When driving along U.S. Highway 98 in Destin, finding your destination is not always as easy as simply looking up for the street sign. Why, you might ask? Because at four intersections heading east and three heading west, no signs exist for a few unfortunate roads.
This month however, a case for installing and improving signs within the city of Destin was presented before the city council by local resident Steven Menchel.
“When my wife and I first moved to Destin we noticed that some, not all, of the major intersections that have mast arms (signal lights) did not have street names on them,” Menchel said. “As new residents of Destin it was problematic for us since at the time we did not have a GPS and were not familiar with the street names.”
One intersection Menchel found lacking in signage was Hwy. 98 at Hutchinson Street; a turn off that hosts hundreds of beachside condominiums and two large retail centers.
“If you consider a tourist driving east to west or west to east along Highway 98 trying to get to his/her rental and they have directions to go down Highway 98 and turn at Hutchinson, they are looking for both of those respective signs as a reference point to turn to arrive at the rental property,” said Menchel. “Without the signs, thousands of tourists miss the turn, slow down, stop and the like; all creating traffic problems to include slowdowns and accidents.”
Menchel told The Log that soon after he noticed the street sign issue, he discovered that his concern was shared by many other residents in the city.
“I previously ran for public office in Okaloosa County and when I would meet with Destin residents, I asked them what was one of the major complaints they had about Destin,” he said. “Nine times out of 10, I would hear about the terrible traffic problems.”
At a recent city council meeting, Menchel presented a chart to the council that identified eight intersections along the highway that need attention. Some he noted need full signs constructed while others need refreshed or enlarged lettering.
“The improvements that I would suggest to the city are to coordinate with the county and figure out who is going to manufacture the needed signs; and then allow the county to install them,” he said.
City Councilman Tuffy Dixon agreed with Menchel. As a lifelong Destin local, Dixon said this issue was not one he had noticed previously, but one that did need to be addressed.
“Having grown up here, I know where most all the streets are,” he said. “But you get a lot of people, especially the visitors, driving along looking for the streets. If we could improve them it would make it safer and a little bit less congested. It may not solve all of our traffic problems, but with the traffic the way it is, anything we could do to better the streets in Destin will help make the traffic issues not be so severe.”
The resolution of the street sign problem is not as simple as the city putting up new sign,s however, as depending on the roadway, the installation of signs could be a responsibility of the county, the city or the Florida Department of Transportation.
“I am working in my department in conjunction with the public services department to address this,” said City Community Development Director Ken Gallander. “We have already spoken with representatives from the county about putting up standard signs. Basically, if we want to go above and beyond those standards to help our visitors better identify the roads, we have to start working with FDOT with signage and that is in the works as well.”
Although improvement plans are now underway, Menchel said that sign installations are just the first step in alleviating traffic problems in Destin.
“Installing street signs on Highway 98 is not the only solution to the traffic problems in Destin,” he said. “But it is one area that can easily be corrected in a short period of time and at minimal expense.”