Contact Us

Become a Friend of A1A....
Friends of A1A Membership Application.pdf

We welcome your questions and comments!

The Byway Program Administrator, Sallie O'Hara, will provide additional program
information upon request. Please email tarahill@bellsouth.net or Sallie_OHara@scenicA1A.org or contact 904-425-8055 for information on our Crew of 72 sponsorships and volunteer opportunities.

For those parties interested in reviewing minutes and agendas from public meetings, please make specific requests to the Byway Program Administrator.

To give feedback about the site or report a site error: Sallie_OHara@scenicA1A.org.

The Friends of A1A maintains office locations in Flagler and St. Johns Counties at the following locations:

Flagler County Office

216 S. Third Street

Flagler Beach, FL 32136

Phone: 386-439-1627 1-800-225-0963

Fax: 386-439-8427

Welcome Center at Flagler Beach
200 S. Oceanshore Blvd.
Flagler Beach, FL 32137
386-585-3679

St. Johns County Office

2175 Mizell Road

St. Augustine, FL 32080

Phone: 904-425-8055

St. Johns Parks Phone: 904-209-0333

Fax: 904-209-0321

Friends of A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway

Friends of A1A is a volunteer community sector organization funded primarily through the National Scenic Byways Program. The mission is to protect, promote, and enhance the outstanding scenic, historic, natural, recreational and cultural resources of the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway in a manner that provides a unique experience for visitors, and maintains for the communities along the byway an unhurried lifestyle and ambiance of “Old Florida.” The A1A Byway stretches 72 miles along the coastal corridor in St. Johns and Flagler Counties.

The National Scenic Byways Program is a voluntary, community-based program administered through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to recognize, protect, and promote America's most outstanding roads. Through the state departments of transportation, communities apply for designation as a State or National Scenic Byway for funding from the FHWA. In 1991, Congress established the program under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and strengthened it further with the passage of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) in 1998 and subsequently with the recent passage of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), in 2005. Unlike some earlier state scenic roads programs that focused solely on the promotion of roads, this program helps communities balance economic development and resource conservation. The program has two principle components: designation and funding.

In 1990 Jim Darby, the City of Flagler Beach Mayor and former Chairman of the Flagler County Commission, began discussions with Garry Balogh, Florida Department of Transportation Environmentalist on scenic highway designation possibilities for A1A along Ocean Shore Boulevard. The City embraced the concept as did the County subsequently in the mid-90’s.

In 1997 Charlie Helm led a citizen’s corridor advocacy group (CAG), known as Ocean Shore Scenic A1A, through concepts, designs and development plans for the scenic highway. These volunteers succeeded in achieving the Florida State Scenic Highway designation for Flagler Beach and Beverly Beach along A1A on June 6, 2001. Anne Wilson, in the Hammock, concurrently led the Scenic PRIDE A1A CAG to designation as a Florida Scenic Highway on June 7, 2001. The PRIDE group oversees the segment of the highway where the River to Sea Preserve is located and the greenway parks from north of Beverly Beach to the St. Johns/Flagler County line. In St. Johns County Dr. Michael Greenberg worked with citizens and various municipalities to formulate similar plans which led to Florida Scenic Highway designation in January 17, 2002.

The designation as a Florida Scenic Highway is a prerequisite for National Scenic Byway Applications, which requires extensive documentation with written and visual presentations of the A1A Corridor. In April 2002, St. Johns County joined Flagler County in their quest for the National Designation making the new Byway 72 miles in length. This status was awarded to the A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway on June 13, 2002, and dedicated November 4, 2006.

www.scenica1a.org

Friends of A1A, a non-profit oversight group, emerged from the Joint Corridor Management Entity meetings held regularly and is now the governance organization that implements the 2008 Strategic Byway goals, objectives and action plans. In October 2004, the Friends officially registered with the State of Florida as the Friends of A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway, Inc. Volunteers advocate for improvements through local governments, perform community outreach and complete special projects such as scenic beautification. The scenic highway groups of Ocean Shore Scenic A1A, Scenic PRIDE A1A and Scenic & Historic A1A in St. Johns County continue to focus on local issues at the community level while the Friends of A1A focuses on the holistic Byway as one in the collection of 151 America’s Byways and one of six Byways in Florida. National Scenic Byways designations recognize those roads across the country that exhibit one of six core intrinsic qualities-- scenic, natural, historic, recreational, archaeological, or cultural-- contributing towards a unique travel experience.

Major Accomplishments: received over $4.4 million in federal grant funds to

§ improved parks with picnic areas, trails, fishing piers, dune crossovers, and parking

§ provided interpretive plans for the byway telling the “story” of what is special and unique about the corridor

§ created a website for informing the traveler of history and events of interest along the corridor

§ developed a full-color brochure for the byway with a map, points of interest, and information about the natural treasures for tourist development

How you can help: get involved

§ volunteer to help in grant writing, organizing special events, and representing the byway at community events

§ join the local Community Advocacy Groups as board members (now known as Corridor Management Entities) to oversee progress and advocate for preservation and improvement working as partners with local governments

§ contribute financially – individuals, groups, and corporations are invited to become a charter member of the “Crew of 72” – one member for each mile of the corridor

For more information: contact Sallie O’Hara, Byway Program Administrator – 904-540-0402 or the Volunteer Coordinator - 904-425-8055 ; **Ocean Shore Scenic A1A at Flagler Beach – Charlie Helm 386-439-1627 or Mary Ann Ruzecki 386-439-0404 **Scenic PRIDE A1A at the Hammock – Anne Wilson 386-445-2399 or George Harnden 386-446-4186;** Scenic & Historic A1A in St. Johns County – Barbara Jenness -904-823-0027 or Jim Netherton 904-461-4005.

Products with the A1A Spoonbill Logo (c) may be purchased at community events or by the Byway Program Administrator, Sallie O'Hara. All proceeds from sales support projects of the A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway.