I-526 options proposed in workshops

Instead of using $420 million to extend the Mark Clark Expressway, traffic planners should improve clogged thoroughfares and intersections with a network of roads and pedestrian-friendly improvements, traffic engineer Paul Moore told more than 100 people at The Citadel last week.

Moore was hired by the Coastal Conservation League and the Concerned Citizens of the Sea Islands to come up with alternatives to extending the Mark Clark Expressway from Savannah Highway in West Ashley to Johns and James islands.

Under the original plan, the last leg of the four-lane interstate extension is expected to run about eight miles, from Citadel Mall in West Ashley to James Island.

The expressway would cross the Stono River to Maybank Highway, extend around the north end of James Island County Park and connect to the end of the James Island connector.

Plans to build the extension date back 30 years, Moore said.

Funding for the project has recently been allotted. Charleston County voters approved a half-cent sales tax for roads in 2004. Offering that new tax money as a match, County Council asked the State Infrastructure Bank for $420 million to complete the Mark Clark.

According to Megan Desrosiers of the Coastal Conservation League, the State Infrastructure Bank has agreed to fund the $420 million project and already has awarded Charleston County a $99 million grant. Proponents say the extension will solve traffic congestion and help with evacuation routes.

Moore, of the national firm Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin, has worked on a number of traffic projects throughout the country. He told the audience at a public hearing sponsored by the conservation groups that extending the Mark Clark would not help with traffic congestion or evacuation routes, at least in the long run.

He presented an hourlong slide show using examples of American cities that built projects similar to the Mark Clark extension and other cities that used alternatives to large expressways. Cities such as Chattanooga, Tenn., and West Palm Beach, Fla., improved intersections rather than extend interstates, and they had more successful results with traffic congestion and more aesthetically pleasing, pedestrian-friendly intersections, Moore said.

The problem with clogged intersections such as at Savannah Highway and Folly Road is that they are the only major thoroughfares in the area and all cars have to drive on them.

"Savannah Highway sits by itself; it doesn't have any help," he said.

He proposed the highway be "reconfigured," so that there are more options for drivers to get to places in West Ashley. The road then could be improved with sidewalks, trees and other pedestrian-friendly amenities.

Moore said that the downtown areas of Charleston and Savannah have better traffic flow because there are networks of roads that can be used to get from one part of the city to another. With Folly Road and Savannah Highway, motorists have no choice but to traverse those roads. Extending the Mark Clark will not solve the congestion problem on those streets, Moore said.

Construction of a loop ramp is planned for the base of the James Island connector that would connect it to the Mark Clark extension project. In September, a loop ramp was proposed by Charleston County RoadWise, the county's management program for the construction of roads, highways, resurfacing, paving and drainage projects funded by the Transportation Half-Cent Sales Tax. Traffic planners said a loop ramp would solve traffic congestion at that intersection.

Moore said that with a traffic-planning alternative near the base of the James Island connector, a loop ramp is not necessary.

"It's a terrible intersection because it's dumping cars onto Folly Road," he said. "Why not make other exits (off the connector) for cars to turn left?"

Moore envisioned a village/town center near Lowe's with a series of roads that drivers could use to reach that side of James Island without traveling on Folly Road. That is similar to what planners did in West Palm Beach, Moore said.

The Johns Island plan that the city of Charleston conceived is a good example of responsible traffic planning, Moore said. Instead of widening the main roads, the plan suggests a network of interconnected roads with more access to public transportation and pedestrian and bicycle paths to decrease traffic.

"It's creates a secondary network (for cars)," Moore said.

Extending the Mark Clark would result in more people moving farther from Charleston and commuting to the city, a pattern seen in other cities, Moore said. With more people using the expressway extension, it would be only a matter of time before it, too, became congested with traffic.

Moore said interstate expansion such as the Mark Clark plan was a brainchild of traffic engineers during and right after World War II and is outdated. Moore said cities that have built projects similar to the Mark Clark now are looking at alternatives.

"Cities are taking down highways," Moore said. "We don't want to look like Atlanta, Houston or Washington, D.C."

Alternatives to improving intersections have been well-received by residents of the Lowcountry, Moore said. The Coastal Conservation League had set up a number of public meetings for residents to give input about the alternatives.

"This plan was developed from your input," Moore told residents. "Hundreds of people came out, and you all gave us your ideas and engineers put it together."

Desrosiers said Moore's proposed alternatives "will result in a better community."

She said that residents immediately should contact their elected officials, from local leaders to those in the Statehouse, about the alternatives.

During a question-and-answer period, residents asked if money for the Mark Clark extension could be moved to funding intersection improvements.

"I don't know if it can be diverted," Desrosiers said. "But it's your tax money and should be used to alleviate traffic problems."

She said elected leaders she has talked with include state Sen. Glenn McConnell, S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell and Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, but that none have said if they support the alternatives.

Elected officials at the meeting included James Island Town Councilman Joe Qualey and James Island Public Service District Commissioner Eugene Platt. Desrosiers said City Councilman Henry Fishburne was present as well. During public comments, Platt said he was opposed to the Mark Clark extension. Qualey asked a question about the project.

"(The extension) will make things better for a little while, but people will continue to be frustrated," Desrosiers said.

For information about the alternatives, visit www.no526.com.