§ 2.2. Making the Land Use Connection

The transportation system is important not only because it provides for travel within and through the county, but also because it provides direct access to land parcels. For this reason, the relationship between land use and transportation is important. While transportation facilities are necessary to accommodate growth and development, the land use pattern also affects the transportation system. For instance, having convenient retail and a functional mix of land uses within the County's planning areas can reduce travel time and demand on roadways. Urban areas where people can live close to where they work are finding that providing alternative modes of transportation and reducing the amount of money spent on traditional car oriented infrastructure is cost effective.

Santa Rosa County is predominantly residential with major work place destinations such as the nearby military bases and the City of Pensacola creating commute demand. Major traffic generators in the County include the cities of Milton and Gulf Breeze as well as two major tourist destinations, Pensacola Beach (in Escambia County) and Navarre Beach (in Santa Rosa County). During peak tourist season there is some delay at the Navarre Beach Bridge. NAS Whiting Field along with Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field AFB (both located in Okaloosa County) are important military bases in the region and are major traffic generators.

In general, traffic flows west from Gulf Breeze and Pace into employment centers in Escambia County during the morning peak hours and back to the east in the evening. In Navarre, traffic actually travels out of the urbanized area to Hurlburt Field Air Force Base, Fort Walton Beach, Eglin Air Force Base, and surrounding industrial employers. The City of Milton, NAS Whiting Field, and the Santa Rosa County Industrial Park are the major employment centers in central Santa Rosa County.