Wilmington residents had the chance to learn more about a $55 million transportation bond package during the fifth of six public information meetings Tuesday, Sept. 30, about the City of Wilmington’s proposed transportation bond, up for a referendum vote in November.
The projects outlined in the bond were pulled from three regional transportation plans — the Cape Fear Commutes 2035, Walk Wilmington Pedestrian Plan and New Hanover County Comprehensive Greenway Plan.
Requiring a 2-cent property tax increase for city residents to fund the $44 million bond order, Wilmington City Councilman Kevin O’Grady said he has been pleased with the public reaction during the information sessions.
“I am cautiously optimistic,” O’Grady said about the upcoming vote on the bond during the Sept. 30 meeting. “I think we are particularly getting strong feedback from young people, especially from young people with families.”
O’Grady was part of a committee of three city councilman that helped whittle down the estimated $238 million in transportation needs identified for the next ten years. Councilwoman Laura Padgett and Councilman Earl Sheridan were the other two members of the committee.
“We had to decide what projects would have the most impact, but at the same time make tax payers throughout the entire city feel we were being fair in our analysis,” O’Grady said. “We worked very hard to make sure these projects are spread out all over the city.”
Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization executive director Mike Kozlosky said public participation in the information sessions has been healthy with some meetings drawing more than 70 curious citizens.
“The purpose of the meetings is to educate the public on the transportation bond referendum and we are here to discuss the projects and answer any questions as they relate to those projects,” Kozlosky said. “The community has been very interested in the list of projects that are included and where the projects came from.”
Wilmington residents Duncan McCabe and Bret Nelson were two of the citizens in attendance at Tuesday’s session in the New Hanover County Government Center.
Nelson said he questioned the effectiveness of some of the projects included, like traffic lights on Eastwood Road and a roundabout on Wallace Avenue.
“They are going to mess some stuff up but is it worth it for the stuff that will go right, I don’t know yet,” Nelson said.
McCabe said he approved of the initiative, alluding to the ever-increasing population in New Hanover County.
“The area is growing a lot and we need to build the infrastructure to accommodate that,” McCabe said. “I have lived here 17 years and traffic has gotten a lot more congested in that time frame. The forecast is we are going to see another big increase so we have to do something or it will become untenable otherwise.”
For more information on the projects listed in the transportation bond plan, visit www.wilmingtonnc.gov/transportation2014
