(Orientation: Left is west. Right is east: Showing downtown Kure Beach, fishing pier, and new planned oceanfront park.) The study was conducted by the NC State University School of Design in an effort to make recommendations to the Town Council regarding future improvements in the downtown business district and other areas. Some recommendations call for facilitating golf cart use, bike lanes, wider sidewalks, a parking garage, time limited parking and more. The plan was presented to the Town Council on October 30, during a workshop. Click here to enlarge image...

By WILLARD KILLOUGH III
Managing Editor

KURE BEACH - Kure Beach North Carolina is a charming town located on the southern peninsula of coastal New Hanover County on Pleasure Island near the dead end of U.S. Highway 421.
It’s a small Atlantic coast town of around 1,800 residents with a mix of old nostalgic residences and business structures amid many new, post 1990’s hurricane replacement homes.
The mainstay of the Town is of course the beach and ocean, but the most noticeable is the Kure Beach Fishing Pier and the small number of commercial retail and eating establishments located immediately around it.
Earlier this year the Kure Beach Town Council agreed to contract with the NC State University School of Design to conduct a study.
In the opening of the finished product it states, “The goal of this project was to understand the issues and explore design solutions for the future development of Kure Beach’s downtown core. Our process was to: 1. Study the existing conditions, regulations, community input, and professional recommendations. 2. Program the focus area (for example regarding commercial, recreational, and residential uses). 3. Prepare master planning studies with visual representations of design concepts. 4. Present design explorations to committee of city representatives.”
The design process began with a site visit and research. Learning about local / regional issues and culture was useful to the design team.
Existing conditions and municipal regulations informed the design exploration.
According to the study, “Our analysis suggests Kure Beach is unique because of the potential to create strong public spaces. Existing assets include: beach boardwalk, public park (under development), wide avenues, including K Avenue, which gives access to the beach and the historic pier (privately owned), magnificent beach with many public access points.”
Councilman Jim Vatrt said the October 30, presentation would lead to future discussions in workshop settings and, “Eventually the Council will have to come together and talk about the ideas we see here today and is anything applicable to the Town of Kure Beach.”
He said the students and faculty were asked, “To give us a what if, not a how. They are looking at a blank canvass. You are looking at some creative ideas. Some very doable. Some for futuristic use. Some may not ever be used. So you have to look at this presentation and think about what elements are intriguing and how could they be used at some point in time within the development of Kure Beach either short term or long term.”
Vatrt said the idea to contract with the School of Design was born out of the Town’s Economic Development Committee to look at ways to improve the downtown area and overall economy of the Town.
According to the study, “The five categories of design recommendations-Circulation and Parking, Beach Access, Kure Beach Plaza, Other Street Types, and Branding- will work collectively to make Kure Beach an attractive and inspiring community. The overall goals are to: Improve the public spaces to create a efficient access to parking. Enhance convenience and public accessibility to the beach and ocean. Promote the development of an identifiable downtown center filled with pedestrian-friendly, economically-viable activity. Improve the quality of the physical environment in public spaces to create a high level expectation for the quality of downtown development.”
Some of the recommendations contained in the plan (Available at Town Hall or online at www.townofkurebeach.org) include studying and developing parking areas on all streets in the downtown area.
Another item calls for establishing parking meters and time-limited parking spaces based on the location and demand for parking in those areas.
The study also recommends exploring construction of a parking garage near Town Hall on Settlers Lane off K. Avenue and to develop small, time limited loading and unloading zones at the intersections of Fort Fisher Blvd and all public beach access streets.
Beach access recommendations call for covered areas along the boardwalk that can be used by people looking for some shade, or to host vendors selling goods to the public.
The study states, “A cart system can be one way to facilitate the movement of people from parking areas to activity points, beach, and commercial areas. Golf carts offer a clean, quiet alternative to automobile congestion. The modest scale of a golf cart system seems appropriate to Kure Beach’s quaint atmosphere” and that providing, “transportation by a golf cart system to and from distributed parking areas, the commercial center, and the beach access areas” would improve the area.
The study recommended exploring bike rentals and a system of paths to connect the community to the downtown area.
Another recommendation calls for a “Kure Beach Plaza” where the eastern end of K. Avenue can be designed to facilitate a plaza type area to host festivals, street markets and concerts. When not in use, it would be used for traffic and parking.
A drawing in the study shows a redesigned K. Avenue near the pier where sidewalks are widened under overhang “Arcades” with additional trees. Such a design would however reduce the number of parking spaces in that portion of K. Avenue.