can figure out how many seconds you would gain by having it 45 vs 35 from the west end of the bridge to the intersection at Grayton Corners.
We all miss the days when 30A was still truly a rural road, but I think those days are gone.

 

[30aconcerned]

Scary video.....

Spot on, in terms of safety and rate of traffic- especially approaching the bridges.

I tend to disagree slightly about the open stretch. I feel like you could do 50, without jeopardizing anyone's safety. But, that is more subjective to individual opinion than the issue of the bridges.

The question I have, to anyone who thinks the entire stretch should be 35mph for safety reasons, "Would you support a speed limit of 36mph from the bridges to Grayton, instead of 35?"

Anyone reading this topic on the board needs to see this statute:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes...g=&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.2122.html

Basically, once you lower the speed limit to 35, there is nothing you can do about golf carts going 25mph(tops) from Watercolor to Grayton. This, I believe, is a potential problem.

At a certain point, it isn't about how fast you CAN go. It is about how fast you WILL go.

Think... 30-A traffic moving at a snail's pace along a 1.5 mile stretch of road. Angry drivers stacked behind a golf cart, waiting for chance to pass- shooting the gap.

I don't think anyone wants that.

[video]http://www.wgrz.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1296916908001[/video]

Hopefully the BCC looks at this. I am still giving them credit for addressing the dangerous situation for pedestrians and cyclists crossing the Western Lake bridges and that it is a SAFETY issue and not some subversive plot to support the use of insane golfers riding on a county highway (see video). It appears that the "36" is a viable option. That discussion should be pursued by the BCC. By the way, I was riding across Western Lake the other day and all should take a look at the guardrails there. Some of them are very damaged from being hit by traffic. Glad I wasn't crossing then!

 

[Beach Buggys]

Has anyone ever seen a golf cart go 25? Best I have clocked is 19 and they were kids trying to make it redline.

Just as my car will never use the far right portion of my speedometer, golf carts don't actually go 25.

I've clocked every cart we have, our slowest cart is 21mph, the average overall speed of our fleet is 23mph and we have 2 that go 28 & 29mph thats on a flat road with 3 adults riding. also, the state requirement is it must go a minimum of 20mph and a maximum of 25mph. I have seen carts on 30A that slowed traffic down to a painful 12 to 14mph(which are factory golf cart speeds), which is extremely dangerous and most likely the product of a company that did not do the proper expensive upgrades to make it reach street legal speeds, which rightfully upsets alot of people including myself.