Bicycle and Pedestrian Access

Point of contact

Katie Zimmerman / 843 725 1292

KatieZ@scccl.org

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Status: The SC Senate fully approved Senator Chip Campsen’s (R-Charleston) bill providing certain exceptions for bicyclists and pedestrians to use controlled-access roadways. The bill also just unanimously passed through the House Education and Public Works Committee’s Transportation Subcommittee. Stay tuned for details on the next hearing. (Photo by Grace Beahm of the Post and Courier)

What is the issue?

As the City and County of Charleston planned for growth, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure was recommended. As these plans are implemented, the importance of biking and pedestrian access seems to recede to the background. In January of 2012, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) officially decided that after eighteen years, bicyclists and pedestrians would no longer be allowed access to the James Island Connector (JIC). While it has always technically been illegal for bicyclists and pedestrians to use the Connector, the SCDOT has now placed warning signs and demands the City of Charleston enforce the law. As the Charleston area wrestles with bicycling and pedestrian concerns, the JIC controversy and how to address it stands as a flagship issue.

The solution is simple and will require two steps. Most immediately, we need to put the power to decide the fate of the Connector into the hands of City of Charleston leaders. More than twenty states allow cyclists to ride on “limited access freeways” (roadways with the same rating as the JIC) if there are no other routes available for safe passage. Step One is to work to pass legislation that allows local governments in South Carolina to determine the routes that should be available to cyclists and pedestrians. Already, Senator Campsen of Charleston proposed and the SC Senate has passed a bill that accomplishes this measure. Next up, the SC House.

Step Two, we need to work to make the Connector a safer route. Simple improvements can be made to allow all users safe access across the Connector. Lowering the Connector’s speed limit to 40 miles per hour, which would add less than one minute of additional travel time for drivers traveling from end to end, is a most immediate fix. Posting signs that indicate to motorists to watch for cyclists and share the road would help raise awareness that the road is intended for multiple uses. Finally, the City and SCDOT could work together to place some sort of barrier between the bike and travel lanes. At the very least this could be rumble strips that the cyclists would never have to cross. At the most, this could be a cement barrier, much like the one on the Ravenel Bridge.

Our elected officials at the local and state levels have the opportunity to make progress towards complete streets. In order for us to ensure a sustainable future for Charleston, we all must accept that it is the right of each of us to bike or walk or run or ride the bus, just as much as it is the right of each of us to drive. Any and all of those options, when practiced safely and without detriment to the safety of others, should be examined fairly, with proper infrastructure provided and maintained.

How would it affect South Carolina?

Enforcing a ban on bicycles and pedestrians on the JIC is exactly the wrong step to take, especially when it is the safest current route across the Ashley River. It will be years before a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane opens on the Legare Bridge and traversing the skinny, grated Wappoo Cut is extremely risky, especially early in the morning or after a rain when the metal is slippery.

Complete streets investments are important and would benefit a diverse group of citizens. The League of American Bicyclists compiled 2010 bike and pedestrian commuter statistics for the City of Charleston, with 3% of our working population commuting to work via bicycle, and 6% commuting by walking—that is more than 5,000 of our friends, neighbors, family members, and colleagues who deserve safe access to work when they walk or bike. When examining the League’s data across the United States, even “non-bicycle friendly cities” have seen growth of regular bicycle commuters over the past ten years of 30%.

What can you do about it?

Contact Katie Zimmerman to be added to our list of activists for this particular issue.

Check back here for the next opportunity to contact your legislator, telling the SC House you want bike and pedestrian access on the James Island Connector.

Charleston (and even beyond) will have safer and equitable access to bicycle-riding, walking, and running, meaning more commuting and recreational opportunities for all of us.