Escambia County to vote on $2.8M for Pensacola Beach parking, pier

Jim Little | Pensacola News Journal

The Escambia County Commission will vote Thursday on whether to approve $2.8 million to fund 130 new parking spots at Pensacola Beach and make improvements to the Bob Sikes Fishing Pier.

"We think all of these things will both improve safety and improve parking, both of which we think are needed out there on Pensacola Beach," said Commissioner Grover Robinson, who represents Pensacola Beach on the County Commission.

The vote Thursday would fund $1.6 million for the long-planned Casino Beach parking expansion near the Escambia County Sheriff's Office substation that would add 80 new parking spaces to that parking lot.

The $1.6 million would come out of the county's local option sales tax fund.

For the Pensacola Beach Boulevard access road project, the county already approved $601,000 for the improvements, which will include adding about 50 new parking spaces, according to David Forte, manager of traffic operations with Escambia County.

But the latest cost estimate for the project is $1.5 million so the county needs to approve another $908,000 to begin construction.

The improvements to the Bob Sikes Fishing Pier are mostly being funded with a $963,000 federal grant from the BP oil spill, but the county will need $226,000 in additional funds to build the project.

The pier improvements will provide easier access for people in wheelchairs to fish at the pier and will add safety railings to the pier, according to Forte.

A single bid, totaling about $1.2 million, will be submitted for the Bob Sikes Fishing Pier and the Pensacola Beach Boulevard access road projects.

The initial recommendation posted on Escambia County's website called for that money to also come from the local option sale tax fund.

Robinson said he didn't know if the other commissioners would support that so he asked for the $1.2 million to come from the toll bridge fund.

Forte said if the county approves funding the projects this week, construction could begin after Labor Day in the beach's off-season.

Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com or 850-208-9827.