THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 4, 1996 TAG: 9606040292
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 67 lines
A remote, picturesque coastal village can't help losing some of its character to a cluster of 17 traffic lights in a 50-yard area, a Hatteras Island resident complained Monday to the Dare County Board of Commissioners.
``The bottom line is quite simple - 17 lights in such a concentrated area is excessive by any standard designed to protect the appearance of the island,'' Tom Hranicka said at Monday's meeting.
``My guess is you had an an engineer who looked at the overall plans . . . punched that into a computer and it spit out `Put up 17 lights,' '' Hranicka, who is in the real estate business, said in a telephone interview. ``I don't think there was bureaucratic malice involved. I just don't think there was any thought to it.''
Strung in rows along the ferry waiting lanes, the signals were installed on North Carolina Route 12 around the Hatteras Ferry Terminal between May 13 and May 21, said Steve Yetman, a traffic division engineer for the state Department of Transportation. Yetman said the signals will be turned on as early as today.
The lights were installed to alleviate anticipated traffic problems associated with new development on the island, including the 72-room Holiday Inn Express across from the ferry and the planned Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, said Yetman.
Ferry operators will be able to manually operate the signals. The system will be evaluated and adjusted after it is fully operational, Yetman said.
More than 2,000 vehicles are transported daily between Hatteras and Ocracoke during the summer months, and DOT officials expect the rate of traffic to increase significantly in the coming years.
Hranicka said that although growth is inevitable, care must be taken to preserve the quality of life on Hatteras Island.
``It's not an atomic bomb that comes in; it's a slow and steady thing,'' he said. ``It's one of these incremental deterioration factors. And it doesn't have to be.''
The commissioners listened, but did not comment.
In another matter Monday, a board member criticized two county commission candidates for politicking at a public hearing on the proposed 1996-97 budget. Board members took some jabs at each other over their response to the candidates' comments.
``I have some reservations about candidates using a public hearing to edge in campaigning,'' said Commissioner Geneva Perry. ``I don't think that's proper.''
Cheryl Byrd, a Southern Shores Republican who will face Democratic newcomer Martin Booth in November's election, said the budget proposal needs to reflect more long-term planning and anticipate future needs.
``There's a total lack of planning and looking ahead and laying out for the public to see,'' she said. ``We really are wasting a lot of money.''
Stephen Sawin, the Republican challenger to Chairman R.V ``Bobby'' Owens Jr., said the county has to start budgeting for enlarging or building a new high school.
Perry said that issue has yet to come before the commission.
In response to Commissioner Douglas Langford's questioning of both candidates after their presentations, Commissioner Shirley Hassell said she understood that public hearings are not meant to be comment periods for public officials.
But acting Chairman Commissioner Clarence Skinner said Langford's questions were appropriately used to clarify, not to express his opinions.
Other board business included:
Adding $35,000 to the budget for the Duck Sidewalk Project. The Dare County Tourism Board was awarded the money in a grant.
Agreeing to appoint a board for the Fessenden Center. Appointments were delayed until June 17. by CNB