By By BETTY MITCHELL GRAY
Staff Writer
A proposed rest area on U.S. Highway 17 south of Chocowinity has drawn concern from residents who live near the proposed site, county leaders and some area law-enforcement officers who fear it will attract drug dealers, prostitution and be a source of unsightly litter.
On Monday, a N.C. Department of Transportation officials said that many of the fears associated with the proposed rest area are unfounded. The official said he hopes to dispel misinformation about the proposal at an upcoming meeting with the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners.
Charles and Cindy Haddock, whose Beaufort County home sits about 30 feet from the proposed site of the rest area, said they not only fear the traffic noise, light pollution and the loss of privacy the rest stop will bring, they are also concerned about the effects the rest area could have on the value of their home.
“The rest stop will definitely devalue our house,” said Cindy Haddock.
“As much as 50 percent or more,” said Charles Haddock. “But I don’t see where we have any choice.”
Meanwhile, the head of the DOT’s rest-area section said reports have misrepresented the project and fears about it are unfounded.
“We don’t have any unmanned rest areas,” said Jimmy Parrish, rest-area section supervisor with DOT. “And we do have very good relationships with the state Highway Patrol, local law-enforcement agencies and the Division of Motor Vehicles, which patrol these areas regularly.”
DOT’s proposal calls for a rest area to be built on about 16 acres on the east side of U.S. 17 just north of its intersection with Harding Road, about one mile south of Chocowinity and just south of the junction of U.S. Highway 17 Business and the newly built bypass. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2011.
When the Chocowinity rest area is completed, DOT will close an existing rest area, built in 1952, on U.S. 17 in Craven County, he said.
“The place is going to be like a park,” Parrish said. “It will be a much nicer site than the existing Craven County rest area.”
The chosen site is the only one that will allow the rest area to serve northbound and southbound traffic on U.S. 17 without requiring two rest areas or major changes to the proposed U.S. 17 widening project, according to DOT.
Original plans for the rest area called for a Washington and Beaufort County visitors center to be built as part of the project, but a lack of funding has stalled construction of the visitors center. Current plans for the rest area are being designed to allow for construction of a visitors center in the future if funding becomes available, Parrish said.
The rest area will be manned by a custodian at hours that largely will be determined by its use, he said.
The Beaufort County Board of Commissioners is concerned about crime and is on record as opposing the rest area if it is not manned.
“There were concerns about the rest stop being unmanned,” said Commissioner Al Klemm in an interview. “We just though it wouldn’t be safe, and I still agree with that assessment.”
But the board may find itself on the horns of a dilemma because the county owns much of the property that DOT would like to use for the rest stop. A portion of the property also is owned by the Haddocks, whose Harding Road home would abut the rest-stop parking lot.
If county leaders refuse to negotiate with DOT, the agency could condemn the property under a provision known as “imminent domain” — which allows the government to take property if its later use is for the greater good of the public — and, therefore, reimburse the county at a lower rate than if the county, as a willing seller, negotiated with DOT.
The commissioners are scheduled to meet with DOT project engineers and rest-area planners in June to discuss details of the project.
Parrish said he is “anxious” to meet with the commissioners, explain the project and dispel any misinformation about it.
Currently, there are 61 rest areas in North Carolina
Three rest areas are located along U.S. 17 — the Craven County rest area and combined rest areas and visitor centers in Brunswick County near Shalotte and in Camden County along the Great Dismal Swamp Canal.
North Carolina’s rest areas give travelers the opportunity for short breaks and convenient access to public restrooms, drinking water, pay telephones and picnic areas. Custodians staff rest areas from eight to 16 hours each day and 24-hours-a-day on interstate highways with welcome centers. Many rest areas also have vending machines, according to DOT.
Safety at public rest areas is a perennial concern.
One publication on rest-area safety reported that theft of items from vehicles and solicitation as two of the most-troubling threats to safety at public rest stops. Cited as contributing to these problems were inadequate lighting in rest areas and landscaping and other designs that restrict visibility. The publication also cited vagrancy as another concern about rest stops.
Local law-enforcement agencies are worried about the possibility of increased crime that could accompany the new rest area.
“We have concerns about what impact it would have on that community and the homes nearby,” said Capt. Kenneth L. Watson with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Watson said the department would have to devote additional manpower and time to deter crime at the rest area following its construction. As the project moves forward, the sheriff’s office will consult with other law-enforcement agencies in counties with rest areas to develop a strategy for reducing crime at the new rest area.
Police in Chocowinity also are concerned about the effects of a rest area on crime in that community.