Growth Rate on 30A

[Cuff]

Is there a rate of growth law for 30a? Seems like there is a lot of new construction here. Almost too much for a two lane highway to handle . Are evacuation concerns considered?

 

[Jim Tucker]

Haha N00b! Just kidding - there is no law controlling growth and what would it loo like if there was?

Imagine if high rises were allowed!!!!

 

[Zebraspots]

It is physically impossible to fully evacuate Sowal and has been for years.

Increased growth just makes it worse. This is part of the reason why a 4 lane 331 bridge is so important and why the Sheriff was so proactive about evacuation this past summer.

 

[Andy A]

All residents need to set up their own criteria for evacuation. Some say I will evacuate if a cat. l hurricane is going to hit my area. Others have cat. 2 or 3. Evacuation has never been a problem for us though in 10 years we have only evacuated 3 times.

 

[Lake View Too]

I really don't think evacuation is a significant problem either, if people just use a little common sense. such as leave early enough and take the route of least resistance. Evacuation shouldn't be the main reason to widen the bridge, either. Making 331 safer and easier for people coming into our county should be the priority.

About 30-A traffic. There are restrictions on building based on the amount of traffic the new construction would generate, but these ordinances have been circumvented for decades. That, and the lack of vision in creating a better traffic environment, has pretty much led us down the path towards gridlock. Our government should have been planning for this for years, but no one has been doing a thing about it. A middle beach road should have been planned a long time ago, and now it's far too late. More north-south connectors should be built, but environmentalists have shot that idea down, as if one or two small highways through the forests would be the end of the world.

I've lived here a long time, and I see nothing that will ever alleviate the traffic problems that are building up. A moratorium on building? Not gonna happen. Demolition of the TDC? Not gonna happen. Sad as it sounds, traffic will probably drive me away from my home town...

 

[Cuff]

The traffic is really bad. There are so so many houses that are jammed next to each other. I realize that $$$ is to be made but in the long run this over building will a deterrent... at least for me.

 

[Dawn]

Traffic and overcrowding worsening as communities grow has been going on for thousands of years. Find one that didn't outstrip its infrastructure and we'd have a model to go by. In America its about politics and money. You're not going to get people filling a meeting demanding growth slow and roads improve.

What would it take to stop building?

Even if you stopped it on the beach, 98 and 331 is about to boom and you'll have thousands more cars and people flooding the beach. Unfortunately if you don't like it you'll feel forced to leave.

 

[Andy A]

Oh, all of you who think the growth here is overwhelming, quit griping. When I bought here, you had to drive to Destin to get anything. Now, we have restaurants, shops, supermarkets and other needed amenitles. I don't find the traffic on 30A that bothersome, either. It is still a great place to live and will remain so for many years to come. Enjoy what is truly paradise and be glad you are here or move to someplace where you are happy.

 

[j p nettles]

When I bought a home in Destin 30 years ago the quiet "little fishing village" was what I loved. I moved east to South Walton and now the growth spurred by greedy developers have ruined the entire area. If I had it to do over again, I would have gone to Mexico Beach. Now I'm too old to find another quiet place on the coast. If I move again it will be away from the coast.

 

[jodiFL]

They should have capped it about 10 years ago. But that raises the question...how long have you been here?