Mike Thompson was driving along South 16th Street in Wilmington on Oct. 6 when he was surprised to encounter a low concrete barrier in what appeared to be the right travel lane.
“I had to make an immediate change to the lane in order not to hit that thing,” said Thompson, a Wilmington native who has driven the road hundreds of times.
The barriers are part of a North Carolina Department of Transportation project intended to improve pedestrian safety along the corridor. The project includes curb bump-outs, revised striping and other changes near the intersections of 16th and 17th streets with Castle and Queen streets.
Some drivers say the curb extensions are difficult to see and create a hazard for motorists.
“There’s no sign, there’s no yellow markings,
there’s no warning at all, except there are these concrete barriers in that right outside travel lane,” Thompson said.
“They’re not that tall,” he added. “They’re just a few inches high. They’re sort of concealed almost.”
Others have voiced similar concerns on social media.
Linda Nork Chorba of Leland, who works in Wilmington, said she was driving home from a restaurant one night while heading toward the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge when she almost struck one of the curb bump-outs.
“Luckily there was no one on my left because I had to swerve to avoid the concrete barrier,” she wrote in a Facebook message. “Had there been someone there I would have hit it.”
The safety concerns raised by some drivers stem from work designed to improve pedestrian safety.
Several safety projects are underway or planned in the area, according to Aaron Moody, the Department of Transportation’s assistant director of communications.
The department’s traffic services unit is administering a project that includes construction of curb bump-outs, new striping to delineate on-street parking and signal revisions near 16th and 17th streets at Castle and Queen streets, Moody said in an email.
“The bump-outs are curb extensions that improve sightlines between pedestrians and vehicles and reduce the crossing distance for pedestrians at the intersections, improving safety,” he said.
What some motorists viewed as a third travel lane is intended to be designated for on-street parking.
Moody said crews would be on site Oct. 22 to apply pavement markings that will clarify the on-street parking and extend the two-lane section between Castle and Queen streets to match the existing traffic pattern north of Castle Street.
The corridor has experienced numerous crashes in recent years. Eighty-five collisions within 151 feet of the intersection of South 16th and Queen streets have been recorded since 2021 by the Wilmington Police Department, according to Brandon Shope, the department’s communications specialist.
Thompson said he remains concerned that the curb bump-outs could create problems for ambulances traveling to Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center or for drivers unfamiliar with the area.
“You’re not familiar with the area,” he said, “and … the next thing you know, you might not even ever see it, you’re presented with this curve right in the middle of a travel lane.”
Bob Liepa is the city of Wilmington and public safety reporter for the StarNews. You can reach him at RLiepa@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Curb extensions on Wilmington road drawing ire of drivers
