[February 27, 2026]
» Email Charleston County: tst@publicinput.com
» Sign our petition: HERE
This photo from The Post and Courier shows an unfortunately common scenario for vulnerable road users in Charleston County: sidewalk gaps, crumbling bike lanes, and uncomfortable access to public transit that could operate better with improved infrastructure. This reality should concern everyone who is about to possibly vote on a Transportation Sales Tax (TST) extension in November. Because it personally affects every one of us. We all need to think about how Transportation Sales Tax dollars are divided, and who benefits. The County is doing what it can with current TST funding, and we are seeing more sidewalk segments, buffered bike lanes, and a bus rapid transit system set to operate efficiently with signal prioritization and a dedicated lane for much of the route. But right now, it’s not enough.
YOU will have the power to say yes or no to a set of programs and projects that could be delivered through $4.25 billion in revenue over 25 years to help the County with its difficult task of continuing to improve our transportation network for all. Roughly half of this potential revenue would be generated by Charleston County residents. Interestingly, nearly 3% of Charleston County households don’t have access to a motor vehicle. Those taxpayers — who would likely contribute more than $56M — will really only benefit from what is allocated to the bike/ped and transit pots. While we would never expect every single element of the TST proposal to work for every person, we do believe that everyone deserves the option to use or access many, if not most, of their investments.
As we shared with you a week ago, Charleston County Council approved a draft funding allocation and project list to go in front of the public for input. Out of the $4.25 billion total, $75 million is allocated directly to bike/ped, with another $860 million allocated directly to public transit. Check out the latest here.
A successful and equitable TST should allow for all of the elements to work as a system: conservation of greenspace that prevents more vehicular traffic and suburban sprawl does not work as well without an accessible bicycle and pedestrian network to split the mode share. In turn, neither is as beneficial without safe and reliable public transit and infrastructure. Each of these pillars should be allocated a proportional investment that moves the needle forward and doesn’t hinder the others.
It is imperative that, during this comment period, Charleston County knows your perspective. If reduced from the draft suggestion of $860 million, the public transit allocation will not support existing service, let alone improve service. And we cannot overstate the importance of a robust bike/ped improvements program: safe and connected bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure is an urgent, widespread need.
We cannot afford to forget that, according to a 2024 report by Smart Growth America (based on data from 2018-2022), Charleston-North Charleston is the ninth most deadly metro region for pedestrians in the nation, with South Carolina ranking third most deadly in the nation. Charleston County tops the state. If there is not strong investment in the bike/ped category, more and more residents will be killed. To that end, make sure to email the county with your comments. We’ll update you on more input opportunities as they are made available.
As Charleston Moves reviews the latest project list, we find ourselves in need of more specifics. The County has done a great job of being transparent so far; the current proposal is simply a result of the big-picture debates that have taken place. Now is the time to delve into details (you can review the schedule here, scroll down to “Referendum Timeline”).
Here’s some of what we would like to see publicly outlined and updated:
- public transit and bike/ped categories need funding increases;
- an official policy commitment needs to be included, recognizing that all infrastructure project installation will incorporate complete streets elements as contextually appropriate;
- the vision for greenbelt investment (a 3x multiplier of the prior TST’s allocation) needs to be presented with more clarity;
- the spending plan for the bike/ped improvements subcategory (i.e. annual disbursement rate and schedule) needs to be outlined;
- brief project scopes and improvement descriptions need to be included for all the featured and intersection projects, so voters see where bike, pedestrian and transit access is incorporated, as well as the geographic limits of each project
Our request for the development of a countywide bike/ped master plan is presently included. If you’ve yet to sign our petition, please do so!
We believe a quality 2026 TST proposal, leveraged with federal, state, and other funding sources, can get us the Charleston County that we all want to live and thrive in. One where we move and recreate how we choose, with equitable access and safe, healthy residents.
