8/30/23: RESIDENTS RESOUNDINGLY REJECT MORE SIDEWALKS IN SOUTHERN SHORES.

Twenty of the 23 Southern Shores homeowners who spoke at last night’s town hall on sidewalks strongly opposed constructing the 5-foot-wide concrete paths on the street segments proposed by a priority list prepared by the Town Council—most notably on Wax Myrtle Trail, Sea Oats Trail, Hillcrest Drive, and Hickory Trail.

(See The Beacon, 8/24/23, for the list.)

By our count, 13 of the 20 people who spoke in opposition to sidewalks live on those traffic cut-thru streets. (Full disclosure: We publicly opposed sidewalks on these streets, too.)

Of the three proponents, only Gray Berryman, a Realtor who lives on Skyline Road, adamantly supported sidewalks throughout town, saying he had never seen a sidewalk he didn’t like.

Proponent Macey Chovaz of Clam Shell Trail in Chicahauk advocated for sidewalks to protect her three children from traffic, and Shelly Black of Duck Road thanked the Town Council for building a sidewalk on the east side of her road in front of her house.

Town Manager Cliff Ogburn announced that bids for construction of this sidewalk, which will run from Triangle Park/Duck Road split to East Dogwood Trail, have just been received.

Ms. Black also asked the Town’s assistance in improving a shortcut she uses through Pompano Court to access Ocean Boulevard and the beach.

We know of no public property on Pompano Court, apart from the rights-of-way, nor can we identify any full-time resident-homeowners on Pompano Court, who might object to this shortcut, or on Duck Road in this vicinity, including Ms. Black.

When Steven Hachtman of Sea Oats Trail, who was the second public speaker, tied the perceived need for sidewalks to the cut-thru traffic and offered a solution to the traffic that involved sensor-operated gates to restrict access to Southern Shores, Mayor Elizabeth Morey intervened to direct the town hall discussion away from traffic.

“We’re here to talk about sidewalks, not traffic,” she said.

In introducing the town hall meeting, however, Mr. Ogburn cited “getting people out of the street” and out of danger from traffic as a primary objective in building sidewalks. He also mentioned improving access to the beach for tourists.

The estimated 60 people in the Pitts Center audience, exclusive of Town Council members and Town staff, applauded each speaker’s comments. One homeowner who received a loud and sustained round of applause was Ellen Barbaro of Hickory Trail who said, “I do not encourage sidewalks because they really interfere with my freedom.”

Damage to the natural environment and flooding that rainwater-impervious concrete creates were oft-cited reasons for not building sidewalks. The cost incurred in building and maintaining the sidewalks was also mentioned as a deterrent to their construction.

When one homeowner on Sea Oats Trail pressed the Mayor to explain the impetus for the Town Council’s preparation of a street priority list for sidewalks, she replied only that the Council had prepared the list at a retreat in March 2022, which was a few months after she assumed office. She never explained why.

We recall a former Town Councilman, Jim Conners, repeatedly trying to discuss at Council meetings the construction of a sidewalk system that would connect all of Southern Shores and being discouraged from doing so by former Mayor Tom Bennett, who anticipated opposition. Mayor Morey, Mayor Pro Tem Matt Neal, and Town Councilman Leo Holland all served two years with Mr. Conners and Mr. Bennett.      

As we mentioned in earlier posts, we are unable at this time to report more fully on last night’s forum because of preexisting commitments. We will try to post a more in-depth report on the weekend. The Mayor said the Town Council will take up the topic at its Sept. 5 regular meeting, the agenda for which should be online tomorrow.  

Ann G. Sjoerdsma, 8/30/23