SURF CITY — The neighborhood toll road that was set up for the Memorial Day holiday weekend in May has returned for the Fourth of July holiday in Surf City; expectations are for better results than earlier attempts at the neighborhood’s DIY toll operation.
Related: Pender County shows support for DIY toll road on Cedar Avenue
Over the weekend, members of the Cedar Landing 2 and Creek Estates Road Maintenance Organization once again took the maintenance of Cedar Avenue into their own hands with a makeshift toll booth.
Jeff Conerly, one of the organizing members of the toll booth, said more than 500 vehicles went through the toll checkpoint on Saturday, and the group collected more than $900. Unlike the last time the toll was implemented, which led to seven 911 emergency calls, this effort went without incident, Conerly said.
The toll booth was an initiative started by the road maintenance group in an effort to help fund repairs needed to the Cedar Avenue, a heavily traveled but privately maintained road. It was also designed to deter people who do not live on the road from using it as a shortcut.
But the end goal is not to keep people out. Instead, Conerly and the rest of the group hope the North Carolina Department of Transportation realize the importance of the road and take responsibly for maintaining the route.
Members of the community volunteered to man the toll booth with approximately 10 volunteers per two shifts. Conerly said if there are enough volunteers the group plans on setting the toll booth up again on Tuesday, July 3 — and possibly additional future dates.
“We will not be open for business on the 4th. We are going to try for tomorrow, July 3, that is the day of the surf city fireworks and is usually the second highest day of the week,” Conerly said.
During previous efforts, the toll booth has been operating from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
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