Ashley River bike plan: Walkers, cyclists find out today about bridge study

Pedestrians and cyclists crossing the Ashley River share a narrow raised sidewalk with cars whizzing by -- if they dare cross at all.

A new plan -- to be unveiled today -- envisions them sharing a new, wide path on the northbound bridge barricaded from cars and trucks.

It's news several cycling advocates have been waiting for.

Charleston County's study has concluded it's feasible to convert a lane on the northbound U.S. Highway 17 drawbridge for bike and pedestrian use -- without slowing traffic.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley and Charleston County Council Chairman Teddie Pryor will appear together at 10:30 this morning in Brittlebank Park to talk about details.

The city and county had hoped to add a bike-pedestrian lane to the drawbridge by cantilevering it off the bridge's southern side -- and keeping all four traffic lanes.

However, an engineering study found that wouldn't work because it added too much weight for the drawbridge to rise.

Since then, the focus has been on removing one of the bridge's four lanes of traffic and reusing that space for a wide bike and pedestrian path, much like the popular path on the Arthur Ravenel Bridge.

The study, prepared for the county's RoadWise program by HDR Engineering Inc., concludes reducing the bridge to three lanes "is feasible today with little impact to travel times or speeds from any of the roadways."

Currently, the southbound U.S. Highway 17 drawbridge has three lanes. The northbound bridge once had only three but now has four.

For Lowcountry cycling advocates, finding a way to create a new bike and pedestrian lane over the Ashley River has been priority No. 1.

Tom Bradford, director of Charleston Moves, said a safe crossing over the Ashley River not only is crucial to the East Coast Greenway and extending the West Ashley Greenway but also to his group's Battery to Beach initiative.

That initiative is working on a safe cycling route from the Isle of Palms, through downtown Charleston and on to Folly Beach.

"Unless and until we find a way for pedestrians and cyclists to get safely across that river, anything else we do has very little meaning," he said.

Clayton Duane lives downtown but crosses the Ashley River bridge several times a week to visit friends. He said it's a harrowing trip.

"I typically stop if somebody comes by, if there's a walker or a jogger. The cars are flying right by you. People sometimes honk. It just seems real dangerous," he said.

Riley has said the city is committed to converting the lane for bike and pedestrian use, and City Councilman Mike Seekings also has been a big cycling advocate.

But even if the political will exists to make the change locally, the S.C. Department of Transportation must sign off on the change. Also, it's unclear how expensive the conversion would be, where the money would come from and how quickly the change could be made.

The study said the bike path would be feasible until about the year 2020, by which time traffic could increase to the point where there are significant delays -- unless traffic volumes don't grow as projected or another road or bridge diverts some traffic.

With no changes, the existing four-lane section would become congested by 2028, it said.

Stephanie Hunt, chairwoman of Charleston Moves, said the new path holds promise for hundreds of West Ashley residents who would like to cross the Ashley by bike or on foot to get to work, shop or take a recreational ride.

The group has collected petitions with thousands of names, resolutions from neighborhood groups as well as from the College of Charleston's faculty and student groups, supporting such a lane, she said.

"We're meeting a ton of people who said if they had a safe passage, they would absolutely leave their car at home and bike," she added.

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771.