PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — Panama City Beach has completed about 60% of phase 3 of the Front Beach Road CRA project, but nearly all residents are already complaining.
The city’s goal is to make travel safer and easier for motorists and pedestrians. The project will widen Front Beach, adding sidewalks, bike paths, and a tram system.
They’re reclaiming more of the right-of-way to have enough room to build all those amenities, but some locals have been using that right-of-way to park their golf carts closer to beach accesses. They don’t like the proposed changes.
“What we’re doing is people have been using that public right-of-way for private parking purposes, and since it is a public right-of-way, if I were to be on private property, I would have to compensate for that,” said Corradino Group Assistant Program Manager Scott Passmore. “These owners have to understand the reality is that we have very limited public right-of-way to use for all of these other goals that the city has.”
The city has no plans to alter the project. Phase 3 is supposed to be completed sometime next year.
