Latest news with #CharlestonMoves
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
Folly Beach City Council to vote on new transportation and traffic safety action plan
FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCBD) – Officials are expected to present the Folly Beach safety action plan to city council, after a year in the making. The city has been working with consultants at Kimley-Horn since June 2024, to address growing safety concerns on the island. The transportation and traffic safety action plan highlights four main goals – encourage safer speeds, maintain the city's culture, improve communication and coordination, and serve a diverse population. 'This is the first time we've had a comprehensive plan that shows the areas we need to target on the entire island – to make the island safer,' Jenna Stephens, zoning administrator of Folly Beach, said. The engineers analyzed data from 2017-2023 and found the city averages around 85 crashes per year. According to the study, a majority of the crashes included pedestrians and bicyclists. Though most of them were non-fatal, the city plans to address this issue. Folly Beach held two public input meetings open to residents and people who visit the island regularly. Around 250 people participated, with many saying they felt uncomfortable traveling around by foot or on a bike. Transportation advocacy groups like the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) and Charleston Moves also attended. In a support letter sent to the city, Katie Zimmerman, executive director of Charleston Moves, said the organization supports the plan and two resolutions to adopt it. 'Charleston Moves has appreciated the opportunities to participate in both the development of the City's Safety Action Plan, as well as the stakeholder meetings and data collection for the Arctic Avenue Plan,' Zimmerman wrote. 'Our region is one of the deadliest in the nation for vulnerable road users, with disproportionate impacts to senior citizens and Black communities. We support your efforts towards a safe and healthy city with a goal of eliminating fatalities and severe injuries from traffic collisions.' City council will vote to approve the safety action plan and to amend a contract to scope out the Arctic Avenue project. The next steps will include applying for the federal 'Safe Streets For All' grant. 'The problems is funding – this plan allows us to qualify for some federal grants and that is the plan right now. To use the safety action plan to apply for the 'Safe Streets For All' grant and to help fund some of our Arctic Avenue infrastructure proposals,' said Stephens. City council will meet at 7 p.m. on June 10. They are expected to vote on two resolutions involving the safety action plan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
Charleston County to propose new plan of Main Road Segment A pedestrian bridge
JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Charleston County councilmembers are expected to consider the approval of a new design to improve mobility between West Ashley and Johns Island. Leaders will discuss connectivity access for bicyclists and pedestrians across the Limehouse Bridge in the committee meeting. It comes from the Main Road Segment A project which initially had a standalone bridge in its plans, but was removed as the South Carolina Department of Transportation said they cannot maintain it. 'On the Sept. 10 council meeting, public works discussed with council continuing to pursue bike and pedestrian access of the project over the Stono River. Since that time, we've met with SCDOT at the headquarters in Columbia, discussed options in getting pedestrians at minimum on the existing Limehouse Bridge,' Herbert Nimz, engineering manager of the county's public works said. The public works staff will present four designs to council. Two of them are pedestrian only and the others are multi-use, which would provide access to both those traveling on foot and cycling. Charleston Moves, a transportation safety advocacy group, has re-opened a petition from 2019 in support of the project. The bicycle and pedestrian path would also connect to the West Ashley Greenway, expanding the ongoing network of transportation. 'We ended up – a total of 640 signatures from folks who live within Charleston County. We had approximately 100 additional signatures from folks who live outside the county, but come to the Charleston region specifically to bike,' Katie Zimmerman, executive director of Charleston Moves, said. 'They understood the value of getting across the river as well.' Zimmerman added she has met with several council members and sent over the signatures ahead of the committee meeting. This project will finally connect West Ashley and Johns Island, as other current projects like the Ashley River Crossing will connect the peninsula to all the way to Johns Island as well. The public works department plans to recommend a multi-use path, which would widen the existing structure and add concrete barriers. The path would be around nine to ten feet with four 11-foot travel lanes on the Limehouse Bridge. 'I think connectivity in Charleston County is important to all of us. It's been part of our TST projects since the inception of the half-cent sales tax and have currently five to eight miles of multi-use path that this project would connect to. So, I think it's an important aspect,' said Nimz. The bridge would be integrated with the current Main Road Segment A project, meaning it will be completed at once. The committee meeting is expected to begin at 5 pm. on April 3. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
