Colt Drive problem worsens for residents

CRESTVIEW — Residents continue to plead for something to be done about Colt Drive — the only road from Stallion Drive to U.S. Hwy 90.

About 500 feet of the dirt road has large, deep potholes.

For resident Sabrina Gregg, Colt Drive's disrepair has complicated school mornings. The school bus that once traveled to Stallion Drive now stops at the corner of Colt Drive and Hibiscus Avenue, which means Gregg must maneuver her way around the holes on Colt Drive to drop her son off at the bus, adding about 20 minutes to their mornings.

Colt Drive has become increasingly worse, according to some long-term residents.

Cherish Weeks has lived on Colt Drive since 2009 and says the road is in the worst shape she's seen in four years. She said the road has damaged her car, and her truck is unusable after repeatedly driving the road.

“I understand we get the rain, but this is a little bit ridiculous," Weeks said. "This is making it so that if an ambulance needs to come in, they can’t.”

Residents also worry the problem could potentially be a life-or-death issue.

“Heaven forbid a young infant or a toddler gets out here and falls into one of these puddles,” Stallion Drive resident Scott Beal said. “I’m just telling you, they’d drown, and who’s going to be responsible for it? The county? They said they’re not responsible.”

According to a parcel search on the Okaloosa County website, the county owns land on the east side of Colt Drive. Okaloosa County Public Works Director Jason Autrey said the county does not own the road but the right-of-way.

“It was never an opened or county-maintained road,” Autrey said.

Residents of Eagle and Falcon Way — less than 1,000 feet from the front of Colt Drive — were in a similar situation and set up a Municipal Service Benefit Units fund, which allows residents to have a county-maintained road by requiring them to pay for road improvements. The charge would be similar to an HOA fee.

Autrey said there are specific requirements that have to be met before the county would accept responsibility for maintaining the road. The road would have to be brought to "county standards." Autrey said a paved roadway is the preferred option.

Mare Creek Farms Homeowners Association President Mike Banks said he presented the option of a MSBU to residents at a meeting two years ago, but no one wanted to pay the extra money at the time.

“I don’t know if I have a solution other than money,” Banks said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Colt Drive problem worsens for residents