THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995 TAG: 9512290317
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEWEL BOND, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
AFTER MORE than five years of planning and mounds of paperwork, workers are busily clearing the way for a mile-long bike trail that will keep school-bound children off the street.
Students en route to First Flight Elementary or First Flight Middle School will be able to bypass automobile traffic on the path, which begins at the end of First Street, parallels the north side of Colington Road near the Wright Brothers National Memorial and ends at Veterans Drive.
``It's anybody's guess when it will be completed,'' said Greg Loy, planning director for the town of Kill Devil Hills. ``But if all goes well, it will be all dressed up and ready for traffic in March. We are rolling.''
In addition to providing an alternate route for local students, the $117,000 trail also will extend recreational opportunities to joggers and skaters. It also will be another path for bikers who usually use U.S. 158.
``It really doesn't do that much for Colington residents, since it's only two-thirds of a mile on the Colington Road,'' Loy said. ``But the residents I've talked with feel very positive about it. It should give the island's residents easier access to the beach, since the cyclists won't be holding up traffic.''
The trail, currently being molded by bulldozers and excavators from Robbie Parker Construction Co., will be topped much like a road: asphalt with a crushed stone base.
The path will be 10 feet wide, ample room for two-lane, two-wheel traffic.
``But make no mistake,'' Loy said. ``This road is closed to motorized vehicular traffic.''
Area residents are generally pleased with the planned path, officials said.
Kill Devil Hills Mayor Duncan Wright, an avid supporter of the new bikeway, said he was amazed by the beauty of the natural landscaping that will surround the trail.
``It wends its way through the woods, in and out of the trees - not necessarily through the woods, but in and out, and it's quite pretty,'' he said.
Wright said he's happy that something is being done for the people who live on the Outer Banks year-round.
``I think finally people are seeing we are doing something on the west side of the Bypass that's not tourist-oriented,'' Wright said. ``Though we would be happy for them to use it.''
Wright hopes everyone will use the trail, not just for exercise but to see the beauty it provides.
Amanda Hungerford, 15, whose family moved here from Alaska this year, lives near the trail.
She agrees it's beautiful, but she hates to see the trees removed.
``I know it's going to be great for the schoolkids,'' she says, ``but I love the trees. I'll be happier about it when I get my bicycle moved here.''
The path has been a long time coming, Loy said, and many people worked hard to make it a reality.
``A lot of people should be thanked, because this project would not have been possible without their help and support,'' he said.
Loy said a special use permit was granted by the National Park Service for the trail to run along the park's property. And Sue and Wallace McCown gave officials permission to cross their property with the trail, he said.
Mike Haley, a bicycle facility engineer from the Office of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, deserves recognition for sticking with the project from the beginning, Loy said.
``He drew the preliminary plans years ago, making changes through the years and finally fine-tuning the details when funding was available and all systems were go,'' Loy said. ``The funding and future maintenance is possible through the bicycle program.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
This path will become a bike and recreational trail in Kill Devil
Hills.
VP Map
by CNB