Friends of Scenic 30A is the original Corridor Advocacy Group, formed
to gain official scenic highway designation.
Three years of work with the FDOT, the Scenic Highway Advisory
Committee, Kimley-Horn consultants, to complete
their mandate for the scenic highway requirements. (the initial
application for designation was a Resolution passed by
our BCC in 2000).
We have prepared a CME Corridor Management Entity Plan to preserve and
protect CR-30A with the connector roads, CR-83,
CR-283 and CR-395 (also called loop roads by FDOT).
Citizens are welcome to join Friends of Scenic 30A and guide this
process. With this official scenic highway designation goal,
our Friends of Scenic 30A work with county partners - the BCC,
individual County commissioners, Planning Department,
Walton County Citizen Support, our TDC, and our Walton Chamber, as
well as the CSOs of our fabulous State Parks, and
other grass-root citizen organizations.
Right now we have some eleven Friends of Scenic 30A, who have often
attended our numerous public meetings which were
held at the TDC and at the conference room at the Walton County Health
Dept. and supported the vision for the CR-30A.
We had a mini-charrette in May, 2007 and about sixty folks turned up
to review the process and make suggestions working
with Kimley-Horn to produce our Corridor Management Entity Plan.
Topics addressed were: visual harmony along the corridor - trash
bins, trash removal, lighting (safeguarding our "night
sky") safety lighting for Timpoochee Trail, signage (the FDOT will be
installing official Scenic Highway Signs with the
official State logo) seating, trolley transportation, benches, and the
cleaning up of the guardrails around our precious
Coastal Dune Lakes (right now they are ugly, wasted and total eyesores
with substandard DOT guardrails) and Wayfinding.
We have met with State Landscape Architect Jeff Castor who addressed
our Corridor Advocacy Group meetings
twice in past two years. Jeff has landscaping solutions to visually
improve those areas adjacent to our coastal dune
lakes but solutions take $$$$ - for grant monies, we must supply a
watering and maintenance scheme.
I would like to see signature landscaping at each coastal dune lake
along the corridor as well as some downward pointing
night light so you are aware that you are driving over a significant
Coastal Dune Lake that needs protection.
Our CAG Board member, Cliff Knauer, engineer, has lighting and bridge
solutions on hand. Planning for our sensitive
location along the waters of the Gulf of Mexico are discussed at each
of our meetings.
Most marketing plans highlight an area's intrinsic qualities and
promote interest in the scenic highway that is consistent
with resource protection efforts and maintenance of the scenic
highway's "DESIRED CHARACTER".
Context-sensitive design takes into account the area's built and
natural environment; the environmental, scenic, aesthetic,
historic, community and preservation impacts of a road project.
The members of the Friends of Scenic 30A are an amazing group of
residents who have given their time, energy, and
sensitivity to this project. All of our meetings have been advertised
with Press Releases, legal notices, and posting of
our results. We have conducted numerous interviews with regional
magazines and newspapers as well.
Designation is desirable to make development more compatible with the
environment and in harmony with our surroundings.
Scenic highway designation will enhance community identity and pride,
encouraging citizen commitment to preserve
community values and,
Provide a vehicle for the community to promote local tourism that is
consistent with the community's scenic values.
It is the best we can do to protect CR-30A now.
A continued goal is to complement the natural landscape rather than
overpowering its unique characteristics.
I will be meeting with the TDC next week to go over planning for the
Workshop suggested at the public
meeting last Wednesday. I have been asked to work with Tracy Louthain
to present this Workshop.
