The speed limit near the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center was changed this week from 55 mph to 45 mph due to a seasonal increase in pedestrian and visitor traffic in the immediate area.
“Concerns were raised due to several close calls in the crosswalk,” said Tim Hass, Communications Officer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, in an email to the Island Free Press. “Lowering the speed was the best solution for that area.”
The new 45 mph seasonal speed zone on N.C. Highway 12 is only for the area next to the Pea Island Visitor Center, and the speed limit will return to 55 mph in the fall.
Additional and seasonal speed limit reductions went into effect on May 15 in Hatteras Island’s villages and along certain sections of N.C. Highway 12, (like between Avon and Buxton and between Frisco and Hatteras), where summertime traffic is high.
