Starting tomorrow the speed limit for a section of Duck Road (N.C. Hwy. 12) in Southern Shores will increase from 35 mph to 40 mph. The new 40-mph zone will run from Porpoise Run, which is just north of the cell tower, to Sea Oats Trail/13th Avenue, according to a Town announcement.
The speed limit for the rest of N.C. Hwy. 12, including all of Ocean Boulevard, will remain 35 mph.
As The Beacon previously reported, the Town Council sought a speed-limit change last year in order to help “reduce conflicts between low-speed vehicles and faster-moving traffic,” as the Town explained in its announcement. (See The Beacon, 12/5/26.)
In fact, the Town Council voted unanimously at its Dec. 2, 2025 meeting to increase the speed limit on the entirety of N.C. Hwy. 12 from 35 mph to 40 mph, after members expressed frustration over driving behind so-called “low-speed vehicles” (LSV), which one Councilman characterized as “upgraded golf carts.”
During the summertime, Town Councilman Mark Batenic noted at the December meeting, vacationers often drive such carts, which can seat up to six passengers, to and from Duck on Duck Road, impeding the traffic flow of other vehicles.
In North Carolina, LSVs, which are street-legal motorized carts with legally mandated safety features (headlights, turn signals, e.g.), licensure, and other requirements, can drive on roads that have speed limits of 35 mph or less.
Their top speed, however, is 20 to 25 mph, thus making them a nuisance to other drivers who wish to proceed at the posted speed limit and get stuck behind them.
While the impetus for the Town Council’s speed-limit change appeared initially to be eliminating the inconvenience that LSVs pose to other drivers, its discussion evolved into one about safety—which was the reason that it voted unanimously on Aug. 2, 2022 to implement the year-round speed limit of 35 mph on N.C. 12.
Previously, the year-round speed limit on N.C. 12 was 45 mph except from May 15 to September 15 when the speed limit decreased to 35 mph for a section of the highway that included all of Ocean Boulevard, which is the Town’s primary beach zone.
Community Feedback After December Vote
After the Town Council’s December vote, it heard from Southern Shores residents, businesses, and others in town who had concerns about the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers along N.C. 12, especially on Ocean Boulevard, if the speed limit were to increase to 40 mph.
LSV drivers also raised the issue of their losing access to interior roads throughout town, if they couldn’t drive on N.C. 12.
Because of this feedback, the Town Council adjusted its thinking and voted unanimously at its May 5 meeting to increase the speed limit to 40 mph only in the Porpoise Run-to-Sea Oats Trail/13th Avenue zone. The speed limit will remain 35 mph from the Southern Shores-Kitty Hawk town line to Porpoise Run and from the intersection of Duck Road with Sea Oats Trail/13th Avenue to the Southern Shores/Duck town line.
The Council’s vote came after the Town met with representatives of the N.C. Dept. of Transportation to request the change. NCDOT, according to Town Manager Cliff Ogburn, who briefed the Council May 5 about this meeting, expressed concern over increased crashes and other deleterious changes with the higher speed limit.
The Town agreed to reinstate the 35 mph limit if adverse effects occur.
The Town also brought up with NCDOT the possibility of eliminating all passing zones on N.C. 12 in Southern Shores, Mr. Ogburn said, but the government agency did not support this change, saying it needed to do further evaluation.
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A NOTE TO BEACON READERS: We will do our best in the next two weeks to catch up with Town news, after being “out of pocket” since late April.
Also at the Council’s May 5 meeting, Mr. Ogburn presented a recommended fiscal year 2026-27 budget of $12,981,790, and the Town Council tabled a Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA 2026-01) that would have reduced residential side- and back-yard setbacks by five feet for pool equipment and sheds, HVACs, and accessory structures.
The public hearing on the proposed FY 2026-27 budget will be held at the Council’s June 2 meeting at 10 a.m.
You may access the proposed budget here: https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/media/13736.
Next year’s budget does not include a property tax increase for the Town’s general fund or for the beach nourishment municipal service districts.
The Southern Shores Planning Board will take up at its May 18 meeting two newly drafted Zoning Text Amendments that relate to the setback changes proposed in ZTA 2026-01. We will try to preview them for you before Monday.
The Planning Board also will discuss a proposed ZTA that amends the Town’s lot recombination requirements in Town Code sec. 36-132 by establishing an exclusion for development “when there is no proposed increase in the footprint of an existing structure.”
It is a shame that this logical exception was not present in the ordinance from the beginning. It would have saved some homeowners the hefty costs of a recombination, which includes the price of a land survey.
The Planning Board meets at 5 p.m. Monday in the Pitts Center. To access the Board’s agenda and the three ZTAs, go to:
THE SOUTHERN SHORES BEACON, MAY 14, 2026
The Southern Shores Beacon 