THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504160053
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HATTERAS VILLAGE LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Each year, thousands of Outer Banks motorists leave their worries behind as they ride the free ferry to Ocracoke Island.
Beginning next summer, visitors may be leaving their vehicles behind, too.
State transportation officials are considering starting a shuttle service from the ferry dock at the north end of Ocracoke to the island's picturesque village on the south end of the island.
Tourists might be able to park their cars at the Hatteras ferry dock, take a 40-minute boat trip across the inlet, then ride a bus approximately 14 miles down the beach to restaurants, retail shops and hotels.
On this isolated barrier island - not connected to land by any bridge - traffic would clear up considerably if tourists traveled by mass transportation.
``The state is just looking into this as an option to get some of the vehicles and congestion out of Ocracoke Village,'' Jack Cahoon said Thursday from the Hatteras ferry docks. Superintendent of the North Carolina Ferry Division's northern district, Cahoon oversees the ferry operations between Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. This week, he is supervising construction of 355 new parking places near the Hatteras Village docks.
``We're building a stacking area on one side of the road so cars that will be riding the ferry will have a place to wait without backing up into the village,'' said Cahoon. ``On the other side of the road, we're adding 125 parking places for people who want to park and ride. This lot is part of our plans for the future.''
Already, many of the 1,000 and more drivers who ride the Ocracoke ferries each summer day take the trip across the inlet, turn around and come back without ever visiting the village, said ferry worker Alma Fountain.
``The park-and-ride lot will help them, now, because they don't need to get to the village anyway,'' Fountain said. ``It makes sense for them to leave their cars.''
Other passengers bring bicycles and roller blades for the trip from the ferry docks to town, ferry workers said. If a shuttle bus were waiting, almost anyone could get around Ocracoke Island without an automobile.
A quaint fishing village that has recently grown to be a popular day-trip destination for Outer Banks vacationers, Ocracoke is home to about 800 year-round residents. Ferries run every half-hour in summer. During off-season months, they cross on the hour.
On July 27, the state-run ferries from Hatteras carried a record 2,321 cars to Ocracoke. About 30 cars fit on each ferry. At least 50 additional passengers can ride around the deck, in the passenger lounge, or on an upstairs observation platform.
``If we had shuttles, we could keep a lot of cars off the ferries; allow more people to get across quicker; and take some of the vehicles off of Ocracoke,'' said Cahoon. ``Last year, we had a 12 percent increase in cars we carried. And when you got your car over there on that island, you got no place to park it, anyway.''
The lot for motorists waiting to board the ferry and the new parking lot will be completed by Memorial Day, Cahoon said.
If state leaders approve and fund a shuttle to the village, service could begin by the summer of 1996. Cost estimates are not yet available for a bus and drivers, Cahoon said.
Although the shuttle service will not be available this year, North Carolina's ferry division has tried to improve the crossing for its summer riders. A new telescope offers people a chance to see sea gulls and shorelines close up - for a quarter. Colorful stripes and emblems from state schools brighten the boats. Even the operators have new uniforms.
``We'll also offer videos in the waiting areas at the terminals and on the boats themselves, during the ride,'' Cahoon said. ``The 10- to 15-minute segments will show people what it's like where they're going. They can get an overview of Ocracoke, that way, before they even get off the ferry.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
Newlyweds Joey and Maria Miller of Clyde, N.C., travel to Ocracoke
Island. A proposed shuttle service on the island would make room on
the ferries for 50 more passengers each trip.
Graphic
ABOUT THE FERRY
The free ferry from Hatteras Village to Ocracoke Island runs
every hour, on the hour, from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. On the summer
schedule that starts May 1, ferries will begin crossing the inlet
every half-hour. About 30 vehicles fit on board each trip.
Reservations are not available. Boarding is on a first-come,
first-served basis. For more information about North Carolina's
ferry service, call 1-800-BY FERRY.
Map
by CNB