Initiated and funded by the Wilmington Metro--politan Plan-ning Organ-ization, the Wright-sville Beach Comprehensive Transportation Plan will address the wants and needs of the Wrightsville Beach community for all modes of transportation. After the plan’s kickoff meeting in June, the steering committee — consisting of representatives from WMPO, the Town of Wrightsville Beach and the North Carolina Department of Transportation — held a series of meetings to discuss how to provide Wrightsville Beach with a tool to achieve its own goals in cohesive transportation around the island.
On Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m., the committee will hold a public mapping session in the conference room of Town Hall to poll members of the public about what transportation improvements they would like to see for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. Wrightsville Beach Parks and Recreation Program Supervisor, Katie Ryan, said the format of the meeting would consist of a presentation and maps of Wrightsville Beach spread out without any new improvements suggested by the committee. The public will have the chance to mark on and make comments about the areas represented on each map. Ryan said the committee will also have some of its conceptual designs at the meeting to give the public an idea about what the committee has discussed thus far.
“A lot of it is repeat information that has come up, particularly with bicycle and pedestrian,” Ryan said. “Right now we only have one bicycle plan for the town of Wrightsville Beach that has been adopted and that is the Pelican Drive and Salisbury Street Bicycle Plan. This will take in all modes of transportation and look at the bigger problem areas in the town, because those are the ones that seem to come up with the public input.”
Although Ryan said many of the comments from the public would be things already discussed in previous plans, it would be beneficial to have those comments reiterated for possible funding sources.
“Funding is always the biggest issue, but without a plan you can’t make a point for the funding,” she said. “Hopefully all the plans all voice the same thing so you have a lot of reinforcement.”
Earlier that same day, the committee’s planners will hold one-on-one stakeholder interviews with members of the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen and various members of the town’s other boards. Ryan said the final plan would be significantly influenced by the responses and comments the committee receives from the public and that she is hoping for a large turnout for the mapping session.
