NAGS HEAD, NC. — West Lakeside Street has been home to dozens of generations of Outer Banks locals for decades. In the fall of 2022, the Nags Head Board of Commissioners approved a request to bring a hotel to the area and a year later in 2023 approved the site plan for what is expected to be known as the "Inn at Whalebone."
"It was a permitted use, it wasn't a special use or conditional use that some people might be familiar with. It was permitted by right, so that's when the process started," said Kelly Wyatt, the planning director for the Town of Nags Head.
For the people that live in the W. Lakeside Street neighborhood, their immediate thought was how their small street with no outlet, was going to handle the traffic that a hotel brings with it.
“It’s an awkward entrance and exit and there’s vehicles coming from every direction in and out. It’s very busy, the gas station has probably one of the highest volumes on the beach and it constantly has cars and delivery trucks and people coming and going all day long," said Amy Klauser, who has lived in the neighborhood for 25 years.
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The site plan has continued to move forward with a primary focus on widening the entrance to W. Lakeside Street to go from two lanes to three. An amendment made to the plan at the board's July meeting decided this will only impact up to just past where the Shell Gas Station entrance is and where the hotel entrance will be. The board and developer also amended the amount of rooms and parking spaces.
“The original request was 90 rooms and 93 parking spaces. With this most recent iteration, it is now an 87 room hotel, with 90 parking spaces being provided," said Wyatt.
Despite these amendments, the worry continues to be the intersection of the street and Highway 158. A traffic study was previously done, but was not during the prime summer vacationing months. The developer and board agreed at the recent meeting that a second study needed to happen, which will start this week.
“That's going to be key because we're going to have those summer traffic numbers with this updated traffic impact analysis being done currently. So, the anticipation is that we'll have the new TIA ready, hopefully by the end of August. And at that point, we can go from there," said Wyatt.
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Many residents would like to see a stoplight put in at the intersection, hoping it can happen before the hotel becomes open for business.
"It is a safety issue. But it's not just a safety issue on the highway, it's a safety issue for our community," said Nancy Drumheller, who has owned a home in the neighborhood since 1999.
But that decision actually lies in the hands of the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Below NCDOT listed the warrants they follow for making a decision and if a traffic light is deemed necessary, NCDOT also needs to secure funding for it.
- Eight-hour vehicular volume – entering traffic vs through traffic
- Four-hour vehicular volume – entering traffic vs through traffic
- Peak hour vehicular volume– entering traffic vs through traffic
- Pedestrian volume – pedestrian volume vs conflicting traffic
- School crossing – where school children cross major street after other risk mitigation measures have been tried
- Coordinated signal system – when installation of signal will improve flow through corridor
- Crash history – number and severity of crashes in 12-month period after other measures have been tried
- Roadway network – to encourage concentration and organization of traffic flow on roadway network
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The residents on W. Lakeside Street understand that a stoplight might not happen, but they will continue to advocate for one if it is not approved this time.
"I can foresee that happening and then we would just have to keep pushing forward with, when the hotel gets here, keep pushing for a traffic light," said Molly Harrison, a resident and member of the Nags Head Planning Board.
The traffic study is expected to be completed by the end of August. Until then, residents will continue to hope the NCDOT sees the dangers that they see using this intersection every day.
