[October 2, 2026]
We’ve had a lot of folks tag us in a social media post regarding a James Simons student who was hit in the crosswalk at King and Grove Streets downtown. According to the post, he is injured but recovering. We do not know if the driver stopped.
Citizens want to know how they can advocate for improvements, particularly at this location — which we all know is past due for safety upgrades. You may remember the temporary artistic crosswalks that Charleston Moves and volunteers painted throughout the upper peninsula on city-owned streets (select side streets adjoining King) to draw attention to pedestrian safety. Once the paint faded, the city went out and painted them to be high-visibility laddered crosswalks. But they could only do so on city-owned streets; King is state-owned. Around the same time, we partnered with the Charleston Charter School for Math and Science and James Simons Montessori School to have students send letters to SCDOT regarding their safety concerns walking to/from school.
As part of the City’s Safe Streets for All demonstration grant, which was awarded by USDOT in 2025, the intersection of King and Grove is one of several locations that will get curb extensions. These will be piloted, and the City will collect data to show the efficacy of these safety improvements.
In the meantime, Charleston Moves has been working with Charlestonians Demand Safe Streets to provide a petition to Mayor Cogswell, signed by constituents who would like to see the City finally budget for pedestrian safety projects. The request is for $1M/year on a recurring basis. That money could go towards constructing small projects in-house, or to use as a match for larger sources of funding (e.g., transportation sales tax, county gas tax allocations, transportation alternative program funding, federal grants). The City is planning to designate $1M in their FY27 budget to use as a match for their next Safe Streets for All implementation grant.
But what if the grant is not awarded? That’s where you come in. We plan to speak at the budget public hearing to make sure that the $1M is still used for pedestrian safety projects, even if the federal grant is not awarded. We’d love for you to speak there too. And we’d love for you to ping your City Councilmember and ask them to be sure the $1M gets used for pedestrian projects, regardless of whether the grant is awarded. And then we’ll need to keep asking the mayor and council, every year, to make sure they continue budgeting for pedestrian safety projects. And maybe, after proven successes, they’ll increase the annual amount.
Because SCDOT isn’t coming to save us, Charleston Moves has spent time advocating to shift state budget priorities. Rather than throwing billions of dollars after short-term “fixes“ like highway widenings, let’s shift some of that money for improvements to bicycle, pedestrian and transit infrastructure. So far, the state isn’t wild about our suggestions.
We’re also working on some bill proposals for the state legislature. One of them is to tighten up our state’s crosswalk laws, including enforcement. The state of Georgia, for example, requires motorists to stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross the roadway within a crosswalk. It is illegal in GA for a driver to try to squeeze by a pedestrian, cut them off, etc. They must wait for the pedestrian to cross entirely. Also, whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection in GA, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle.
Lastly, we try to collect data to better inform projects and policies. One example is our Close Calls Database. When you enter an experience in the database, we use it during road safety audits and reviews with SCDOT, when we’re weighing in on plans like the City’s Peninsula Plan, and to let police know about potential hot spots for enforcement.
You can help us with any and all of these things:
- Report a close call HERE
- Reach out to your state legislators and ask them if they would support an improved crosswalk law in the next session. Find your SC Representative and Senator HERE. Find their contact information HERE. If they respond favorably, and/or they’d like to learn more, please let us know by emailing info@charlestonmoves.org!
- Reach out to Mayor Cogswell and your City Councilmember and ask them if the FY27 $1M for pedestrian safety will be used for safety projects, even if the City is not awarded the USDOT grant.
- Be prepared to speak alongside us at the City of Charleston’s public hearing for the FY27 budget. We will share the details once it is scheduled, so sign up for our e-newsletter and/or follow our social media.
