As reported on WZEP AM 1460
What are the parking needs for southern Walton County.
The Walton Commissioners met in their second special meeting to discuss the area near Grayton Beach, along western 30A and 98 and to the intersection with 395. The discussion included the area around the state park. The commissioners had an overflowing crowd at the meeting Tuesday afternoon.
The engineer talked about Grayton Beach. She said the businesses have used shuttle services to move employees around. The County is trying to rent an existing piece of land that would be near beach accesses and the Western Lake access. There are around 55 spaces in the right of way and the parking lot would add around 27. Grayton Beach has around 200 spaces and since they are underutilized most of the time, the suggestion is to work with the state on a discount for Walton County residents. For the Grayton Beach area, there are 61 spaces and they could add 91 spaces. The engineer suggested using sand and rock to stabilize the parking and get it available quicker. Again, the commissioners were told the businesses in Grayton Beach are using shuttles to help the parking.
The next area looked at is WaterColor. The engineer said the Van Butler Access is almost never full and they should use signage to promote people to get off the road and use the access. There are a total of 120 spaces, but they usually are only 50% tp 60% used.
Seaside does not have any public accesses, but is located just west of several public accesses. They have 77 spaces in the public right of way and are at capacity most of the year. The section is recommended for signage. The engineer said they are working with shuttle services.
Seagrove Beach has a large amount of neighborhood access with no parking. The engineer said people are parking along 393 and some parking has been installed. Beachgoers and businesses are using them. The recommendation is providing 35 spaces along the right of way to go with the 10 already installed. They will have to keep the spaces away from the parking spaces due to driveway spaces and closeness. This is near where the turn lane is being proposed. The spaces will be 90 degrees to match existing.
Seagrove is the largest focus area with the biggest amount of beach accesses. They recommend signage and promoting park and ride to keep the cars out of the right of ways, These neighborhood accesses often do not have parking. Places like San Juan, Santa Clara and Motigo have the ability for additional spaces. The engineer said for some they need to evaluate drainage before proposing spaces. Montigo would only have four additional spaces and there are questions about ownership. Further east there are accesses that are only foot access, such as Rams Gate. Get near Seacrest, the drives get closer, but the engineer said the study showed no major parking issues.
Getting near Eastern Lake, parking does occur in the right of way. One proposal is additional bike racks. They also recommend no parking near the one access as there is a growing problem. They recommend adding 10 spaces and the bike racks in this area. Further east is the Port property, a footpath beach access with close driveways. The engineer said the county needs to acquire land if they want parking. The recommendation is for bike racks and a similar one for Sugar Dunes. There are 128 spaces today and they could add 45 spaces in 1-5 years and 29 spaces in 5-10 years for the Seagrove area.
One audience recommendation is to create a budget line item for a fund to be used for land acquisition to be used for parking. Several others talked about people parking in their yard, littering and safety. An audience member said a deputy told him he was told not to take action that would cause problems with tourists. Commissioner Chapman asked for the deputy’s name. None was given.
What are the parking needs for southern Walton County.
The Walton Commissioners met in their second special meeting to discuss the area near Grayton Beach, along western 30A and 98 and to the intersection with 395. The discussion included the area around the state park. The commissioners had an overflowing crowd at the meeting Tuesday afternoon.
The engineer talked about Grayton Beach. She said the businesses have used shuttle services to move employees around. The County is trying to rent an existing piece of land that would be near beach accesses and the Western Lake access. There are around 55 spaces in the right of way and the parking lot would add around 27. Grayton Beach has around 200 spaces and since they are underutilized most of the time, the suggestion is to work with the state on a discount for Walton County residents. For the Grayton Beach area, there are 61 spaces and they could add 91 spaces. The engineer suggested using sand and rock to stabilize the parking and get it available quicker. Again, the commissioners were told the businesses in Grayton Beach are using shuttles to help the parking.
The next area looked at is WaterColor. The engineer said the Van Butler Access is almost never full and they should use signage to promote people to get off the road and use the access. There are a total of 120 spaces, but they usually are only 50% tp 60% used.
Seaside does not have any public accesses, but is located just west of several public accesses. They have 77 spaces in the public right of way and are at capacity most of the year. The section is recommended for signage. The engineer said they are working with shuttle services.
Seagrove Beach has a large amount of neighborhood access with no parking. The engineer said people are parking along 393 and some parking has been installed. Beachgoers and businesses are using them. The recommendation is providing 35 spaces along the right of way to go with the 10 already installed. They will have to keep the spaces away from the parking spaces due to driveway spaces and closeness. This is near where the turn lane is being proposed. The spaces will be 90 degrees to match existing.
Seagrove is the largest focus area with the biggest amount of beach accesses. They recommend signage and promoting park and ride to keep the cars out of the right of ways, These neighborhood accesses often do not have parking. Places like San Juan, Santa Clara and Motigo have the ability for additional spaces. The engineer said for some they need to evaluate drainage before proposing spaces. Montigo would only have four additional spaces and there are questions about ownership. Further east there are accesses that are only foot access, such as Rams Gate. Get near Seacrest, the drives get closer, but the engineer said the study showed no major parking issues.
Getting near Eastern Lake, parking does occur in the right of way. One proposal is additional bike racks. They also recommend no parking near the one access as there is a growing problem. They recommend adding 10 spaces and the bike racks in this area. Further east is the Port property, a footpath beach access with close driveways. The engineer said the county needs to acquire land if they want parking. The recommendation is for bike racks and a similar one for Sugar Dunes. There are 128 spaces today and they could add 45 spaces in 1-5 years and 29 spaces in 5-10 years for the Seagrove area.
One audience recommendation is to create a budget line item for a fund to be used for land acquisition to be used for parking. Several others talked about people parking in their yard, littering and safety. An audience member said a deputy told him he was told not to take action that would cause problems with tourists. Commissioner Chapman asked for the deputy’s name. None was given.
