THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 3, 1994 TAG: 9409030453
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COROLLA LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Thomas Hudak was driving along the beach toward his Swan Beach cottage when he came upon a pickup blocking the shoreline. So he steered his vehicle around the truck.
``Next thing I knew, I was pulled over by a sheriff's deputy,'' the New Jersey school administrator said.
Hudack was told he'd driven around the parked truck a little too closely and a little too fast, thus violating Currituck County's little understood Vehicular and Barrier Strand Ordinance.
This holiday weekend Hudack and 250 other members of the Fruitville Beach Civic Association hope to prevent people from unwittingly breaking the law. They're distributing fliers that explain the county's off-road rules.
``The goal of our program is to heighten the awareness that people on the beach need to protect the rights of others,'' Hudack, the association president, said Thursday.
The leaflets describe the beach ordinance in simple terms and are available at area businesses, real estate companies, government agencies and tourist spots.
Before the fliers, most motorists learned of beach driving rules only by reading a rather lengthy sign north of Corolla, where the pavement in a private subdivision ends.
An informal survey one July weekday near Swan Beach revealed that few tourists who were parked too close to the shoreline had read the entire sign.
Even fewer said they understood it.
The Currituck County Board of Commissioners plans to distribute a similar flier to improve beach driving conditions.
``If it isn't on the street now, it'll be on the streets in the near future,'' County Manager Bill Richardson said Friday.
Beach traffic has picked up, residents say, since more people have discovered what some locals refer to as the barrier islands' last frontier.
Once accustomed to isolated sand strips, Swan Beach and Carova motorists now daily dodge sunbathers, fishing lines, coolers and cars during summer weekends.
``With all the growth that's occurring in Corolla, the last 11 miles of beach frontier are literally being overrun,'' Hudack said.
``Once you leave the paved road and hit the beach, anything goes.''
Hudack said his association also is concerned about trash left behind because there are no receptacles or restrooms in the area.
``The beach is sensitive as it is,'' he said. ``We're concerned that the excessive beach traffic is detrimental to the environment.''
Hudack also believes more deputies are needed to patrol the beach and consistently enforce the rules.
An Outer Banks property owner since the early 1970s, Hudack said the Fruitville association's campaign will continue until it achieves its ultimate goal - a county permit system.
About 50 seasonal and full-time residents have signed a petition asking Currituck to issue permits for its northern beaches, Hudack said.
The group suggests all Currituck County residents receive an annual windshield sticker when they pay their property taxes. Daily passes would be available to day trippers at the county satellite office in Corolla.
It's the best way, proponents say, to return to a more rustic setting.
``There used to be a time when you'd go out there and see nothing but footprints,'' Hudack said. ``Now you've got enough tire tracks for a six-lane highway.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Beach Driving and Safety Facts
Source: Fruitville Beach Civic Association Inc.
For copy of graphic, see microfilm.
by CNB