Residents and commissioners pressed the city Friday over the future of a proposed multiuse path along West Beach Drive after a meeting with Florida Department of Transportation staff.

Several residents and public speakers said FDOT staff in Tallahassee confirmed the city will not receive transfer of West Beach Drive and that the right-of-way is too narrow in several places for the path designs the commission previously reviewed. One resident, Hank Picken, summarized the FDOT briefing: "They confirmed the fact that the city is not getting the road," and said FDOT engineers showed concepts the city had not been given.

City staff confirmed that FDOT previously routed a transfer request through federal review (AASHTO and Federal Highway processes) but that the transfer stalled at the state level. Jonathan Hayes, the city manager, told the meeting the city has already received partial reimbursement from FDOT for design work and legal costs and that it will not commit additional design funds without written confirmation of what FDOT will permit. "I don't want to spend another dime on that unless I have some type of written guarantee from the FDOT that they would even permit such a project inside of their right-of-way," Hayes said.

Why it matters: West Beach Drive ties into ongoing plans for a continuous east'west multiuse connection and has been the subject of multi-year concept planning. If FDOT will not transfer the road or approve a narrower alignment, the project faces significant redesign, additional engineering costs and uncertain outcomes.

Residents asked for an additional public concept meeting showing the design the public is likely to get under FDOT constraints. Several speakers said the city should not spend more design money until FDOT provides a written statement about what it will permit. Hayes said the commission will only consider further design/redesign task orders after the city receives a clear, written FDOT position.

The city and FDOT remain in communication; commissioners asked staff to provide any written FDOT correspondence and to bring fully formed concepts back to the commission before additional design money is authorized.