Pedestrian Safety

In September 2025, the Oak Island Town Council formed the Blue Ribbon Summit on Pedestrian Safety, with a stated mission to "identify, review, and propose infrastructure and policy enhancements for pedestrian safety throughout Town."

The committee was comprised of Town staff, elected officials, and residents living in various strategic locations throughout Town, along with safety experts from local law enforcement and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.  

CURRENT PROGRESS

After holding several meetings throughout the Fall and Winter of 2025 / 2026, the Committee presented its recommendations to the Oak Island Town Council on February 10, 2026.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATION(PDF, 1MB)

FUTURE UPDATES

To view the latest updates from the Committee, as well as planned actions being taken by the Town Council, visit the Town Projects page at OakIslandNC.gov/PROJECTS or click the link below.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

In March 2026, the Town completed Phase I of the Commercial Area Sidewalk Improvement Project. The goal of this program is to add new sidewalks and lighted pedestrian crosswalks throughout the heavier traffic of the Business District. 

Phase I officially came to an end with the successful inspection and opening of a NEW NCDOT approved pedestrian crosswalk across E Oak Island Dr. at NE 51st St. This new lighted crosswalk joins the more than 1,700 linear feet of NEW sidewalk added added in Phase I to the north side of E Oak Island Drive between NE 46th St. and NE 56th St.

Looking ahead, the Town anticipates to finalize the details for Phase II in late June of 2026, which will further extend the sidewalk from NE 56th St. to NE 59th St., and add an additional crosswalk at 58th St.

A later Phase III is anticipated at some point, which will add a new traffic signal with crosswalk at 79th St., though a timeframe on this phase is not current available.

To learn more about the Commercial Area Sidewalk Improvement Project as a whole, or any of the other improvement projects underway, visit the Town Projects page at OakIslandNC.gov/PROJECTS or click the link below.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

In addition to the Pedestrian Crosswalks installed on E Oak Island Drive as part of the Commercial Corridor Improvement Program, since 2024 the Town has also worked to add a total of nine (9) NEW pedestrian crosswalks with crossing signals, which have been installed in the beach areas along Ocean Drive and Beach Drive at:

• 9th Pl East
• SE 40th St
• SE 46th St
• SE 49th St
• 19th Pl East
• 57th Pl West
• Barbee Blvd
• Keziah St
• SE 49th St