Santa Rosa County rejects progress

Yesterday, Escambia County Comm. Gene Valentino went before the Santa Rosa County Commission asking that they join a regional transportation authority that would have the power to bond out gas tax revenues and work on the biggest road issues in the area – Hwy 98, Hwy 90 (Milton area) and Gulf Beach Hwy.

Santa Rosa BCC voted it down 3-2 – Tom Stewart, Don Salter and Gordon Goodin voted nay. The RTA is a progressive concept. Valentino wants it to include Okaloosa, Walton and Bay. It lets the counties take action on the roads that have become death traps. The RTA also takes away the excuse that Santa Rosa County likes to use – “We will ask the state legislature to help.”

Expect more pressure on the Santa Rosa County commission.

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Author: Rick Outzen

Rick Outzen is the publisher/owner of Pensacola Inweekly. He has been profiled in The New York Times and featured in several True Crime documentaries. Rick also is the author of the award-winning Walker Holmes thrillers. His latest nonfiction book is “Right Idea, Right Time: The Fight for Pensacola’s Maritime Park.”