PLEASURE ISLAND — The Town of Carolina Beach’s Island Greenway has been a popular addition to the town’s recreational facilities. Spanning more than a mile it offers residents and visitors a chance to ditch the car or golf cart and explore. While the project did run into delays in construction, inflated costs, and complaints from some residents, much of the feedback has been positive.
But the Greenway does end abruptly at the edge of the town’s jurisdiction with Kure Beach on Alabama Avenue. This has prompted the suggestion that perhaps Kure Beach could expand the Greenway and make it an island-wide path — but local leaders in Kure are not sold on the idea.
Kure Beach not interested
The two beach towns might share an island, but the relationship between the two could best be described as strained.
Last week, candidates for Kure Beach council as well as mayor took to the podium to answer questions in a debate (it should be noted that all three candidates are incumbents running unopposed) when the topic of the greenway came up.
Councilmen David Heglar and Joseph Whitley, along with Mayor Craig Blozinsky, all shared a similar sentiment on the question of extending the greenway — it’s not going to happen.
Cost, complaints, and working with the federal government were all cited issues with the possible expansion.
Related: Carolina Beach approves new fencing option that will cost taxpayers additional $176k
“Carolina Beach is getting a lot of complaints about their Greenway, as I understand it. I mean, I don’t pay attention to everything that’s happening there, and the citizens that the Greenway would go right past have spoken to multiple councils, not just one about the fact of having a Greenway right behind your property. Additionally, working with MOTSU is becoming tougher and tougher. I think the expense of going through the swampiness of the Southend compared to the relatively high ground that Carolina Beach did would also be another big issue for Kure Beach, Heglar said.
“Just the cost of it. And the fact that the residents are not really that interested in, leads me to think it’s not a big issue for us. If a number of Kure Beach citizens — Kure Beach citizens — and residents came to Council, with that being a big issue for us to address, Council would definitely address it. But that hasn’t happened. A lot of outsiders have told us we should do it but not Kure Beach citizens,” he concluded.
For Whitley, the cost was one of the biggest factors for hesitation with the possibility of expansion.
“I’m going to kind of give the standard answer I’ve given since we started talking about this. Carolina Beach did 1.4 miles, I think they got grants, they spent $300,000, $350,000 I believe on their sections. If people wanted to do it from where it ends now down to the ferry and extend it 3 miles, if we got grants, which might not be possible at this point, and extended it that far we’re looking at more than million dollars. I don’t see us spending that money,” he said.
He also reiterated the concern of residents who would have to have a path going through their backyard. This has actually been a point of contention in Carolina Beach as some residents have asked the town to consider closing the path at dark to prevent people from traversing it at night.
Related: Carolina Beach staff again recommends against closing Island Greenway just to appease vocal minority
“Forty-eight homes back the fire lane where that would go behind people’s homes, they don’t want to sit on their back deck and have people walking around and biking there. You would have to go through wetlands on the Southside of town, the historic site, you have to go through the Dow remains which could generate the impacts, environmental impact studies, I just don’t see it being feasible. And MOTSU has gotten a little more restrictive of what they will allow, and the times since Carolina Beach was approved, I just don’t think it would fly with our neighbors across the river,” Whitley said.
Blozinsky was short with his response agreeing with both of his fellow council members making it clear that for now, the town has no plans to expand the greenway.
“We have no current plans to extend that Greenway. Reasons: the length, the costs and the location and appealing to the citizens whose properties would be impacted. If any of those were to change that I mentioned, then we would certainly probably take a view at changing that. Right now, there are no plans to extend that Greenway into Kure Beach,” he said.
Send comments and tips to Michael.p@localvoicemedia.com
