Letter to Island News:
Garage not in public interest

You can see evidence of the state of panic gripping the businesses operating on the Portofino Boardwalk. Free valet parking, wherein customers' vehicles are parked across Pensacola Beach Boulevard, via de Luna, and Ft. Pickens Road, is provided so that those customers do not have to walk across busy thoroughfares to spend their money.

Cars are parked in the Casino Beach and Visitors Information Center parking lots.

Over the last Winter the parking lot for Portofino Boardwalk was rearranged to squeeze in a few more parking places. Paid for with public monies. Next on the agenda of corporate socialism may be a multi-story parking garage and the rerouting of the roads so that the new parking garage serves Portofino Boardwalk. Eight million dollars to bail out relatively small businesses from bad business decisions. To be paid for by the businesses? No way. SRIA to the rescue. This project is not in Escambia County's or the public's interest.

Cannot blame the business owners for trying to make this happen. Get your parking problems fixed with someone else's money.

Such a project would also be fertile ground for contract award kickbacks and other skulduggery.
Chuck Steele
Pensacola Beach