42 | VIPPensacola.com
story by
Liesel Schmidt
| photos provided by
City of Pensacola
W
hen you get ready to enjoy
a nice, relaxing day spent
out at the beach, you pack
everything imaginable.
Your car becomes a veritable beach store on
steroids, its interior nearly full to capacity
with a plethora of accouterments that hardly
allow space for your entourage. Water
toys—check. Towels and blankets—check.
Sunscreen, chairs, ice-laden coolers stocked
with drinks and snacks…You get the picture.
But unless you’ve packed your patience, by
the time you actually step one tiny bare-
footed toe on a grain of sugary white sand,
you’ll be burning up with something that has
absolutely nothing to do with the heat of the
sun.
So is the situation faced weekend after
weekend during heavy beach season, when
the toll roads siphoning cars in and out of
Pensacola Beach back up so far that the
winding string of traffi c spills back into the
main highways, tying up the fl ow of travel
for everyone, including those who have no
intention of hitting the sand. And that very
frustration served as one of the catalysts
behind the planning of a ferry system serving
Pensacola’s beloved Gulf Island National
Seashore.
More than just a means to ease the
traffi c fl ow so commonly tying up the toll
bridge, the intent behind ferry system is
also to provide an alternative route to and
from the beaches by way of Fort Pickens
Road. And with good reason. Storm after
storm has battered and destroyed the road,
closing it for years on end to completely
block passage and costing countless dollars
in repairs only to have it close again. But
with the implementation of ferry service
being provided from a ferry dock both at
downtown Pensacola and Quietwater Beach,
the reprieve whose plans were fi rst proposed
in the late 1970s is now a reality; and
temporary terminals are now open and ready
for passengers.
In addition to alleviating traffi c from
cars on the road, service by the ferry will
signifi cantly reduce the mount of cars
needing to fi nd parking spaces adjacent to
the beaches as well as lowering emissions
Hitting the Beach
Without Hitting the Traff ic
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7/25/18 2:14 PM