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County Administrator's Report 13. 7.
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| BCC Regular Meeting |
Technical/Public Service Consent |
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| RECOMMENDATION: |
Recommendation Concerning the National Park Service Pensacola Bay Ferry Service - Joy D. Blackmon, P.E., Public Works Department Director
That the Board adopt and authorize the Chairman to sign the Resolution supporting the establishment of the National Park Service Pensacola Bay Ferry Service and the development of infrastructure for a water transportation system linking Pensacola, Fort Pickens, and Pensacola Beach. |
| BACKGROUND: |
The Fort Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Seashore is a fragile, seven-mile long section of barrier island separating Pensacola Bay from the Gulf of Mexico. It comprises the westernmost section of Santa Rosa Island and is adjacent to the community of Pensacola Beach. The Fort Pickens area is a destination for some 700,000 visitors annually and is one of the largest draws for the heavily tourist-dependent economies of Pensacola and Pensacola Beach.
Passenger ferry access to Fort Pickens has been proposed since 1978 as part of the first General Management Plan for Gulf Islands National Seashore. Currently, visitors using an automobile to travel to Santa Rosa Island and Pensacola Beach from Pensacola must travel 17 miles over two highly-traveled bridges and through the communities of Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach; as such, congestion is a common occurrence.
The Gulf Islands National Seashore Ferry Project, proposed by the National Park Service as part of Phase III of Early Restoration of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill - Natural Resource Damage Assessment response, would fund the purchase of up to two pedestrian visitor ferries for use between the City of Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, and the Fort Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida. This project partially restores the lost visitor use that occurred during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
A viable ferry service to this area of Gulf Islands National Seashore via the City of Pensacola and Pensacola Beach would provide an alternative means of visitor transportation between Pensacola, Fort Pickens, and Pensacola Beach. A ferry service would allow visitors to access this area of Santa Rosa Island if the road to Fort Pickens is made impassable by storms or other unfavorable conditions, which were made apparent when hurricanes and storms in 2004 and 2005 destroyed large segments of the road and eliminated vehicle access through this eight-mile-long area. For five years, access to the Fort Pickens area was severely restricted for everyone, and especially the elderly and those with disabilities.
To support this proposed ferry project, new infrastructure, including passenger queuing areas, ticketing facilities and boat docks, would be constructed and adapted near the Plaza de Luna area in City of Pensacola and at Quietwater Beach in Pensacola Beach.
The National Park Service (NPS), consistent with the 1978 General Management Plan, has completed construction of a new dock system for ferry landings and has a proposed shuttle system project underway to support ferry service operations and prepare for visitors' access to the Fort Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Draft studies by the National Park Service (NPS) propose that passenger ferries that would operate seven days per week, both ferries making approximately three trips per day during the summer tourist season, resulting in six arrivals and departures at each of the three docking locations. The ferry will operate on weekends during the shoulder seasons.
This proposed ferry project, with a Spring 2017 startup, aligns well with planning efforts by the local communities. A ferry system in Pensacola Bay would provide additional travel options and would be a much desired part of the tourist-driven economy of the Pensacola metropolitan area.
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| BUDGETARY IMPACT: |
| N/A |
| LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS/SIGN-OFF: |
| Kristin Hual, Assistant County Attorney, reviewed and signed off on the Resolution. |
| PERSONNEL: |
| N/A |
| POLICY/REQUIREMENT FOR BOARD ACTION: |
| N/A |
| IMPLEMENTATION/COORDINATION: |
| Escambia County Transportation & Traffic Operations staff will coordinate with Santa Rosa Island Authority, City of Pensacola, Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization (TPO), and the National Park Service (NPS). |
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