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TooFarTampa

SoWal Insider
I think it could be a great idea if executed properly, but one of the issues I wonder about is the narrowness of 30A. Would there be enough spots to create a shoulder for the buses to pull over to? Otherwise you would have the bus stopping traffic every time it made a stop, and that would be extremely annoying. Also, how cooperative would Rosemary, Seaside, WaterColor etc. be, given the private/public beach issues that have come up lately?
 

SHELLY

SoWal Insider
Jun 13, 2005
5,770
802
In the city of Bar Harbor, Maine, they provide free bus service that makes it way around all the hotels/inns, downtown and through the National Park. I believe the service is paid for by tourist and hotel taxes--it's a great system!

Seattle has free bus service in the downtown metro area up until 7pm (after which, they roll up the streets)--you pay extra if you want to stay on and ride outside the "free" area, i.e., to the airport. I'm sure it's paid for with a mix of taxes since it provides service to the locals as well as the tourists.

Having said that, I don't think a 30a bus service is feasible due to cost, heat, traffic, wet/sandy seats and people wanting to haul the beach tent/chairs/rafts/coolers/umbrellas/blankets/towels/monster plastic shovels, etc, etc, etc.

.
 

mf

Banned
May 14, 2006
208
0
I think it could be a great idea if executed properly, but one of the issues I wonder about is the narrowness of 30A. Would there be enough spots to create a shoulder for the buses to pull over to? Otherwise you would have the bus stopping traffic every time it made a stop, and that would be extremely annoying. Also, how cooperative would Rosemary, Seaside, WaterColor etc. be, given the private/public beach issues that have come up lately?

I should have clarified. A tram is traditionally a railborne vehicle. I would propose one that runs on an electric railway on the highway median, which is ideal and economical for the area since there is only one major thoroughfare. Will resorts be cooperative? If they need tourism maybe.


some trams
 

up4golf

Beach Lover
Nov 23, 2007
147
0
we don't live in a city and we don't live in an amusement park. i think the shuttle is a far fetched dream.
 

Matt J

SWGB
May 9, 2007
24,643
9,496
I should have clarified. A tram is traditionally a railborne vehicle. I would propose one that runs on an electric railway on the highway median, which is ideal and economical for the area since there is only one major thoroughfare. Will resorts be cooperative? If they need tourism maybe.


some trams

This requires a median which 30A has only less than 1% of.
 

dsilvar

Beach Fanatic
Jan 12, 2006
307
0
66
Miramar beach
I should have clarified. A tram is traditionally a railborne vehicle. I would propose one that runs on an electric railway on the highway median, which is ideal and economical for the area since there is only one major thoroughfare. Will resorts be cooperative? If they need tourism maybe.


some trams
I think LRT would be an excellent idea for the tri county area. They have the same system in Portland ,Oregon and it is a huge hit not to mention that it is heavily used and exquisitely on time.
It's a pity SJ has his head up his proverbial 30-A a$$. The world does not revolve around Santa Rosa beach and it would be nice to reduce ones carbon footprint and still have the facility of commuting to the more densely populated areas.
I say a red line from Ft walton to PFN and a blue line that goes down 30-A with a transit station at Inlet beach. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_in_Portland,_Oregon#MAX_Light_Rail

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular] 26 April 2007
[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Portland:
MAX light rail ridership jumps to 104,200 average weekday trips
[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Portland, Oregon's renowned MAX light rail transit (LRT) system continues to score more ridership records. In the most recent count released by TriMet, the transit agency, for March 2007, MAX's average weekday ridership reached 104,200 rider-trips (boardings). The breakdown was 66,300 on the Blue Line, 25,700 on the Red Line, and 12,200 on the Yellow Line. [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Average weekend ridership reached 78,900 on Saturdays, and 61,600 on Sundays. [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]For TriMet's total transit system as a whole (bus + rail), average weekday fixed route boardings reached 310,500. Overall, TriMet's March 2007 ridership was up 2.9% over March 2006. [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Light Rail Now! NewsLog[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]URL: http://www.lightrailnow.org/news/n_newslog2007q2.htm#POR_20070426[/FONT]
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tistheseason

Beach Fanatic
Jul 12, 2005
1,072
93
52
Atlanta, GA
When I saw the thread title, I thought it meant to get workers from Defuniak or soemwhere to 30-A. I think that might help the worker shortage. But I would hate to have a tram going up and down 30-A. I prefer to get around biking and walking. The tram would probably make it harder for me to do those things. I stay pretty close to home when I am there -- so that I can bike and walk. And usually only get in the car once to make a trip down to Seaside or Grayton. When I want to hop on a tram -- I'll got to a big city.
 

scooterbug44

SoWal Expert
May 8, 2007
16,732
3,330
Sowal
I think light rail is a great idea, but this area is not yet ready for it from a financial, density or infrastructure standpoint IMO.

My vision is a fleet of short buses/trolleys powered w/ electric or natural gas that run back and forth on 30-A/up and down selected north/south connector roads to 98. Additional buses could run to the connectors from the North and the West/East to facilitate people traveling to work from PC, Freeport, etc.

Instead of roadside stops/pull-ins or medians they use the central areas/parking lots of the various developments as stops. This keeps traffic moving and also moves the waiting areas (which could then be in existing AC spaces) away from the main road to reduce accident potential.

Obviously people would need to limit their "luggage" but IMO people who need freaking sherpas to get to the beach are not the most likely to use public transportation anyway.

Sandy/damp seats can be mitigated with mesh or slat seats rather than a cushion or solid seat.
 

mf

Banned
May 14, 2006
208
0
When I saw the thread title, I thought it meant to get workers from Defuniak or soemwhere to 30-A. I think that might help the worker shortage. But I would hate to have a tram going up and down 30-A. I prefer to get around biking and walking. The tram would probably make it harder for me to do those things. I stay pretty close to home when I am there -- so that I can bike and walk. And usually only get in the car once to make a trip down to Seaside or Grayton. When I want to hop on a tram -- I'll got to a big city.

I think an additional tram from freeport to 98 would be a great idea and could be incorporated into the new bridge. It would resolve the traffic problems caused by lack of affordable housing for workers.
 
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