2008 membership directory - Panama City Beach Chamber of ...
2008 membership directory - Panama City Beach Chamber of ...
2008 membership directory - Panama City Beach Chamber of ...
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Around Town<br />
• INFRASTRUCTURE<br />
• PUBLIC<br />
TRANSPORTATION<br />
• AIRPORT<br />
• PORT<br />
The local quality <strong>of</strong> life, paired<br />
with improved transportation<br />
and the business opportunities<br />
that are available, will set the<br />
stage in the next few years for a<br />
major economic boom in Bay<br />
County.<br />
tInfrastructure<br />
he renovation <strong>of</strong> Front <strong>Beach</strong> Road over the next few<br />
years will give <strong>Panama</strong> <strong>City</strong> <strong>Beach</strong> a more metropolitan<br />
feel. Walking and biking areas will be created to<br />
enhance mobility and pedestrian safety, and new<br />
streetscaping and tropical landscaping will reflect the<br />
area’s organic coastal forms. <strong>Beach</strong> access and related<br />
parking will be improved, and aesthetic elements<br />
such as benches and streetlights will be added to<br />
enhance the overall urban form <strong>of</strong> the community.<br />
The St. Joe Company has applied for annexation into<br />
the <strong>City</strong> for the Breakfast Point development, coming<br />
online during the next 10-15 years, which will showcase<br />
shops, restaurants, homes and apartments. The<br />
<strong>City</strong> has begun an 18-month project to build a new<br />
Dan Russell <strong>City</strong> Pier, and when Bay County rebuilds<br />
the M. B. Miller Pier <strong>Panama</strong> <strong>City</strong> <strong>Beach</strong> will be the<br />
only city on the Gulf with twin piers.<br />
Public Transportation<br />
In 2001 the Front <strong>Beach</strong> Road Community Redevelopment<br />
Agency (CRA) was created to improve public<br />
transportation. A plan was put in place to bring a new<br />
transportation system to Front <strong>Beach</strong> Road with dedicated<br />
tram lanes and a Multimodal Center for parking,<br />
also serving as the “Gateway to <strong>Panama</strong> <strong>City</strong> <strong>Beach</strong>.”<br />
This system will interface with other transportation<br />
modes such as the Bay Town Trolley (www.baytown<br />
trolley.org). From 6:00 am until 8:00 pm, Monday<br />
through Friday, the Baytown Trolley provides a fun,<br />
efficient, cost-effective way to travel. For routes and<br />
information call (850) 769-0557. Workforce/commuter<br />
transportation is served by Ride On at (850)<br />
769-4854. Coordinated Para-transit is served by Bay<br />
Area Transportation at (850) 785-0808.<br />
New International Airport<br />
The FAA delivered its final Record <strong>of</strong> Decision on<br />
September 15, 2006, approving recommendation to<br />
move the current <strong>Panama</strong> <strong>City</strong>-Bay County International<br />
Airport to a 4,000-acre site at West Bay. Estimated<br />
construction time for the new airport is 30 months.<br />
This project is <strong>of</strong> major interest across the nation and<br />
around the world. It will be the first airport built in the<br />
United States in almost 20 years. Homeland Security<br />
will be testing new security measures here, and tech<br />
companies from around the world are seeing this as<br />
somewhat <strong>of</strong> a test lab for new technology. The longer<br />
runway will open PCB to Latin American markets<br />
for cargo operations and attract other businesses and<br />
industry to the area.<br />
Port Authority<br />
The <strong>Panama</strong> <strong>City</strong> Port Authority’s five-year Master<br />
Plan, developed in early <strong>2008</strong>, includes three goals by<br />
2013: Bulkhead refurbishment, expansion <strong>of</strong> cargo<br />
and container capacity, and further development <strong>of</strong><br />
the Intermodal Distribution Center. The Port’s general<br />
and bulk cargo totaled 1.3 million tons in 2007.<br />
TOP: A rendering <strong>of</strong> Front <strong>Beach</strong><br />
Road in <strong>Panama</strong> <strong>City</strong> <strong>Beach</strong>.<br />
ABOVE: The Bay Town Trolley, photo<br />
courtesy <strong>of</strong> West Florida Regional<br />
Planning Council; a rendering <strong>of</strong> the<br />
new <strong>Panama</strong> <strong>City</strong>-Bay County International<br />
Airport.<br />
PC<strong>Beach</strong>.org Relocation Guide & <strong>2008</strong> Membership Directory 25