The left turn on to South Dogwood Trail from U.S. Hwy. 158-east will be blocked this weekend from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., as Southern Shores winds up its summertime experiment in diverting northbound vacationer traffic from the main cut-through route.
This is assuming that Isaisis, a tropical storm in the Atlantic that has been upgraded to a Category One hurricane, does not effect a change in plans. (See story below.)
The Beacon again will be encouraging homeowners on residential roads to post comments on our blog and Facebook page about traffic conditions, especially on Saturday, when the vehicle volume is the heaviest.
Based on feedback during the previous three no-left-turn weekends, we conclude that the left-turn prohibition has not adversely affected Chicahauk. Motorists do not use Juniper Trail as an alternate to South Dogwood Trail.
We also conclude that, although the turn prohibition lessens the volume of traffic on South Dogwood Trail, East Dogwood Trail, Hickory Trail, and Hillcrest Drive, it does not eliminate backups on Sea Oats Trail and other residential roads that intersect with Duck Road (N.C. Hwy. 12).
We will be interested to learn what the vehicle counts show about motorists’ use of all monitored residential roads when the U.S. 158-South Dogwood Trail turn is blocked.
MUCH UNCERTAINTY STILL EXISTS ABOUT ISAISIS
The East Coast path of Isaisis and its wind and rain effects for North Carolina remain uncertain today, according to the Wilmington office of the National Weather Service.
Yesterday Isaisis brought tropical-storm-force winds and heavy rain to Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Moving northwesterly at 17 mph, a strengthened Isaisis is expected to hit the Bahamas this morning with hurricane-force conditions and continue on to the east coast of Florida.
If Isaisis takes the track that is currently being forecasted, the Outer Banks would not experience any storm conditions—wind, rain, surge—until Monday.
We will report on any emergency actions that Dare County decides to takes. We personally are inclined to check in with the storm again on Sunday.
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING ON TUES, AUG. 4, 5:30 p.m.
The Town Council meets for its regular monthly meeting next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Pitts Center.
You may access the agenda here: https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/wp-content/uploads/minutes-agendas-newsletters/Agendas_2020-08-04.pdf
For the meeting packet, see: https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/wp-content/uploads/minutes-agendas-newsletters/Meeting-Packet_2020-08-04.pdf
The ID number for the meeting on Zoom is 929 2956 69855; the password is 576193.
We will publish a brief preview of the meeting on Monday.
Ann G. Sjoerdsma, 7/31/20
The Southern Shores Beacon 