KURE BEACH — Major components of Kure Beach’s Bike and Pedestrian Plan are taking hits from the locals, prompting Mayor Craig Bloszinsky to “clear the air” on Tuesday.
In a letter posted on Kure Beach’s website, Bloszinsky addressed concerns related to widening the boardwalk and replacing the wood panels with cement paving, one of the priorities outlined in the Bike and Pedestrian Plan. The $1.7-million project is currently unfunded, but town council has already applied for a Coastal Area Management Act permit, citing upcoming restrictive changes in setback requirements.
READ MORE: Top four items in Kure Beach Bike and Pedestrian plan to cost $7.2 million
“Applying now under existing regulations gives us the greatest flexibility in designing a new boardwalk,” Bloszinsky wrote. “If CAMA approves the permit we can revise the request with alternate materials and solutions; this would still be governed by the original rules for setback.”
Mayor Pro Tem Allen Oliver told Port City Daily the move was to allow the town to develop a plan in the future under current guidelines, but no plan would be developed without public input.
“We do not have a plan,” Oliver said.“We have not hired an engineering firm to develop a plan.”
Still, some residents are getting ahead of the process and voicing their concerns early.
The community set up a change.org petition “Save the Kure Beach boardwalk,” which has 415 signatures. It states:
“We, residents, tourists, and friends of Kure Beach, respectfully ask the Town Council to immediately pause and reconsider this paved project, hold a special meeting with KB residents to hear our voice, and offer an opportunity for a Boardwalk Committee to be formed to seek an alternative medium to this project — one that all of Kure Beach can get behind.”
The signers cite flooding concerns if concrete was to be used and fear chaotic boardwalk traffic if the walkway was to be widened just a few feet to 10 or 12, like the plan suggests.
Almost every petitioner said upgrading the boardwalk, built in 2009, would change the character of Kure Beach’s coast and take away from its distinctiveness. Settler’s Lane resident Roy Erwin is one.
“We like it the way it is,” Erwin said. “I think it’s a gem compared to the other beachside towns.”
While he admitted the boardwalk needed some repairs, Erwin claimed concrete material would cause the walkway to eventually sink into the soil, much like the downtown Riverwalk.
Oliver explained the reasoning behind a pavement replacement was to prolong the boardwalk’s life and save money from frequent repair costs.
“We have a severe maintenance issue with the way it is designed and the water underneath it is causing it to rot out,” Oliver said. “We’re constantly having to spend money and staff time replacing sections of the boardwalk.”
Not only are residents concerned about the boardwalk, but Erwin’s neighbors along Settler’s Lane are not a fan of the proposed island greenway, which would run just beyond their backyards.
“When we all bought there, they said this will never be developed because Sunny Point [Military Terminal] owns it,” Erwin said. “Now all of a sudden this bike committee is eyeing it for their bike path. That’s all well and good, but they aren’t taking into consideration the people who live along there.”
In three separate stages, the Bike and Pedestrian Plan’s island greenway proposal would connect with Carolina Beach’s path and extend it to Fort Fisher. The cost estimate is $4.85 million. A majority of the path is designed to run on the property of the Department of Defense at Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point.
Around 65 homes would border the greenway separated by a 10-foot fence.
Settler’s Lane resident and landscape design and regional planning degree-holder Eric Strauss said he is normally annoyed by NIMBY (not in my back yard) campaigns, which are oppositions to development by homeowners. However, the island greenway was the exception.
“There are greater needs in today’s society where those funds could be used, not for a bike path that would benefit a few for a recreational bike ride for a few hours at a time, a few times a year,” Strauss said.
Both Erwin and Strauss worried about the privacy, safety and environmental concerns of the greenway. They said constructing a fence would affect wildlife that roam in their backyards, which they cherish. Strauss said he admired Carolina Beach’s greenway because it has a substantial vegetative buffer, while Erwin said it was “tastefully done.”
As for privacy, both men said they and their neighbors were used to having no visibility from the back of their houses. Once a greenway is constructed however, their quality of life will diminish, they noted.
“Right now I don’t close any of my curtains,” Erwin said. “I lay in bed and look at the stars at night.”
After owning a previous residence near a bike path, Erwin said he was worried about the number of petty crimes and disturbances that would happen if the greenway was constructed. He reported robberies, sexual assaults and motorcyles using the path as a cut through when he lived near one.
Erwin added he has been approached by others about a class-action lawsuit but said he hopes the situation doesn’t reach that point. He just wanted to make council members aware of the greenway’s potential negative consequences.
“Just because the funds are available, our tax dollars, is it the best use of these
available funds to construct a pathway that will cost multi-millions of dollars, on
federal land, in a blast buffer zone, plus the environmental impact to this natural
wildlife habitat, and impacting 67 homeowners’ rights to privacy and security in
their homes?” Strauss said. “So, yes, not in my backyard.”
Oliver said he could not expand on the plan’s details or play the “what-if game” because the council has yet to discuss its plan of action.
“If people are going to be upset at us, they need to wait until we vote on a plan,” Oliver said. “I promise you the citizens will be involved.”
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com
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