City wants Back Beach Road golf cart crossing

PANAMA CITY BEACH — City officials are negotiating with the Florida Department of Transportation to install a golf cart crossing at the intersection of Back Beach Road and Pier Park Drive.

Currently, persons driving golf carts and attempting to cross north or south at the busy intersection can be ticketed by the Florida Highway Patrol, even though a traffic light is located there.

Mayor Gayle Oberst said the city was reacting to a request from a Gulf Highlands East resident who wanted easy golf cart passage from the neighborhood east through Frank Brown Park, and then south across Back Beach Road to the Pier Park shopping village.

The City Council approved a resolution last week requesting approval from the department of transportation (FDOT) for the change. Oberst declined to name the resident Friday.

Both Gulf Highlands East and Frank Brown Park are located north of Back Beach Road (U.S. 98), east of State 79 and west of the northern section of Pier Park Drive.

Assistant city attorney Amy Myers told City Council members this week the FDOT recently made slight revisions to its regulations, “softening their approach” that could make it easier to receive approval for the golf cart crossing at the intersection.

“But even if we meet all their criteria, it’s not a sure thing,” Myers said.

FDOT has denied past requests for golf cart crossings at different Front Beach Road intersections, Oberst said.

Pier Park Drive, which runs north from Front Beach Road along the west edge of Pier Park, already is authorized for golf cart use.

Oberst said the speed limit along Back Beach Road both east and west of the intersection recently dropped from 55 mph to 45 mph, although the change was not related to the city’s interest in a golf cart crossing.

The slower speed limit was the result of an FDOT traffic study conducted in the wake of a recent traffic death in the area, she said.