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Teresa

SoWal Guide
Staff member
Nov 15, 2004
30,249
9,279
South Walton, FL
sowal.com
So much potential in using our public spaces for recovery. Watch Seaside for an al fresco summer as the town creates an outdoor atmosphere for shops, restaurants and guests. The walkable town is uniquely built for it. There will be some problems no doubt, but I am excited to see these adaptations taking place locally.


THE RECOVERY WILL HAPPEN IN PUBLIC SPACE

"... These ideas are not that radical. Many cities have now opened roadways to pedestrians and cyclists as a means to provide additional space for social distancing throughout the city. The best examples have created networks that help people get where they need to go without crowding into public transit. A growing number of cities, like Tampa, Florida, and Cincinnati, Ohio, have opened road space to struggling restaurants, as they reopen at a much reduced capacity. Rockland, Maine, plans to reopen its entire Main Street outdoors. Montreal, Quebec, has become the first North American city to announce that it would implement “superblocks” in their streets, modeled after Barcelona’s well-known initiative."

The Recovery Will Happen in Public Space
 

30A Skunkape

Skunky
Jan 18, 2006
10,286
2,312
53
Backatown Seagrove
I say close that circle to parking forever. I doubt business will suffer and maybe people will quit driving cars through (and clogging) Seaside's 30A stretch hoping to find parking. If the experiment fails, just open it back up next year.
 

James Bentwood

Beach Fanatic
Feb 24, 2005
1,495
606
I say close that circle to parking forever. I doubt business will suffer and maybe people will quit driving cars through (and clogging) Seaside's 30A stretch hoping to find parking. If the experiment fails, just open it back up next year.
The Davises and many more in Seaside would like nothing better. Hard to make almost every single visitor not staying on town to take a Uber or trolley or walk or bike there. What it really needed was a ring road with parking on the outside of town.St. Joe had other ideas.
 

Teresa

SoWal Guide
Staff member
Nov 15, 2004
30,249
9,279
South Walton, FL
sowal.com
Seaside | Facebook update June 1, 2020

This photo from summer 2019 is a reminder why we must mitigate crowds. Summer event programming has been suspended due to Covid-19. We hope to resume our event schedule in the Fall.

83005308_10157353962380893_3297250941509566464_o.jpg
 

Teresa

SoWal Guide
Staff member
Nov 15, 2004
30,249
9,279
South Walton, FL
sowal.com
200604-seaside-119-sowal-2000.jpg.webp


Welcome to Seaside. Your Seaside experience will be different this summer. The changes we have made are a reflection of our commitment to make health and safety a priority for our guests, Seaside Merchants and staff. We understand you have chosen Seaside because it is a special place. We want to preserve every experience you have grown to love or have planned to have at Seaside.

This summer we hope you will ‘take your time’ to reconnect with the simple things in life that make your Seaside vacation most memorable. We compiled a list of some of the changes to your Seaside experience that seem to be the hot topics among our guests and on social media.

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#1. We require masks to be worn in our retail stores. We ask that you please be prepared and #BringYourMask.

#2. All events have been suspended including the 4th of July Parade and fireworks. While it pains us to not hold this signature patriotic event, we know we must not encourage crowds under these unprecedented circumstances.

#3. We closed Central Square to allow an open-air Seaside experience. Dining outdoors has always been a Seasider favorite, now we have more outdoor dining opportunities and less vehicular traffic.

#4. The public can park in Seaside, but spaces are limited to Smolian Circle and areas off Scenic 30A. You might choose to visit on foot or by bike.

#5. You may be asked to wait outside a store in Seaside due to capacity limitations. We truly appreciate your patience. We ask that if you must stand in a line, please keep 6 feet away from other parties.

#6. Many of our food and beverage vendors are now allowing orders online. You can order food while you shop or relax under the palms. Stay out of lines and order online! You can find all your favorite merchants by clicking here. Look for displays with QR Codes for easy access.

#7. The Seaside Commercial Beach access is available by reservation only. You must make a reservation with our long-time beach vendor Cabana Man. We have limited the capacity of our beach assuring safe social distancing. You can make your reservation online at Cabanaman.com.

#8. Please be especially good to your clerk or server. We are all working hard to provide a safe and friendly environment during uncertain times. We greatly appreciate your generosity and kindness. It is hard to see us smiling under these masks, but we are glad to see you.

#9. Please take advantage of our hand washing and sanitizing stations and be mindful of disposing trash into bins.

#10. The Commercial District is closing at 8 p.m. beginning June 26, 2020. We require that anyone who does not have a reservation at Great Southern or Bud Alley's to leave the Seaside Commercial District. The town is not a place to gather after 8 p.m. No other businesses will remain open. This curfew is an attempt to control the crowds that have become destructive and uncontrollable after dark. It is a safety measure for both our guests and our staff.

Thank you for reviewing and sharing this list. We hope your Seaside experience is amazing.

SeasideFL.com news
Seaside | Your Seaside experience will be different this summer.
 

Teresa

SoWal Guide
Staff member
Nov 15, 2004
30,249
9,279
South Walton, FL
sowal.com
Seaside Commercial District Implements a Curfew

SEASIDE®, Fla. — June 25, 2020 — Droves of visitors are already in Seaside or headed to the famed holiday town either for a vacation stay or for a day trip. Amidst the threat of COVID-19, the Seaside Community Development Corp. (SCDC) has implemented several safety measures in effort to help stop the spread of the virus. Unfortunately, the spread of the virus continues, creating more restrictions for guests and merchants alike.

Beginning June 26, 2020, the Seaside Commercial District will enforce a new curfew, closing the Commercial District at 8 p.m. Three full-service restaurants will remain open past 8 p.m. by reservation only: Bud & Alley’s, Pizza Bar and Great Southern. These restaurants will operate at a limited capacity and will require their employees to wear masks in addition to following stringent cleaning and safety protocols.

“We greatly appreciate the leadership of Seaside, as they have consistently made very difficult decisions to make health and safety a priority,” said Bryan Pritchett, co-owner of two retail stores in Seaside, Duckies and Mercantile.

The Commercial District at Seaside officially reopened on May 29, 2020. Since that time, Central Square has been blocked from vehicular traffic, yet the town still experiences large crowds of guests arriving on foot or by bicycle. With limited parking, the expectation was there would be less traffic and a lower sales volume among merchants. Airstream Row, a popular collection of ‘food trucks’ known for its atmosphere directly off Scenic 30A is particularly congested in the evenings with mass crowding of young people, all ignoring social distancing measures. “Our retail stores are closed by 7 p.m. Our beaches are limited to reservations only. We continue to have indignant crowds causing undue stress for our merchants and our staff. The threat of COVID-19 is not gone. We must add this curfew to mitigate crowds and help slow the spread of the virus,” said Pam Avera, General Manager of SCDC.

Seaside is one of the few commercial properties in Northwest Florida requiring masks to be worn when entering a retail store. While most of the guests kindly bring and wear their masks, many merchants have reported outrage by some consumers. The town has taken a stance that if you do not want to wear a mask, simply do not come to Seaside stores. This face-covering position has become a hot topic nationwide. The founders of Seaside, their leadership team and the Seaside Merchants will not compromise regarding the requirement of masks in stores. A few positive cases of the virus have already been reported by employees who work in Seaside. As many are recognizing, the threat of COVID-19 has caused lives and businesses to change. The Seaside Commercial District will continue to closely monitor COVID-19 spread with the core purpose of making health and safety first. More extreme measures may be announced.

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