NAGS HEAD, N.C. — The only sounds that can be heard at the Soundside Event Site in south Nags Head on Friday are the current boardwalk construction and the bypass traffic. But throughout the year, there are events here that bring in hundreds to thousands of people each time.
A challenge over the years has been that most people have to cross the busy bypass to get to the events. That will all change in the coming years with the installation of a four-way stoplight and a crosswalk.
"For us here at the police department it's almost like a dream come true," said Perry Hale, Nags Head police chief.
For many of the large-scale events at the site, law enforcement agencies like the Nags Head Police Department are tasked with helping people safely cross the road.
"We have to set up a makeshift crosswalk right there at the entrance to the event site that includes four officers, a lot of cones that we set up," said Hale.
On a highway that has a 50 mph speed limit and constant traffic in the summer and off-season, Hale knows it can be dangerous.
"We always say that this is not the safest way. We've been very fortunate, we have not had any incidents, but the officers out there working it would get hit before anybody else. Motor and traffic, they see lights, they see things going on, human nature is you're going to look and it only takes that split second for your eyes to come off and something tragic to happen," said Hale.
That's why Chief Hale and his department are so happy that in the coming years a stoplight and crosswalk will be installed here.
"I know it'll probably still be a year or so out, just to get everything lined and engineered to get it there, but we know it's coming. So, we're pretty ecstatic here at the police department, because that's going to affect our operations a lot with all the events that go on," said Hale.
The Tourism Board and the Town of Nags Head will be footing the bill for the $350,000 project, with the board covering up to $230,000 and the town covering the rest. It's not immediately clear when it will be installed, but North Carolina Department of Transportation officials say it won't be there for this upcoming summer season. Either way, all involved are looking forward to adding another safety aspect to a booming event location.
The Town of Nags Head will also be paying for a sidewalk to be constructed on the north side of E. Grouse Street, which will be the street the stoplight and crosswalk will line up with for event-goers to walk across.
