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CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN Town of Atlantic , North Carolina Final Report | June, 2019 CONTENTS

01 Project Vision + Goals 02 Study Area 03 Existing Conditions 04 Visual Analysis 05 Charrette 06 Final Recommendations 07 Opinion of Probable Cost

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN 01| PROJECT VISION + GOALS

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN PROJECT VISION + GOALS

• Maintain or increase the # of spaces for businesses • Manage speed and flow along • Improve ped/bike/golf cart flow along the Causeway • Improve relationship between Causeway buildings and the • Identify opportunities for • Improve for businesses through wayfinding

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN 02| STUDY AREA

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN ATLANTIC BEACH - MOREHEAD

The study area is defined as the 0.7 corridor of the Atlantic Beach Causeway between the Morehead City Bridge and Fort Macon . The Causeway is a gateway for the Town, and it is the first thing visitors see when driving over the bridge. ATLANTIC BEACH - MOREHEAD CITY BRIDGE

SEGMENT 2

SEGMENT 1: Morehead City Bridge to Old Causeway Road SEGMENT 2: Old Causeway Road to Fort Macon Road

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN 03| EXISTING CONDITIONS

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN ATLANTIC BEACH - MOREHEAD CITY BRIDGE

LAND USE ANALYSIS

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN ATLANTIC BEACH - MOREHEAD CITY BRIDGE EASTBOUND: 8,600 AADT

SEGMENT 2: 17,000 AADT

WESTBOUND: 14,000 AADT

TRAFFIC VOLUMES SEGMENT 1: Morehead City Bridge to Old Causeway Road SEGMENT 2: Old Causeway Road to Fort Macon Road

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN ATLANTIC BEACH - MOREHEAD CITY BRIDGE

CRASH DATA

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN ATLANTIC BEACH - MOREHEAD CITY BRIDGE

SEGMENT 1: Morehead City Bridge to Old Causeway Road

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN SEGMENT 1: Morehead City Bridge to Old Causeway Road EXISTING CONDITIONS CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN SEGMENT 1

OBSERVATIONS: • 5- road with shoulders (65’ width) • Narrow on both sides (4-5’) • Narrow sidewalk buffer, lacks vertical separation • Center turn lane continues throughout entire segment • High speed, high traffic • Excessive driveways/ cuts • Lacks crossings

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN ATLANTIC BEACH - MOREHEAD CITY BRIDGE

SEGMENT 2

SEGMENT 2: Old Causeway Road to Fort Macon Road

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN SEGMENT 2: Old Causeway Road to Fort Macon Road EXISTING CONDITIONS CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN SEGMENT 2

OBSERVATIONS: • 6-lane road (70’ pavement width) • Narrow sidewalk on both sides (4-5’) • Narrow sidewalk buffer that goes away as the segment approaches Fort Macon Road • Center turn lane continues throughout entire segment • Right-of-way shifts from 200’ to 100’ after El Zarape • Lacks pedestrian crossings • Medium-high speed, high traffic

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN existing parking lot connectivity

CIRCULATION additional access points

OBSERVATIONS: • Most parking lots are informally connected through or pavement • visiting businesses often travel low-speed through connecting parking lots to reach their destination • The majority of parking lots have 2-5 driveways connecting to the Causeway

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN 04| VISUAL ANALYSIS

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN POLES + WIRES

• The number of poles and wires creates visual clutter throughout the corridor • Distracts from business frontages and coastal scenery, especially when driving over the bridge

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN SIGNAGE

Text is small, and difficult to read when driving past

A-frame sign blocks narrow pedestrian corridor Every business uses a different design for their temporary signage, the lack of design continuity feels cluttered and distracting CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN LANDSCAPING

• Landscaping is sparse and offers little to no shade • Many stretches of planting areas without any landscaping

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN SURFACE TREATMENTS Issues

Cars parking on Poles sitting gravel, grass, + in the middle pavement; lacks clear of lots; cars pavement markings have to maneuver around them

Indistinct circulation Lacks clean edges patterns between different surface types; pavement is in disrepair CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN EXCESSIVE CURB CUTS

5 4 3 2

• At this location, there are 5 bi-directional driveways serving a single parking lot • Excessive curb cuts segment the pedestrian realm and enhance the auto-centric feel of the corridor 1 • There is an opportunity to consolidate driveways where feasible to make circulation more intuitive and predictable for drivers, and to create more parking

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN 05| CHARRETTE

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN APRIL 4-5, 2019 • Steering Committee/Kickoff Meeting – Met with town officials and local business owners to discuss opportunities and constraints along the Causeway – Site tour along the Causeway with the steering committee to gather more information, including a visual analysis – Meeting allowed consultant team and steering committee to develop a shared vision for the corridor • Work Session – Open to the public – Consultant team developed solutions on-site with input from local residents and business owners • Draft Vision Presentation – Open to the public – Presented preliminary ideas for the Causeway and gathered feedback from residents and business owners (Above) The steering committee takes a tour of the corridor on April 4, 2019. CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN 06| FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN ATLANTIC BEACH - MOREHEAD CITY BRIDGE

SHOPPING CENTER

Morehead City Bridge to Moonlight Drive Moonlight Drive to Exxon Gas Station Exxon Gas Station to Fort Macon Road OVERALL PLAN

ATLANTIC BEACH CAUSEWAY

1. Parking lots connect to create a slow-speed 5. Crossing improvements with median refuge with on- parking (shared 6. 12-foot meandering multi-use path for bikes, are bike + golf cart-friendly) , + golf carts when the frontage road 2. Sidewalk shifts back from the Causeway (widens ends buffer + creates space for landscaping + shade trees) 7. Wayfinding signage replaces temporary signs and 3. Driveways consolidated where feasible to formalize directs visitors to public parking, boat access points, entrances + exits restaurants + shops 4. Artistic crosswalks and plaza opportunities to enhance pedestrian safety and boost placemaking CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN Morehead City Bridge to RECOMMENDATIONS: Moonlight Drive

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN THE CAUSEWAY AT MOONLIGHT DRIVE EXISTING CONDITIONS

• Gravel, grass, + broken pavement all blend together • Parking spaces are informal and unstriped • Utility poles sit in the middle of the lot • No connection (pedestrian facility or visually) to existing storefronts • Sidewalk lacks a significant buffer from the road • No shade or pedestrian amenities

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN THE CAUSEWAY AT MOONLIGHT DRIVE PROPOSED

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN THE CAUSEWAY AT MOONLIGHT DRIVE PROPOSED

• improvements: artistic to highlight town’s local flavor/enhance placemaking; prioritizes pedestrian movement/increases visibility of pedestrians • Pedestrian improvements: • faces storefronts (rather than the street) • Low-growing flowering vegetation + shade trees increase buffer space between sidewalk + road (doubles as garden) • Pedestrian-scale lighting and branded wayfinding improves experience • Circulation improvements: • Bump-outs protect poles from and act as traffic-calming tool • Clear pavement markings and striped spaces are more intuitive for drivers, golf carts + bicyclists CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN Moonlight Drive to Exxon RECOMMENDATIONS: Gas Station

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN Exxon Gas Station to Fort RECOMMENDATIONS: Macon Road

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN PLAN VISION REVIEW

• Maintain or increase the # of parking spaces for Causeway businesses • Manage traffic speed and flow along the Causeway – Unnecessary/excessive driveways consolidated where feasible – Center medians with dedicated left turns – Striped parking spaces and continuous surface treatments – Shade trees in medians + planting strips and proposed bump-outs aid in traffic-calming • Improve ped/bike/golf cart flow along the Causeway – Continuous network of multi-use paths, , and shared-lanes along the Causeway • Improve relationship between Causeway buildings and the streets – Sidewalk and crossing improvements that safely bring people closer to building frontages – Furnishings and other amenities that face building frontages and visually connect the corridor with repetition of elements • Identify opportunities for landscaping – Existing landscape areas widened along the Causeway and enhanced with low- maintenance perennials and shade trees • Improve visibility for Causeway businesses through wayfinding

CAUSEWAY CORRIDOR | CONCEPTUAL MASTER PLAN