During its Nov. 13 meeting, the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen invited public input regarding the allocation of money from a Surface Transportation Project-Direct Apportionment (STP-DA) grant to the construction of a sidewalk along the eastern right-of-way edge of Coral Drive, which leads to Wrightsville Beach School.
“I live along that road,” alderman Lisa Weeks said, “and the other day I saw a couple fifth graders going to church walking side by side down the lane…it’s used quite a bit for field trips and going back and forth to school.”
The total amount of the grant was $292,000 with the town matching the grant at $58,400 and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) providing funds in the amount of $233,600.
The grant money was originally intended to create a dual left turn at the intersection of Waynick Boulevard and Causeway Drive, but the new alignment was not recommended by the NCDOT due to concerns about large trucks conflicting the vehicles in the inner lane.
During the board’s October meeting, it decided to seek a change in the allocation of the existing STP-DA grant the town received. The two projects being considered are the Coral Drive sidewalk and downtown pedestrian improvements.
The proposed Coral Drive sidewalk would be five feet wide and run along the eastern right-of-way edge of the road from the existing sidewalk to Wrightsville Beach School. The Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO) and the NCDOT require the sidewalk be separated from the travel lane a minimum of five feet. The project would also involve the installation of speed humps along Coral Drive to lower speeds and improve safety.
Donna Clemmons, who lives on the west side of Coral Drive, read a letter from her neighbors, Bill and Sybil West, who live on the east side of the road and could not attend the meeting. The letter pointed out many natural plants grow near the road and would have to be destroyed in order to build a sidewalk.
“[The sidewalk]…will require the removal of landscaping features and the destruction of 30 to 35-year-old wax myrtles and cedars and live oaks and other native plants,” Clemmons read. “These trees provide a wildlife habitat that is irreplaceable. Destroying them to add more pervious surfaces is not what we want for our island. We already experience drainage issues.”
The letter suggested a less intrusive option would be to widen the road a few feet and create a clearly marked biking and walking lane. No one spoke in favor of the sidewalk, although town manager Tim Owens said he had received several positive comments from residents prior to the meeting.
In response to the concerns about stormwater drainage, Owens said he hoped the engineers creating the sidewalk would install a pipe that would actually help the situation instead of exacerbating it.
Mayor Pro Tem Darryl Mills pointed out that although the sidewalk construction would extend about 15 feet into residents’ yards, that area was on the NCDOT right-of-way and not private property.
The board could not vote on the grant money allocation until the downtown pedestrian improvements were also approved, so the purpose of the public hearing was mainly to gain a general idea of residents’ opinions about the project. Board members said they had heard mostly positive feedback from people worried about the safety of children walking down the road, but Mayor Bill Blair wanted to make sure the concerns over the destruction of native vegetation were properly addressed. He and the other aldermen asked Owens to take those concerns to the WMPO and let that organization determine the best solution.
