# Ferry service



## boomshakalaka (Dec 4, 2012)

So I guess the new ferry service starts today. Was looking at it and I guess they didn't want to make this something that locals would actually use, such a shame. Way too expensive, they are obviously marketing it to tourists based on the pricing and the branding of it as a "bay cruise". I was actually thinking ok, would be kinda nice to go park downtown and hop on a ferry to the beach for a few bucks to avoid beach traffic. Oh well, scratch that...$20 and they expect me to book it ahead of time? It won't last long, at least not in this format. 


http://www.pensacolabaycruises.com/


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## stevenattsu (Apr 24, 2009)

The only way it will work is the next time the road washes out, they don't open it back up


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## Hook (Oct 2, 2007)

Looks like another Ferris wheel aka wonder wheel Maybe Atlanta will buy it for their lake.


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## blkwtr (Oct 6, 2007)

The politicians and the park service guys are giddy over this ferry boat thing. No one cares about looking at the economics. They are too excited or too dumb to care. If you have any idea about how much it costs to run a boat and how much it costs to pay 30 employees you can easily figure they will have to have 300 to 500 customers per day. Forget about a return on investment (the BP money that's being squandered).


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## alcaniz (Jul 4, 2015)

Considering how bad beach traffic can be on Saturdays in the summer, I could see this price making sense for that. $20 roundtrip travel with no stress to the beach and back, direct to Quietwater beach, in the same time or less as traffic sounds good to me.


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## Slamdancer (Aug 6, 2008)

Probably worth $20 a head for the Blue Angels shows if you typically drive over. Better than sitting in traffic & searching for a parking space.


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## H2OMARK (Oct 2, 2007)

Where is the landing at Pensacola Beach?


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## stevenattsu (Apr 24, 2009)

H2OMARK said:


> Where is the landing at Pensacola Beach?


The seashell


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## Flounderpounder (Oct 3, 2007)

We may do it once just for the novelty. Beyond that......NFW.


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## Swampass (Jul 4, 2016)

Those 2 boats hold 1200 gallons each and they wanted to fuel up at my work twice a week but they went with trucks for price . Around 4000 gallons a week is a pile of diesel even at truck price.


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## Lawdog88 (Oct 9, 2009)

But . . . can you troll on the way ?


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## boomshakalaka (Dec 4, 2012)

It's kinda like the Garcon toll bridge, if the idiots would just lower the toll, they would draw more traffic thru there and likely make more money. This is the same way, if they would make it affordable and more like it was some form of public transportation, they would get way more riders. Charge people $5 if they get off at Fort Pickens, don't make people that have no interest in going there basically pay the entry fee for it, which is what they're doing.


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## Lawdog88 (Oct 9, 2009)

Never mind.


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## Mark Collins (Dec 27, 2012)

Its cheaper than the dauphin island ferry !


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## Bay Ranger (Aug 25, 2008)

It will die a slow death.


What a waste of BP money!


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## gameaholic (Oct 1, 2007)

just pay the $20 and ride all day. Its a $20 sight seeing tour.


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## jspooney (Oct 2, 2007)

Yeah, and the Wahoo's stadium isn't going to work either. What a waste!


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

jspooney said:


> Yeah, and the Wahoo's stadium isn't going to work either. What a waste!


In all fairness, has the wahoos stadium turned a profit? 

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## jspooney (Oct 2, 2007)

John B. said:


> In all fairness, has the wahoos stadium turned a profit?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


I don't know. But I do know there's a ton of people that go to games. And it has spurred life into downtown.


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## OldMan-theSea (May 14, 2018)

Mark Collins said:


> Its cheaper than the dauphin island ferry !


Driving from Dauphin Island to Fr Morgan takes two and a half hours, or more


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

jspooney said:


> I don't know. But I do know there's a ton of people that go to games. And it has spurred life into downtown.


I agree, and I love the stadium, we go to 10+ games a year. I don't think the economic impact between the 2 are remotely comparable though. 

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## Breeze (Mar 23, 2012)

OldMan-theSea said:


> Driving from Dauphin Island to Fr Morgan takes two and a half hours, or more


Some days it takes an hour and a half to drive from the convention center to Pensacola Beach... Been there, done that a couple times. Took us an hour and a half from the 110 ramp at the convention center to the toll booth at the beach. 

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## Desert Eagle (Apr 25, 2012)

Hmmm... So, where do you park to ride the ferry??? Destin's Harborwalk just started charging $10 to park. When will they start charging for ferry parking? Will they RESERVE current parking areas for ferry riders @ $10 a pop???


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## jspooney (Oct 2, 2007)

I look at it like this....every day there are a half dozen boats full of people who paid good money to ride through the bay looking for dolphins. I always laugh at them....but I own a boat and see them all the time. So for everyone else...the idea of a boat ride where you can get all these things for $20...it's a deal. I don't know if it will work out or not. But I sure like trying. That's a few more jobs for Pensacola.


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

Is the ferry a publicly funded program or is it a private contract?

Jim


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## jspooney (Oct 2, 2007)

jim t said:


> Is the ferry a publicly funded program or is it a private contract?
> 
> Jim


I don't know. I would guess a mixture of both. But it's just a guess.


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

jim t said:


> Is the ferry a publicly funded program or is it a private contract?
> 
> Jim


Initial cost of everything was provided by BP funds. The ferry service is currently under a private contract. 

If I was a betting man I'd give it 3 years before they're going to require additional funding. It'll be taxpayer subsidized just like Ecat. (Bet no one remembers the $0.04/gallon gas tax they pay for that still)

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## jspooney (Oct 2, 2007)

John B. said:


> Initial cost of everything was provided by BP funds. The ferry service is currently under a private contract.
> 
> If I was a betting man I'd give it 3 years before they're going to require additional funding. It'll be taxpayer subsidized just like Ecat. (Bet no one remembers the $0.04/gallon gas tax they pay for that still)
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Unless the public economic benefit equals or exceeds the cost of government funding, I would not be in support of it.


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## BananaTom (Feb 16, 2008)

I think it is a great feature. I I am going to bring my bicycle, leave from downtown, and go to Fort Pickens. Ride my bicycle around that area, and then onto Pensacola Beach, ride my bike around at that area. And then back to downtown. I’m really looking forward to this trip.


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

> (Bet no one remembers the $0.04/gallon gas tax they pay for that still)





I do and reminded people come voting time!


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## H2OMARK (Oct 2, 2007)

Mark Collins said:


> Its cheaper than the dauphin island ferry !


Big difference between a car ferry and a passenger ferry.


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## Slowpokeriverrat (Mar 23, 2018)

Dauphin inland ferry is $8.00 per person


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## boomshakalaka (Dec 4, 2012)

Saw a bunch of empty ferries driving around the bay this weekend, good plan P'Cola!


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

dang it, maybe it will get more popular? first weekend?


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

Realtor said:


> dang it, maybe it will get more popular? first weekend?


I'm not sure... traffic to get on the beach Saturday was backed up in to gulf breeze from 8am til almost 9pm... 

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## FenderBender (Oct 2, 2007)

John B. said:


> I'm not sure... traffic to get on the beach Saturday was backed up in to gulf breeze from 8am til almost 9pm...
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk




Yep. Took my wife 2 hours to get from Blue Angel to the beach on Saturday. Had to pick up something from a beach house and could only get it from 1-4 pm. Took her 15 minutes to get downtown and 1 hr 45 from downtown to the toll booth. I asked her and she would have gladly paid $20 to avoid that crap. What do normal people that live in gulf breeze proper do? Just not drive anywhere on the weekends in summer?


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

FenderBender said:


> Yep. Took my wife 2 hours to get from Blue Angel to the beach on Saturday. Had to pick up something from a beach house and could only get it from 1-4 pm. Took her 15 minutes to get downtown and 1 hr 45 from downtown to the toll booth. I asked her and she would have gladly paid $20 to avoid that crap. What do normal people that live in gulf breeze proper do? Just not drive anywhere on the weekends in summer?


Avoid the beach like the plague. If you have to go in to Pensacola, go early, or take Garcon back to gulf breeze. 

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## FenderBender (Oct 2, 2007)

Dang. Prisoners in your own town. They need to find a way to fix it. Do away with cash tolls and just roll through with a camera that takes a picture of your tag and you can pay the toll online later? Might speed things up a bit. It'd still be bad, but not like it is now. She said the 20mph school zone was in effect too.


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

FenderBender said:


> Dang. Prisoners in your own town. They need to find a way to fix it. Do away with cash tolls and just roll through with a camera that takes a picture of your tag and you can pay the toll online later? Might speed things up a bit. It'd still be bad, but not like it is now. She said the 20mph school zone was in effect too.


Simple fact is, the beach can only handle so many people. Unless they make more lanes to handle more traffic, it will always back up. I'm just glad I live in tiger point and dont have to deal with that bullshit. 

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## lees way2 (Oct 7, 2007)

I-10 to 87 south to 98,cross the free bridge.About as quick or quicker with a lot better views and a lot less a-- hats.


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## Flounderpounder (Oct 3, 2007)

The State needs to repo the Garcon Point Bridge, eliminate the tolls, then build another due south across the sound. Bet that'd wad up some Portofino Panties? LOL


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## Mark Collins (Dec 27, 2012)

H2OMARK said:


> Big difference between a car ferry and a passenger ferry.


I didn't realize it was a passenger only, sorry guys


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## H2OMARK (Oct 2, 2007)

Mark Collins said:


> I didn't realize it was a passenger only, sorry guys


No worries! How was the crappie fishing up there this year?


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## H2OMARK (Oct 2, 2007)

Mark Collins said:


> I didn't realize it was a passenger only, sorry guys


No worries! How was the crappie fishing up there this year?


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## Mark Collins (Dec 27, 2012)

H2OMARK said:


> No worries! How was the crappie fishing up there this year?


January and February were awesome, but things went south after that really warm week at the end of February, I'm catching more right now than most of March.


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## perdidochas (Jul 21, 2009)

FenderBender said:


> Dang. Prisoners in your own town. They need to find a way to fix it. Do away with cash tolls and just roll through with a camera that takes a picture of your tag and you can pay the toll online later? Might speed things up a bit. It'd still be bad, but not like it is now. She said the 20mph school zone was in effect too.


They tried to do that last year. It would have not only sped things up, but saved money (wouldn't have to hire three shifts of toll takers (with substitutes) for each cash lane) Public outcry was high, so the CC gave in to leave things alone. Personally, I don't mind it too much. I have a sunpass that I got a few years ago when we had a couple of trips in central FL. The sunpass lane is usually easy to drive on (at least until you pass the booths). Saves me a few minutes over the people who insist on paying cash.


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## Bay Ranger (Aug 25, 2008)

FenderBender said:


> Yep. Took my wife 2 hours to get from Blue Angel to the beach on Saturday. Had to pick up something from a beach house and could only get it from 1-4 pm. Took her 15 minutes to get downtown and 1 hr 45 from downtown to the toll booth. I asked her and she would have gladly paid $20 to avoid that crap. What do normal people that live in gulf breeze proper do? Just not drive anywhere on the weekends in summer?





I live east of Gulf Breeze and had to go to P'Cola on Sat. Took me over an hour to get from the foot of the 3 Mile on the P'Cola side to the turn-off to the beach. And that was at 4:30 in the afternoon. I have vowed not to go into P'Cola on the week-end anymore. I believe the problem is not in Gulf Breeze on the week-end. The problem is the toll station and then where do all of those cars park once the get to the beach ?


Total vehicular constipation!


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## jspooney (Oct 2, 2007)

Bay Ranger said:


> I live east of Gulf Breeze and had to go to P'Cola on Sat. Took me over an hour to get from the foot of the 3 Mile on the P'Cola side to the turn-off to the beach. And that was at 4:30 in the afternoon. I have vowed not to go into P'Cola on the week-end anymore. I believe the problem is not in Gulf Breeze on the week-end. The problem is the toll station and then where do all of those cars park once the get to the beach ?
> 
> 
> Total vehicular constipation!


I think you are right. The toll booth takes 4 lanes and narrows into two. That is the bottleneck.


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## fairpoint (May 9, 2013)

FenderBender said:


> Yep. Took my wife 2 hours to get from Blue Angel to the beach on Saturday. Had to pick up something from a beach house and could only get it from 1-4 pm. Took her 15 minutes to get downtown and 1 hr 45 from downtown to the toll booth. I asked her and she would have gladly paid $20 to avoid that crap. What do normal people that live in gulf breeze proper do? Just not drive anywhere on the weekends in summer?


We have some backroad shortcuts and traffic lights to cross 98....But going to the beach MUST be timed just right and early or after 130....We got out to the hilton in 10 minutes yesterday...Had a great time.....


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## Hook (Oct 2, 2007)

What local goes to the beach on a Summer Saturday ? Try leaving early if you must go. Now Sunday was no problem .


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## fla_scout (Sep 28, 2007)

If I need white sand and water I find a creek in Blackwater State Forest and avoid all that traffic!


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## lees way2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Yea it sounds like fun,Mom Dad and 2 or 3 rug rats and all the crap that goes with it.Droped off at a dock to lug all your crap across a major highway /oh wait they are going to fix that with under ground crossing/ to get to the gulf. Time to go home,lug all your crap back to the dock and wait some more in the sun for a ride back to your car where Pensacola DIB has already jacked ya up for parking. Then ya have a fun filled trip back home. I will admit we did ride the wheel 1 time,I got a warm fuzzy almost like I was robbed. As far as closeing Pickins The clown that runs it wants nothing more cause that would be a feather in his hat.I just wish he had the feather somewhere else.


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## Breeze (Mar 23, 2012)

jspooney said:


> I think you are right. The toll booth takes 4 lanes and narrows into two. That is the bottleneck.


We have not had any problem after the toll booth. Yea, your not cruising fast but once you pay the toll your moving. The toll booth itself is what seems to back up traffic. 

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## Breeze (Mar 23, 2012)

FenderBender said:


> Yep. Took my wife 2 hours to get from Blue Angel to the beach on Saturday. Had to pick up something from a beach house and could only get it from 1-4 pm. Took her 15 minutes to get downtown and 1 hr 45 from downtown to the toll booth. I asked her and she would have gladly paid $20 to avoid that crap. What do normal people that live in gulf breeze proper do? Just not drive anywhere on the weekends in summer?


My wife's father lived in Tiger Point. When we first moved down here she really wanted to move to Gulf Breeze. After a couple weekend trips to the beach taking almost 2 hours, she agrees with me. I dealt with that kind of beach traffic during the summer living on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. No way I want to deal with it again on a regular basis. The traffic in Jay suits me just fine..

When we do go to the beach over there we normally leave the house about 8 or 9 and avoid most of it though. Other then that we just hit the beaches on Backwater. Whole lot less traffic. Seems to me, in my experience anyway, if you hit Gulf Breeze no later then 10am you avoid the worst of it. 

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## lees way2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Thats some thing That sounds like crap. Mom Dad/maby/ and 1 2 or 3 rugrats and all your crap for a day.Pay for parking/might not be now but wont be long/.load up on a boat that will drop ya off at a pier and ya have to tote all your crap across a major hwy/OH wait they are going to make it where you can go under the road/ to get to the gulf. Have a day of it and lug all your crap back to stand on the dock in some more sun to wait for the boat. It just makes my whiz wheel spin. I will fess up and say we did the wheel 1time and it was a been there done that thing. And like a prior post said about Ft Pickins, the clown that runs it would like nothing more than to shut the road down,that would just be a nother feather in his hat, I wish he had a feather some where elese, He is a ASS.


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## Desert Eagle (Apr 25, 2012)

John B. said:


> Initial cost of everything was provided by BP funds. The ferry service is currently under a private contract.
> 
> If I was a betting man I'd give it 3 years before they're going to require additional funding. It'll be taxpayer subsidized just like Ecat. (Bet no one remembers the $0.04/gallon gas tax they pay for that still)
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


One would think that there would some connectivity with the National Park Service since ferry passengers get into Ft. Pickens for free???


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## alcaniz (Jul 4, 2015)

Here's something that absolutely needs to be done, but no county commissioner would ever dare to do: raise the toll on the beach bridge in accordance with demand. 



It's simple supply and demand economics -- as long as the toll is just a buck, you're going to have lots of demand. Raise the toll on weekends to $5 or $10 (or even more) at peak times, and make people think about how to plan their trips accordingly. 



There is no reason this can't be done. Locals could be exempted by Sunpass. 


If the price were raised, that ferry would seem an awful lot more appealing to people from out of town. Have them park in downtown, enjoy shops in downtown, and then board the ferry. They can use the trolley system to get around on the beach. This would help downtown businesses while easing car traffic to the beach.


Pensacola Beach is getting to a point where mass transit needs to be seriously considered and positioned for success, or it will just increasingly become hell to reach for visitors and they'll lose interest.


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## alcaniz (Jul 4, 2015)

forum double-posted my reply -- deleting.


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

alcaniz said:


> Raise the toll on weekends to $5 or $10 (or even more) at peak times, and make people think about how to plan their trips accordingly.
> 
> 
> Ummm Not for me.... best way to keep people from using a public beach is to, yep, "make 'em pay for it" unless of course, that the goal..... keep people away....
> ...


 
my comments in red above...


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## alcaniz (Jul 4, 2015)

Realtor said:


> my comments in red above...



That is part of the goal -- keep cheapos away who aren't willing to pay. That's how economics works if you want to maintain reasonable demand -- slide your prices up until you find a reasonable point you're satisfied with. I see no reason why Pensacola Beach can't move to be more upscale and have less traffic. What's the alternative? Being the walmart of beaches doesn't sound so nice to me. :thumbsup:


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## BananaTom (Feb 16, 2008)

alcaniz said:


> Here's something that absolutely needs to be done, but no county commissioner would ever dare to do: raise the toll on the beach bridge in accordance with demand.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Disagree 100%


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

Yeah lets run off the little tourist we have, so the cities can jack up our taxes more to compensate. Great plan, let me guess you left CA because of the high taxes.


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## MaxxT (May 9, 2015)

I do not go to Pens beach, I will not use a ferry and be on foot, have the banned guns yet? they better slow down and be good neighbors, it will fail without taxpayers subsidizing it.


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## H2OMARK (Oct 2, 2007)

alcaniz said:


> Here's something that absolutely needs to be done, but no county commissioner would ever dare to do: raise the toll on the beach bridge in accordance with demand.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The toll bridge shouldn't even be there. It was supposed to be removed when the cost of the bridge installation was recouped. Unfortunately that was about 20 years ago and the toll booths are still there. Remove the booths and let the traffic flow would help a lot.


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

alcaniz said:


> That is part of the goal -- keep cheapos away who aren't willing to pay. That's how economics works if you want to maintain reasonable demand -- slide your prices up until you find a reasonable point you're satisfied with. I see no reason why Pensacola Beach can't move to be more upscale and have less traffic. What's the alternative? Being the walmart of beaches doesn't sound so nice to me. :thumbsup:



Thanks for the economics lesson. It's all so clear now.


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## OldMan-theSea (May 14, 2018)

alcaniz said:


> That is part of the goal -- keep cheapos away who aren't willing to pay. That's how economics works if you want to maintain reasonable demand -- slide your prices up until you find a reasonable point you're satisfied with. I see no reason why Pensacola Beach can't move to be more upscale and have less traffic. What's the alternative? Being the walmart of beaches doesn't sound so nice to me. :thumbsup:


Walmart of beaches is a lot better than Destin with all its "beautiful people" and fake character plus, when that FBI agent comes to the beach, he will know the "smell" like he texted about Walmart.


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## alcaniz (Jul 4, 2015)

OldMan-theSea said:


> Walmart of beaches is a lot better than Destin with all its "beautiful people" and fake character plus, when that FBI agent comes to the beach, he will know the "smell" like he texted about Walmart.



I agree, Destin is pretty terrible. But there are other options. We don't have to be like Destin. I'm just throwing out ideas here, because the status quo on beach traffic clearly isn't getting any better, and economics applies to the bridge toll like any other good. 



Look to other tourist destinations. Many at Disney were similarly opposed to raising prices at Disney World progressively in the 2000s, when outside economists recommended it -- they saw it as a working class/middle class getaway and thought it would be unjust to price out lower-income people. However, they needed to do something to control crowds, increase funding for maintenance and new features, etc. They have ended up making more money as a result. 



I imagine many folks here don't like the crowds at Disney today, but imagine if it were half the cost. It'd be unbearable. 



I'm just suggesting that we value ourselves and our natural resources -- price them for the treasure they are, and in the process, ease an actual quality of life issue for the area.


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## alcaniz (Jul 4, 2015)

Boat-Dude said:


> Yeah lets run off the little tourist we have, so the cities can jack up our taxes more to compensate. Great plan, let me guess you left CA because of the high taxes.



Ha, I grew up here. And you'd be surprised -- I doubt tourism numbers would be affected. Why don't you ask the hoteliers on the beach how raising prices has worked out for them over the years? Standard rooms on the beach are pushing $300 on average a night, but they stay booked up.


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

Alkie...you sound like the moron on the SRIA board who kept objecting to building a new pier because it attracted us " local scum"...a phrase he used multiple times. You see, according to him us local scum took up valuable parking that should be reserved for tourists and residents of PB. According to him, tourists didn't want to see us dirty ,nasty local scum fishing at " their " beach. His idea was to have residents buy a year pass for $20 bucks...then charge $10 to $20 per car, to keep us local scum off his beach.

Guess he forgot to read the charter. PB doesn't belong to the frigging tourists, nor the SRIA, nor the residents of the beach...it belongs to ALL the residents of Escambia County, including us local scum fishermen.

WE foot the bills to run and repair water lines to your private paradise. WE foot the bills to run and repair sewage. WE foot the bills for road repairs and improvement. WE foot the bills to pay law enforcement at the beach.

You see, when PB consisted of a few cinder block houses and a whopping 3 hotels, one of which was 2 stories high...and gee....pensacola did just fine without the hordes of tourists, Gulf Breeze was happy and from here to Panama City on old 2 lane US 98 took 2 hours. Tourism has destroyed the quality of life in Florida, not enhanced it.


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## alcaniz (Jul 4, 2015)

kingfish501 said:


> Alkie...you sound like the moron on the SRIA board who kept objecting to building a new pier because it attracted us " local scum"...a phrase he used multiple times. You see, according to him us local scum took up valuable parking that should be reserved for tourists and residents of PB. According to him, tourists didn't want to see us dirty ,nasty local scum fishing at " their " beach. His idea was to have residents buy a year pass for $20 bucks...then charge $10 to $20 per car, to keep us local scum off his beach.
> 
> Guess he forgot to read the charter. PB doesn't belong to the frigging tourists, nor the SRIA, nor the residents of the beach...it belongs to ALL the residents of Escambia County, including us local scum fishermen.
> 
> ...


kingfish, please realize I actually agree with you on a lot of things. I agree that tourism has ruined quality of life in Florida, and I miss the days of the beach being much less developed and 98 not being horrible. That being said -- keeping the beach toll at $1 (basically free) isn't going to help the situation. You have to limit the inflow somehow. This is one lever we have, and used properly could be really effective. Do you have any other ideas for how to reduce traffic? As to whatever that SRIA "moron" suggested -- how does that negatively affect locals? $20 annual pass for locals and then otherwise $10 -$20 per car sounds like a great deal for locals. This is how prices work for reaching other beach towns like Martha's Vineyard, by the way. 

I guarantee if they remove the toll entirely, it will still be backed up -- removing the toll will just encourage more folks to pile in. Similar to how widening a highway never actually resolves traffic issues -- it just allows for more cars. Both scenarios are similar to trying to fight obesity by loosening your belt. You have to stop the growth.


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## alcaniz (Jul 4, 2015)

I'd be curious to hear other people's ideas for improving traffic on the beach. In this thread I've received a lot of vitriol for my ideas, and these ferries have received a lot of criticism too. But I don't see any ideas being thrown out. Personally, I still think the ferries are a good idea, and are generally a step in the right direction -- any method to reach the beach other than a car is a plus in my book. 

I heard yesterday they allow bicycles on the ferries, which is great. I'm personally looking forward to bringing my bike aboard and biking around Ft. Pickens.


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

alcaniz said:


> kingfish, please realize I actually agree with you on a lot of things. I agree that tourism has ruined quality of life in Florida, and I miss the days of the beach being much less developed and 98 not being horrible. That being said -- keeping the beach toll at $1 (basically free) isn't going to help the situation. You have to limit the inflow somehow. This is one lever we have, and used properly could be really effective. Do you have any other ideas for how to reduce traffic? As to whatever that SRIA "moron" suggested -- how does that negatively affect locals? $20 annual pass for locals and then otherwise $10 -$20 per car sounds like a great deal for locals. This is how prices work for reaching other beach towns like Martha's Vineyard, by the way.
> 
> I guarantee if they remove the toll entirely, it will still be backed up -- removing the toll will just encourage more folks to pile in. Similar to how widening a highway never actually resolves traffic issues -- it just allows for more cars. Both scenarios are similar to trying to fight obesity by loosening your belt. You have to stop the growth.


Alkie, we local scum would be paying the per car rate..that pass rate was only for residents of the beach. Also...how would having to drive to Navarre or Okaloosa to fish have benifitted us local scum?

Solutions? Number one...as already suggested, tear out the toll booths. Notice that traffic moves off the beach steadily...no exit toll booths to slow it down.

Number two...at critical traffic times, turn some of the over numerous traffic lights in Gulf Breeze to flashing caution and stop lights.

Number three, just east of Naval Live Oaks, build a second bridge crossing the Sound. 

Number four, move functions like the Blue Angels air show back to the Navy Base.


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## OldMan-theSea (May 14, 2018)

OK, Alcaniz. I'll will agree a little. I think we already lowered the pass to $20 and changed it to a year, not calendar year, to try to encourage locals to start buying passes to speed up the process. Raising the toll may encourage even more to buy it. 

And we really should publicize it to the tourists. It costs $5 plus what you put on your account. If someone comes to the beach for a week and makes a few trips to the grocery story, the bait & tackle shop, etc., it quickly becomes attractive. But most tourists don't know.


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

In all fairness they were right when they said the pier would attract local scum... (even I fished out there for years, but have since bettered myself)

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## OldMan-theSea (May 14, 2018)

I'm just afraid that if they all park on one side of the road the island might capsize!


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## fairpoint (May 9, 2013)

John B. said:


> In all fairness they were right when they said the pier would attract local scum... (even I fished out there for years, but have since bettered myself)
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


You upgraded to SWAMPLIFE,lol....congrats on last years gator


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

John B. said:


> In all fairness they were right when they said the pier would attract local scum... (even I fished out there for years, but have since bettered myself)
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


White trash and inbreds is all that fish the pier. I agree with the politician.


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## alcaniz (Jul 4, 2015)

kingfish501 said:


> Alkie, we local scum would be paying the per car rate..that pass rate was only for residents of the beach. Also...how would having to drive to Navarre or Okaloosa to fish have benifitted us local scum?
> 
> Solutions? Number one...as already suggested, tear out the toll booths. Notice that traffic moves off the beach steadily...no exit toll booths to slow it down.
> 
> ...


Regarding #1, like I said earlier I think removing the toll will ultimately just result in more crowds. But, if the county never gets the gumption to raise it beyond a buck, they might as well remove it just to ease traffic because a buck is pretty much nothing -- it's just causing extra delays. 

2 and 4 I'd agree with. But I think another bridge would be a boondoggle (like Garcon) and just let more crowds in.


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## fairpoint (May 9, 2013)

They are going to come here no matter what toll....Cutting off tourist is
unreasonable and taking tax dollars out of the place you live...Once again they are coming down here,ain't nothin you can do about it....


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

Splittine said:


> White trash and inbreds is all that fish the pier. I agree with the politician.





John B. said:


> In all fairness they were right when they said the pier would attract local scum... (even I fished out there for years, but have since bettered myself)
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk



Can't tell if you 2 are joking. I am neither and I fished the pier for decades.


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

Boat-Dude said:


> Can't tell if you 2 are joking. I am neither and I fished the pier for decades.


Come on now...

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## Play'N Hooky Too (Sep 29, 2007)

:yes:


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

Boat-Dude said:


> Can't tell if you 2 are joking. I am neither and I fished the pier for decades.


YOU have to remember that John B gases himself constantly with pesticides and splitline is pissed because when his mother and dad divorced, the judge also declared them to no longer be brother and sister at the same time.


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

lol, they got me on that one.


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

Boat-Dude said:


> lol, they got me on that one.


Nah I was serious... some folks out there are real pieces of chit... drinking from daylight to dark. Cussing up a storm, smoking dope on the backrail... I'd say it's about 2% of the folks out there, but still. I guess no different than anywhere else. (In all fairness the one time I went out there this year I did drink a beer at 8am🤣🤣)

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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

Yeah we didn't have that much at pickens, very few. I see what you mean. I never went to PCBP.


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

John B. said:


> Nah I was serious... some folks out there are real pieces of chit... drinking from daylight to dark. Cussing up a storm, smoking dope on the backrail... I'd say it's about 2% of the folks out there, but still. I guess no different than anywhere else. (In all fairness the one time I went out there this year I did drink a beer at 8am🤣🤣)
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


I take back my comment, if that’s what they do out there I’m in.


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

John B. said:


> Nah I was serious... some folks out there are real pieces of chit... drinking from daylight to dark. Cussing up a storm, smoking dope on the backrail... I'd say it's about 2% of the folks out there, but still. I guess no different than anywhere else. (In all fairness the one time I went out there this year I did drink a beer at 8am🤣🤣)
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Is drinking at 8am a bad thing?


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

MrFish said:


> Is drinking at 8am a bad thing?


No.

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## 192 (Oct 1, 2007)

MrFish said:


> Is drinking at 8am a bad thing?


Impossible to drink all day if ya don’t start in the morning.


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

They should have left 3 Mile where it is, shored it up to make it good for another 20 years, and built the new bridge from the curve on Cervantes to Naval Live Oaks, and improved Cervantes accordingly, this would separate all the traffic heading anywhere but GB and the beach from the rest of traffic. I don't think getting rid of the toll into the beach would encourage more traffic, $1, even with low income families is not a determining factor on the decision to go to the beach.


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## perdidochas (Jul 21, 2009)

{delete}


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## perdidochas (Jul 21, 2009)

H2OMARK said:


> The toll bridge shouldn't even be there. It was supposed to be removed when the cost of the bridge installation was recouped. Unfortunately that was about 20 years ago and the toll booths are still there. Remove the booths and let the traffic flow would help a lot.


Not really. The traffic is usually backed up all the way to the booths.


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## H2OMARK (Oct 2, 2007)

perdidochas said:


> Not really. The traffic is usually backed up all the way to the booths.


Explain to me the lack of bottle necks leaving the island then. Traffic will surge some because of the light at 17th street but that's about it. Material balance, what goes in must come out.


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