Mayor's Update - Carolina Beach, NC

With record breaking crowds on our island and at Freeman Park this past Memorial Day weekend, I thought it might be good to share what we have done this year to improve Freeman Park. Over the past several months various town departments have been working on a list of improvements to encourage a family friendly atmosphere at the park. These changes are highlighted below:

Freeman Park Command Center

This facility will allow us to double the enforcement staff at the park providing a more robust police presence and better ability to identify and resolve issues before they become large problems. Burning pits, trash, glass and bottles and other concerns will be addressed in a polite yet firm manner to improve the overall experience.

Along with increased police presence and the focus on rules and regulations, the police department will also be establishing a Freeman Park Command Center on the beach in the #6 section. The command trailer will give the police department a dedicated location where assigned staff can take requests and complaints from visitors, process violations and citations, administer customer service functions and provide a secure location to address individual issues. We expect that between the increased staff and the “Base Camp” presence of the Command Center, the level of compliance will improve this season.

Hatteras Ramp

A new Hatteras Ramp has been installed to improve the traffic flow between the dunes. We will likely be seeking additional CAMA approval to place rip-rap rock at the end of the ramp to extend it out to a wider section of the beach, but we do not anticipate the additional approval during this season.

Pass and Parking Signage

Our Parking Contractor has improved the daily and weekly pass process by making the passes stand out, by printing them on blue paper with graphics and larger text. This change will make it easier to identify and inspect the passes and limit the ability to forge passes. Along with the new pass design will improve signage at the entrance explaining the fees, rules and process for obtaining a pass. We anticipate that this will improve the enforcement of the daily and weekly passes along with the visual aspects of the entrance.

Trash & Fire Debris Container

We have doubled the concrete fire debris containers, added more trash containers and increased pickups.
If you are headed to Freeman Park, please be safe and enjoy your experience! Keep in mind the holiday weekend are the busiest, so avoid those weekends if crowds are a concern!

Dan Wilcox, Mayor of Carolina Beach