North Carolina Kiting Endangered
Tue 30th Aug, 2016 @ 3:00 am
Residents of and visitors to the Outer Banks in Noth Carolina are fighting to protect one of the most important kiteboarding zones in the area. North Carolina Department of Transportation has presented a proposal to build a bridge through the Pamlico Sound. The proposed bridge would cut through popular flatwater kiteboarding spots. Save Our Sound OBX reports the news on the situation, below.
North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound, located in the Outer Banks, is world renowned for kiteboarding. While nearly anywhere along the sound is a great spot to ride, the small town of Rodanthe, centered on NC12 at milepost 39, is special. And, it’s endangered.
The wind in Rodanthe is clean and unobstructed. The water is shallow and the sound bottom is sandy. Rodanthe is especially perfect for kiting S to NNE winds. For all other directions, one simply has to walk across the street to the Atlantic Ocean, a distance of less than a couple hundred yards, beach to beach. Professional kiteboarding organizations have trained thousands of riders in this special area due to its flat water conditions and reliability as a wind machine.
Rodanthe rental homes cater to kiters with amenities such as large grassy rigging areas, private beaches, and hot tubs within yards of personalized launch areas. With very few, if any, public sound access points, Rodanthe has not only a “locals only” feel but has essentially become a more mature and upscale kiting community.
Recently, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) settled a long-running legal action brought by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) with a promise to promote the building of a $200 million dollar bridge over this epic kiteboarding location. The bridge would replace access to Hatteras Island via NC12 over Pea Island where there is a long-standing Natural Wildlife Refuge. The SELC wants to eliminate human activity on Pea Island where humans have existed since the Pre- Columbian era. The proposed bridge will not only destroy one of the world’s best kiteboarding areas, it is unnecessary. Alternative options at less cost will provide the same if not more reliable access than the proposed sound bridge.
Destroying such a unique kiteboarding spot, and spending so much, in light of the $3.6 trillion dollars desperately needed to repair all of America’s roadways by 2020, makes this lazy move by NCDOT shameful. A non-profit organization has been created to fight this action by NCDOT. Your help is important. Whether you are a taxpayer angered by this irrational spending, or a kiteboarder wanting to save this classic spot, your opinion counts.
To get involved, email: saveoursoundobx@gmail.com or find us on Facebook.
Please, act quickly.
This article brought to you by Save Our Sound OBX
