Outer Banks News Round-Up
By Kip Tabb
Outer Banks Bike Week on tap all week long.
Here it is the end of the week and a lot of news and events have come our way over the past week. Some of it’s good, some of it’s not so good and a lot of it is what is best about the Outer Banks.
First the good news–or at least mostly good news.
According By Eric Mennel in his report Have We Been Overestimating Flood Risk On The Outer Banks? for WUNC, the latest mapping of the Outer Banks–in this case specifically Dare County–indicates that for more than 20,000 property owners, that will either no longer be required to carry flood insurance or will move to a lower risk category.
The latest mapping technique uses a Lidar system, which is much, much (much) more accurate than any system used in the past shows that much of the business district along the Bypass, as an example is not at risk for flooding.
The new maps are being created by the NC Department of Public Safety but have not been completed. They are available for viewing are available for viewing however, on their website. Specific information about rezoning areas has not yet been generated.
It’s not all good news, though. Areas south, especially on Hatteras Island, may see additional risk of flooding assessed.
Now the not so good news.
It looks as though the Mid Currituck Bridge project will not be moving forward.
A new statewide ranking system for highway projects places the long envisioned relief for summertime traffic number 178 on a list of priorities. This is a first pass at ranking projects and public input will be solicited before the rankings are finalized next year.
The ranking system seems somewhat skewed toward major urban areas. As an example, population density is given a weighted value but there is no mention of hurricane evacuation in the ranking criteria.
And the fun stuff?
It’s the 12th Annual Outer Banks Bike Week. A bit rainy and cool tomorrow, but after that every forecast we can find shows sunshine and great daytime temps for the rest of the week.
