A Walton County Tourist Development Council (TDC) committee has approved a proposed pilot public transit program along parts of the county's beaches for two months of this summer.
The proposal, given the go-ahead Thursday by the TDC's Destination Improvement Committee, is aimed at reducing parking and congestion problems on County Road 30A and Scenic Gulf Drive. The proposal is set to be heard by the full council next month, and if approved there, would head to the Walton County Board of County Commissioners for a final decision.
The service, using six trolley-style vehicles — three on each route — would operate in June and July, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 9 a.m. until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. There would be no cost to trolley riders, and wait times are projected to be no more than 15 to 20 minutes.
Under the proposal given the go-ahead Thursday, the transit vehicles would be leased at an estimated cost of between $60,000 and $85,000 for the two-month pilot program. It was not clear Thursday exactly what types of vehicles might be available for leasing, but TDC Executive Director Jay Tusa told the committee that whatever vehicles are used would accommodate between 14 and 20 passengers.
The cost of drivers for the vehicles during the pilot program is estimated at between $45,000 and $70,000.
Funding for the pilot program would come from proceeds of the 5% "bed tax" on accommodations in the southern part of the county.
Data on ridership and other aspects of the pilot program, including the times of day that riders use the service, the number of riders, and the popularity or lack of popularity of given pickup and dropoff locations, will be gathered by drivers logging those numbers.
The 30A route would run from an existing parking lot on County Road 283 with stops in the vicinity of the Grayton Brewpub and at Grayton Beach State Park, the WaterColor resort community, the Van Ness Butler Regional Beach Access, the Seaside community, the Santa Clara Regional Beach Access, the One Seagrove Neighborhood Beach Access and at Eastern Lake Road.
The Scenic Gulf Drive route would run between the Silver Sands Premium Outlets at the U.S. Highway 98 intersection to the Miramar Regional Beach Access, with three stops in between in the vicinity of the Embassy Suites hotel and the Surf Hut restaurant, the site of a planned new regional beach at 907 Scenic Gulf Drive, and in the vicinity of the Whale's Tail restaurant and bar.
Both the 30A and the Scenic Gulf Drive stops would include pull-offs so that the trolleys would not block other vehicular traffic while loading and unloading, although it wasn't clear Thursday whether those pull-offs might be located on county rights of way or other property.
TDC officials are encouraged about the prospects of the pilot program, based on a shuttle program that ran last summer in the Grayton Beach area off and along 30A, which took riders from a parking lot on County Road 283 into the Grayton area.
According to Jason Cutshaw, the TDC's director of administration, that north-south shuttle program transported more than 18,000 people between mid-June and early September, and attracted local riders as well as visitors.
“... (A)s the program developed, I think a lot more locals got used to it,” Cutshaw told the committee on Thursday.
The proposed pilot program, according to Tusa, will give the TDC an idea of how an east-west shuttle program could work. Eventually, Tusa said, if the pilot program is successful, the 30A and Scenic Gulf Drive routes could be linked via U.S. Highway 98.
“We have some challenges in the way of transportation and parking, and we’ve been working diligently in the past few years to address those challenges," Tusa told the committee.
The proposed pilot program could be a step along the way toward a transit system covering all 26 miles of the county's beaches, Tusa hinted Thursday, providing valuable data and insights before a possible investment in vehicles that could be $1 million or more.
Committee member Stacy Hamilton wondered Thursday how the TDC would market the two pilot routes. In response, TDC marketing director David Demarest said that social media would play a role in getting the message out to the markets from which the county draws its tourists.
And, Demarest added, the area's hospitality partners would be motivated to promote the shuttle as an alternative to the heavy traffic that comes to the area during tourist season.
"This is going to make the situation better, so they're going to be really motivated to push that out to their guests,” Demarest said.
The proposal, given the go-ahead Thursday by the TDC's Destination Improvement Committee, is aimed at reducing parking and congestion problems on County Road 30A and Scenic Gulf Drive. The proposal is set to be heard by the full council next month, and if approved there, would head to the Walton County Board of County Commissioners for a final decision.
The service, using six trolley-style vehicles — three on each route — would operate in June and July, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 9 a.m. until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. There would be no cost to trolley riders, and wait times are projected to be no more than 15 to 20 minutes.
Under the proposal given the go-ahead Thursday, the transit vehicles would be leased at an estimated cost of between $60,000 and $85,000 for the two-month pilot program. It was not clear Thursday exactly what types of vehicles might be available for leasing, but TDC Executive Director Jay Tusa told the committee that whatever vehicles are used would accommodate between 14 and 20 passengers.
The cost of drivers for the vehicles during the pilot program is estimated at between $45,000 and $70,000.
Funding for the pilot program would come from proceeds of the 5% "bed tax" on accommodations in the southern part of the county.
Data on ridership and other aspects of the pilot program, including the times of day that riders use the service, the number of riders, and the popularity or lack of popularity of given pickup and dropoff locations, will be gathered by drivers logging those numbers.
The 30A route would run from an existing parking lot on County Road 283 with stops in the vicinity of the Grayton Brewpub and at Grayton Beach State Park, the WaterColor resort community, the Van Ness Butler Regional Beach Access, the Seaside community, the Santa Clara Regional Beach Access, the One Seagrove Neighborhood Beach Access and at Eastern Lake Road.
The Scenic Gulf Drive route would run between the Silver Sands Premium Outlets at the U.S. Highway 98 intersection to the Miramar Regional Beach Access, with three stops in between in the vicinity of the Embassy Suites hotel and the Surf Hut restaurant, the site of a planned new regional beach at 907 Scenic Gulf Drive, and in the vicinity of the Whale's Tail restaurant and bar.
Both the 30A and the Scenic Gulf Drive stops would include pull-offs so that the trolleys would not block other vehicular traffic while loading and unloading, although it wasn't clear Thursday whether those pull-offs might be located on county rights of way or other property.
TDC officials are encouraged about the prospects of the pilot program, based on a shuttle program that ran last summer in the Grayton Beach area off and along 30A, which took riders from a parking lot on County Road 283 into the Grayton area.
According to Jason Cutshaw, the TDC's director of administration, that north-south shuttle program transported more than 18,000 people between mid-June and early September, and attracted local riders as well as visitors.
“... (A)s the program developed, I think a lot more locals got used to it,” Cutshaw told the committee on Thursday.
The proposed pilot program, according to Tusa, will give the TDC an idea of how an east-west shuttle program could work. Eventually, Tusa said, if the pilot program is successful, the 30A and Scenic Gulf Drive routes could be linked via U.S. Highway 98.
“We have some challenges in the way of transportation and parking, and we’ve been working diligently in the past few years to address those challenges," Tusa told the committee.
The proposed pilot program could be a step along the way toward a transit system covering all 26 miles of the county's beaches, Tusa hinted Thursday, providing valuable data and insights before a possible investment in vehicles that could be $1 million or more.
Committee member Stacy Hamilton wondered Thursday how the TDC would market the two pilot routes. In response, TDC marketing director David Demarest said that social media would play a role in getting the message out to the markets from which the county draws its tourists.
And, Demarest added, the area's hospitality partners would be motivated to promote the shuttle as an alternative to the heavy traffic that comes to the area during tourist season.
"This is going to make the situation better, so they're going to be really motivated to push that out to their guests,” Demarest said.
