Pave Blue Barnes Road out to Tracker Drive

We the signers of this petition appeal to the County for road improvement on a section of Blue Barnes Road in Santa Rosa County, Florida.

The approximately one half mile segment that needs improvement is between where the pavement ends near Riverchase Road and the four-way intersection at Trail Lane and Tracker Drive (hereinafter called the “1/2 mile segment”).

This ½ mile segment is at times in poor condition. There are few areas of the county that have such high population, high traffic, and high need that are not already serviced by paved roads. For the reasons described in detail below we urge that paving this section should receive the highest priority. This paving project should be paid for out of general funds or the ongoing road paving funds since it benefits a wide area and diverse users.

REASONS to PAVE this Blue Barnes Road Segment:

* Main Connecting Route *
This ½ mile segment of Blue Barnes Road is part of a main thoroughfare between two I-10 overpasses and in the area between I-10 and Eglin AFB known as Harold, Floridale, and Parkerville. Blue Barnes connects the overpasses at Garner Landing in Floridale and Miller Bluff in Harold, thus it is an important connector road serving a large area and deserves to be paved. It could be part of the only evacuation route in certain emergency situations. This area has no alternate paved access roads, only clay, and thus is not well served by the county roads. The ½ mile segment addressed by this petition needs improvement due to its high use and often hazardous conditions.

** High traffic **
This worst ½ mile segment of Blue Barnes Road services several neighborhoods and many users.

• Woodlands Retreat (Lotus Drive, Tracker Drive, Big Buck Road neighborhood) has approximately 23 residences.

• Hebert Rd and Cooper Road neighborhood has approximately 8 residences.

• Trail Lane to Lakeview neighborhood has many residences, some use Trail Lane.

Blue Barnes Road is used daily by the U S Postal Service and Santa Rosa County School Buses. Other frequent users are Santa Rosa County vehicles, UPS, Adams Sanitation, Gulf Power, Fed Ex, private contractors, telephone companies, etc.

Also many vehicles from Parkerville use this route when going to eastern destinations. Other traffic sources are Blackwater River State Forrest visitors and personnel. The increased forest management activities by the state have greatly added to the traffic.

We suggest that the County conduct a traffic count survey if there is any question. A traffic survey could reveal other unknown (unknown at least to the writers of this petition) groups of users.

** Spend taxes and fees already collected locally **
Many new residential homes have been built recently, or are being built. They have paid the required $2000 county road impact fee, as well as permit fees. Also property taxes collected from this area have increased due to the increased land use.

We compel Santa Rosa County to spend some of these monies on improving a road that is central to our local community and that benefits a large area as a main thoroughfare. Clearly, trying to assess property fees for this project would be unfair since it is a connecting road with many diverse uses and that there are no existing residences on this ½ mile segment of road that would directly benefit from being on a paved road.

** High Maintenance clay road **
Due to the high traffic this road requires high maintenance by County such as road grading and truck loads of additional clay. Bad ripples, pot holes, and ruts are common on the ½ mile segment of Blue Barnes Road. Ripples are caused in dry weather while ruts, pot holes, and erosion are caused from rain; thus the problem is year around.

Many people in the county live on good red clay roads but this road, the ½ mile segment, is often in very bad condition. Road users have complained about damage to their vehicles such as broken suspension components, broken brake and fuel lines, exhaust system damage, etc. caused on this section of road. Most people agree that it is not graded often enough to keep up with rain damage. It appears that it needs grading about once a week but often gets graded less often. The cost of paving this ½ mile segment of Blue Barnes Road should be at least partially, if not entirely, offset by the savings gleaned from eliminating the high costs of maintenance.

** Extend the existing pavement **
Much of Blue Barnes is already paved starting at Miller Bluff. A 4000 foot segment is paved around Garnier Creek near Hebert Road. Even 500 feet east past Riverchase Road is already paved. To be fair the County should pave it the rest of the way to the intersection at Tracker Drive, the worst ½ mile segment, for over 30 residences and many users.

** Safety is a major concern **
Ruts, ripples, pot holes, erosion, and mud can cause loss of vehicle control. Increased traffic increases these risks. Fire and emergency vehicles must use this road. Since this 1/2 mile road segment is part of a main connecting route it could be used as an evacuation route in the case of wildfire and/or hurricane. For example if Blue Barnes Road were closed at Burnt Grocery Creek due to flood or fire then the entire area would have only one other evacuation route; east on Blue Barnes. We urge for the sake of safety that the road be paved.

The four way intersection needs improvement. The four-way intersection of Blue Barnes, Trail Lane, and Tracker Drive is frequently used as a turn around which digs up the intersection making it especially hazardous. It is not a four way stop intersection and East/West traffic has a large blind spot due to vegetation overgrowth; an accident waiting to happen. This intersection should be included in the new paving project and also be improved for safety.

** Improve the Environment **
With the high amount of traffic a proportionally high amount of dust is being created, negatively impacting the surrounding environment. Paving would alleviate the dust issue and improve the air quality in the surrounding area. Clay roads are a source of increased silt into nearby creeks and wetlands, paving would reduce this source of water pollution.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we the undersigned call on the County to extend the pavement on Blue Barnes Road east to, and including, the intersection with Tracker Drive and Trail Lane. We urge the County to execute this project with general funds or from the ongoing county paving budget since it is a project that benefits a wide range of travelers from many areas.