CURRENT ACTIONS BELOW

City of Charleston Safety Action Plan

Public Meetings + Survey

Wednesday, February 26
5-7 pm drop-in
Gaillard Center (2 George St, 29401)

Wednesday, March 5
5-7 pm drop-in
Cynthia Graham Hurd/St. Andrews Library (1735 Woodmere Dr, 29407)

Survey closes March 13

From 2018-2023, approximately 115 traffic fatalities occurred in the City of Charleston. Over 40% of these fatalities were people on bicycles or on foot. As the City develops its comprehensive Safety Action Plan, the project team wants to hear from the community on the direction of the Plan. Please make sure to attend at least one meeting if you can, and take the survey (it took us only about 10 minutes to complete).

As background: USDOT has a discretionary grant program called Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) for municipalities and planning organizations. There are planning/demonstration grants and implementation grants. In order to qualify for implementation grants, an applicant must have a comprehensive safety action plan in place. The Town of Mount Pleasant developed their plan already, and then successfully applied for implementation funding in 2023. The City of Folly Beach is completing their plan now. The City of North Charleston will likely begin working on their plan later this year, after being granted federal funding in 2024.

The City of Charleston and the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) have started their planning processes. They have reviewed crash and collision data, and we have provided your relevant Close Calls entries as well.

The City of Charleston is now seeking your input: your experiences, your ideas, your concerns. There are systems and policy changes needed as well. Your individual experiences will shape the plan into a more proactive and responsive effort from our local agencies. Our region needs to focus on safety over speed in our roadway designs. We’re also hoping the completed plans can help guide future decisions, such as transportation sales tax referendum priorities.

Highway 61 Safety Improvements

Following Road Safety Audits conducted by SCDOT in February and March of 2023, in partnership with stakeholders including Charleston Moves, the agency is ready to present findings and recommendations to the public’s review and input. Please plan to attend and provide your input to advocate for enhanced multi-modal solutions for the corridors!

Thursday, February 27
5-7 pm drop in
City Church of Charleston (913 Wappoo Rd, 29407)

» Sign our petition

The comment period for Highway 61 is from February 19 – March 14. Online materials can be found on SCDOT’s project page HERE (select “Public Engagement” and then “Public Information Meeting Display” to view concepts). Additionally, we have started a petition (HERE) that details our top two priorities for improvement; please sign and share if you agree with us!

Highway 61 Comment Suggestions: 

• Support high-visibility crosswalks throughout corridor
• Support leading pedestrian intervals, and additionally, would like to see leading pedestrian intervals at most intersections, particularly areas with lengthy pedestrian crossing or near schools (e.g., Savage Rd, Wallace School Rd, Sam Rittenberg Blvd, Playground Rd, Carriage Ln, Wesley Dr, Riverdale Dr). 
• Throughout corridor, the sidewalk needs to be cleaned up and restored to its original width, especially because people on bicycles rely on this sidewalk that is too narrow and too close to traffic.
• Support the raised median and would like to keep it in the plans, but also ask that the pedestrian fencing be removed and the medians be vegetated or landscaped. 
• Intersection at Wappoo Road: motorists are traveling at high speeds (evidenced by the church property continually getting hit); it would be helpful to angle out the intersection instead of having curves.
• Intersection at Carriage Lane: Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired and a CARTA stop are located nearby, the pedestrian pushbuttons are in areas unreachable by using the sidewalk, the sidewalk is narrow and close to traffic, there is nothing preventing motorists from turning right on red from Carriage Lane into pedestrians that are blocked from view by a telephone pole  (including blind and visually impaired pedestrians). We suggest adding sidewalk along both sides of Carriage Lane to entrances of businesses on each side, having both leading pedestrian intervals and accessible pedestrian signals, and moving the stop bars back at all points of the intersection. 
• Intersections at Magnolia Road and Old Towne Road: we strongly support the realignments, addition of sidewalks and crosswalks, etc. proposed. With the space that is saved, we’d like to see the concrete-separated bike lanes start and end at the intersection of Old Towne.
• Widen the sidewalk to a multi-use path from 5th Avenue to N Hillside Drive.
• We support the concrete-separated bike lanes.
• We STRONGLY support the mid-block HAWK signal crossing at the intersection of the Maryville Bikeway, and would like to see bike/ped wayfinding there, as well as lighting.
• We STRONGLY support the use of green paint at conflict points with the bike lanes.
• We STRONGLY support the improved crosswalks at Sycamore Avenue, and ask that the leading pedestrian intervals already in place there be kept.
• For the segments of bike lane where an adjacent parking lane is proposed, there needs to be a door zone between the bike lane and the parked cars, whether it is a concrete island, or painted buffer. This can be achieved by narrowing the center median. 
• At Parish Road, there needs to be bicycle and pedestrian wayfinding for people to navigate to the new Ashley River Bridge (the county is working on minor improvements at the intersection of Savannah Highway and Stocker Drive, connecting to the West Ashley Greenway). 
• At Wesley Drive, there needs to be bicycle and pedestrian wayfinding for people to navigate to the new Ashley River Bridge (there are no improvements proposed along Wesley, but there will be an improved crossing connection at Folly Road Blvd and the West Ashley Greenway). 
• Need improvements at Wesley and at Parish intersections for people bicycling from the new Ashley River Bridge to turn left, entering the west-bound bike lanes on 61. That likely involves adding a signal at Parish, either a traditional traffic light or a HAWK and mid-block crossing.

Savannah Highway Safety Improvements

The meeting for Savannah Highway (Highway 17) took place February 13, but the comment period is still open until February 28. Online materials can be found on SCDOT’s project page HERE  (select “Public Engagement” and then “Public Information Meeting Display” to view concepts). See our requests below that you can incorporate into your comments.

Please also note to SCDOT the elements in their concepts that you support. If the agency only receives negative comments, they are more likely to remove safety improvements from the designs for which they may have only received opposition. For example, we appreciate the inclusion of leading pedestrian intervals in the project, and would like to see them installed. 

Savannah Highway Comment Suggestions:

• Add East Coast Greenway and West Ashley Greenway wayfinding signage and markings throughout corridor
• Also throughout corridor, the sidewalk needs to be cleaned up and restored to its original width
• Support the raised median and would like to keep it in the plans, but also ask that the pedestrian fencing be removed and the medians be vegetated or landscaped
• Intersection of Bees Ferry Road/17 needs to be upgraded for bike/ped, particularly since it connects the East Coast Greenway to the Bees Ferry multi-use path
• Intersection of Carolina Bay/Croghan Landing needs Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs), bicycle direction, and a laddered crosswalk parallel to Savannah Highway on Croghan Landing (This is the intersection that connects the West Ashley Greenway users to everything across Savannah Highway near Glenn McConnell, and it’s not set up for people on bicycles in any way; if they follow the sharrows and stay in the lane of traffic, the signal doesn’t trigger for them, and if they get on the sidewalk and use the pedestrian crossing, it’s not clear at all.)
• Intersection of Dobbin needs LPIs; lots of pedestrians have been hit there or near there
• Intersection of Mutual/Melrose is a natural connection to the West Ashley Greenway, and there’s nothing to assist bike/ped in crossing Savannah Highway to get to/from the Greenway. Bare minimum, wayfinding is needed to let people know to cross at Parkdale or Dobbin to Lantern instead, but a signal to cross at Mutual/Melrose is more efficient and preferred.
• How does SCDOT’s intersection project at Savage Road work with this RSA?
• Ashley Town Center intersection is another important connection to the West Ashley Greenway — need wayfinding, LPIs.
• Intersection of Sam Rittenberg needs LPIs and better visibility for people crossing the slip lane
• Intersection of Mark Clark needs better visibility for people crossing the slip lane
• Move the pedestrian crossing away from the curve for the slip lane near Skylark

Limehouse Bridge Multi-Use Path

Please sign our petition to add a multi-use path to the Limehouse Bridge in Charleston County’s Main Road and 17 (Segment A) project: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/limehouse-bridge-bikeped-access

In September 2024, Charleston County Council voted to award the Main and 17 contract, and cut bike/ped access from the river crossing. We have been working with the County to restore that access to the project. Please sign and share our petition for a multi-use path to be added to the Limehouse Bridge. We want to be able to show County Council citizen support for a path when the addition is presented to them on an upcoming agenda.

North Charleston Needs Safe Transportation Access

» Petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/north-charleston-needs-safe-transportation-access

Cross the Cut

» Petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/safe-bikeped-access-across-the-wappoo-cut

Where Do You Want To Walk + Bike In North Charleston?

» Survey: charlestonmoves.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/where-do-you-want-to-walk-bike-in-north-charleston

We want to know where you currently walk and bike in North Charleston, and where you want to see improvements made to enable more and safer multi-modal trips. Thanks in advance for your input!