Last week, Carolina Beach Town Council finalized its bike/pedestrian master plan, which was drawn up by consulting firm VHB.
Consultant Jordan Powell presented the plan, and laid out a vision for a town that makes biking an easy choice over driving.
“If any one of these projects is done in isolation, it's an immense benefit, of course, but zooming out to the 30,000 foot level, the idea is to have a full network that supports all of those goals of the plan,” he said.
The projects range from creating a “neighborhood slow zone” along Canal Drive to help with safety to creating a multi-use path on Harper Drive.
Putting bike lanes on St. Joseph Street is also a top priority - and it’s received funding from the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization already.
Deputy Town Manager Ed Parvin said the town has a lot of gaps in existing sidewalk networks, and filling those gaps in will help make the town more comfortable for pedestrians. He points to Lake Park Boulevard as an example.
"We want to infill on both sides," he explained. "It's all piecemeal now, like you see a little piece in front of the ABC store and proximity and a few of the newer developments. So that's a big piece of it: the west side. We we actually have grant money to move forward on that."
Parvin said the added emphasis on cycling and walking can help with the town's parking needs and demands.
"We want our niche to be the community that has these types of facilities that, okay, you're coming here to go to the beach, but there's other things you can do [...] like you can you can safely go from your rental house or your year round home to the ice cream shop and the downtown. You know, there's a way to get there, and you don't have to get in your car to do that," Parvin said.
The town's commitment to Wave Transit is a big help with that, too: and the buses have bike racks, so visitors from outside the beach town can stay mobile and get around town even after they get off the bus.
The plan does note safety issues for pedestrians and cyclists in town: especially around US-421. According to crash data reported to NCDOT, 24 bicycle and pedestrian crashes occurred between 2013 and 2022 in the town. Three were fatal and six led to serious injuries.
According to the report, fatal and serious injury crashes were disproportionately concentrated on US-421 between Ocean Boulevard and Dow Road: only one — a serious injury on Ocean Boulevard — occurred outside that corridor.
Asked about these safety concerns, Parvin said safety improvements are a priority, especially with crossings at major intersections.
"It does list out [...] where we've had some struggles in the past, and it gives some options for improving safety at those intersections, but it leaves it up to the town to further work with a traffic engineer and DOT to come up with the final resolution and implementation," Parvin said.
The plan was passed unanimously by town council, with members stating that an emphasis on bike infrastructure might help with parking demand.
The plan will address a lot of gaps in the existing bike and pedestrian network, with safety features like crosswalks and parking adjustments to make sure sidewalks stay clear for those in wheelchairs.
The full master plan is available below, and includes the project prioritization list.
Carolina Beach Bike Ped Plan by Ben Schachtman on Scribd
