New pedestrian rest stop open on 30A

SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla. ( WMBB ) — Walton County government officials opened a new pedestrian rest area Thursday.

The rest area is at the corner of scenic highway 30A and Eastern Lake Rd. in Santa Rosa Beach.

The once-empty lot is the most recent 30A beautification project by the Friends of Scenic 30A.

The stop includes a rest bench, bike maintenance gear, and a water fountain with a dog-watering station.

The Friends of Scenic 30A was awarded $50,000 by the board of commissioners to fund this project.

Walton County staff said this will also help with traffic and transportation issues.

“Up and down 30A and on scenic Gulf Drive we have problems with what I call haphazard parking. And so instead of using signage that oftentimes doesn’t work, we found that a hardscape landscape beautification project to physically keep people from parking where we don’t want them to park,” Brian Kellenberger, director of beach operations said.

Friends of Scenic 30A is a volunteer organization that is in charge of the scenic highway designation from the Florida Department of Transportation.

FDOT paid for the design and planning to be completed by their consultant Kimley-Horn. Dewberry Engineering donated the survey work, and the beach operations crew donated the labor to build, as well as some additional funds.

“Please extend our thanks to all the guys at (beach operations) that worked so hard on the project – it saved at least $200,000 by them doing themselves. Any contractor would have charged $250,000 to do the work that you saw there today,” said Cliff Knauer, board member of the Friends of Scenic 30A.

Learn more about their efforts online.

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