Ocracoke's Ferry Tolls Meeting Will Be Wednesday, Feb. 12th
Please plan to attend the ferry toll meeting, which will be held in the Ocracoke School gym.
The following is excerpted from a press release from NCDOT:
The new, revised schedule (as of Feb. 4th) is:
Tuesday, February 4, 2014, 7-9 p.m., Knotts Island Elementary School
Wednesday, February 5, 2014, 7-9 p.m., Beaufort County Community College, Washington, NC 27889
Thursday, February 6, 2014, 7-9 p.m., Pamlico Community College - Delamar Center, Grantsboro, NC 28529
Tuesday, February 11, 2014 7-9 p.m., Crystal Coast Civic Center, Morehead City, NC 28557
Wednesday, February 12, 2014 7-9 p.m, Ocracoke School, Ocracoke, NC 27960
Thursday, February 13, 2014 7-9 p.m., Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, Hatteras, NC 27943
Tuesday, February 18, 2014 7-9 p.m., Southport City Hall, Southport, NC 28461
At each of the hearings, a formal presentation will start the meeting. Following the presentation, the meeting will be open for statements, questions, and comments. Anyone wishing to speak should register to do so at the sign-in table prior to the presentation. Please arrive about 30 minutes early to allow time to sign in. Those who cannot attend one of the meetings may submit written comments to jarobbins@ncdot.gov any time before the end of businessFebruary 28..Written comments carry equal weight to verbal comments at the meetings.
In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly mandated that new ferry acquisitions be funded through Strategic Transportation Initiative funding or by revenue-raising initiatives such as tolling, advertising, and concessions. The General Assembly also mandated that all tolling increases be requested by the regional Rural Planning Organizations (RPOs) or Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) before being approved by the Board of Transportation.
In its December meeting, the Board of Transportation approved a tolling methodology which tolls routes by distance travelled and raises approximately five million dollars a year for ferry replacement. This methodology includes the establishment of tolls on the Hatteras-Ocracoke, Currituck-Knotts Island, Bayview-Aurora, and Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach routes, as well as increases in tolls on the Southport-Fort Fisher, Cedar Island-Ocracoke, and Swan Quarter-Ocracoke routes. The proposed rate changes can be found on NCDOT's Ferry website.
All money collected will go only toward new ferry vessels. After the public hearings, the RPOs/MPOs will decide whether to accept the toll changes
For more information about the upcoming meetings, please contact Jamille Robbins, NCDOT - Human Environment Unit at (919) 707-6085 or jarobbins@ncdot.gov.
NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who want to participate in these hearings. Anyone requiring special services should contact Jamille Robbins as soon as possible in order for arrangements to be made.
