We can all sit around and bemoan the fact that we allowed too much development for the available infrastructure along the 30-A corridor and that we are woefully behind on infrastructure. We can all bemoan the fact that politicians have far too often sold us down the river and if we are honest, bemoan the fact that those people are where they are/were because we put them there. We can do yet another study or we can advocate "solutions" that are not legal or possible like declaring a ban on new development.
Or.
We can get busy on working towards solutions, both short and long term.
1. Immediately install a traffic light at 30-A/395
2. Begin work on turn lanes at the same intersection.
3. Begin the permitting and engineering work on a connector road along the power line that is fenced and has adequate bridges over wetlands and animal crossings under the roadway.
4. Begin the permitting and engineering for turn lanes on all the north/south connector roads and the arteries that feed into them so that traffic flows better across the grid.
5. Where ROW permits, build turn lanes at all the major 30-A intersections and begin replacing 4-way stops along the roadway with traffic signals. Finish the above engineered projects.
6. Begin the planning and property acquisition for off-site parking and a mass transit solution throughout the 30-A grid for workers and visitors.
7. Fund these projects with traffic concurrency funds as much as possible and strictly enforce the LDC and comp plan regarding traffic capacity. Tighten the codes if needed.
8. Fully fund the South Walton TIF to provide a funding source for these projects.
This plan is not perfect but we cannot fail to act any further and these steps will help. Some will take years to come to fruition, but if we do not begin the process now, then 5-10 years from now we will have a dramatically worse situation and no hope in sight of addressing the issues. I wish things were perfect and in a perfect world we would not need to encroach one foot into the forest. But things are almost out of control and our people deserve to be able to move about and conduct their business without sitting in gridlock for hours every day. Not to mention that if you are the victim you want emergency vehicles to be able to get to you or your home in time.