It's welcome news that construction of a long-awaited bike and pedestrian bridge connecting West Ashley and the Charleston peninsula is expected to finally start in October, and it's promising that Mayor William Cogswell wants to enlarge the scope of the project by linking the bridge to a planned Ashley River Walk that would provide a route south toward the City Marina and by improving access on the West Ashley side as well.
But there are concerns about plans to eliminate the connection between the eastern terminus of the bridge and the city's Medical District, which would frustrate and endanger those who use this important new link to commute to their jobs. Mr. Cogswell should reconsider that move, and we urge the S.C. Department of Transportation to ensure the project provides a safe crossing for cyclists and pedestrians near Lockwood Drive and Bee Street.
The current road network poses serious safety concerns: Motorists entering downtown from U.S. Highway 17 often speed along a so-called "slip lane" or off-ramp and merge onto Lockwood heading south.
The previous plan addressed that, and we agree with City Councilman Mike Seekings, who tells us: "We will need to keep thinking about giving that merge area a road diet and create a safe way to get across Lockwood. If we’re going to want that bridge to get its full utility, I think that’s essential.” Even Mr. Cogswell noted his proposed change would create "a bit of a circuitous route" for those heading toward the hospitals. Circuitous and dangerous, because many will be tempted to cross at Bee anyway and take their chances playing Frogger — only with real lives at stake.
There is a precedent to consider from the other side of town. When the state wisely added a bike-pedestrian path to the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, it also created one of the state's first stoplights exclusively for cyclists and pedestrians so they could safely cross East Bay Street to get to that path. Or perhaps an elevated, speed hump-crosswalk with yellow flashing lights would work, as motorists would have to slow down for that. We are not wedded to any one particular solution, as long as there is a remedy that provides direct, safe access. A workable solution should not be hard to find.
We support Mayor Cogswell's efforts to improve the new bike-ped bridge project by expanding and enhancing how it's accessed on both sides of the river, though we remain concerned that this is creating unnecessary delay toward completing a fully designed, permitted and funded project that he inherited when he took office. The start of construction would alleviate those concerns.
The eventual extension of a high battery or other perimeter protection along Lockwood certainly could affect how the Ashley River Crossing bike and pedestrian bridge ultimately interfaces with the western peninsula, but that work is neither designed nor permitted nor funded, and it's anyone's guess as to how many years it might be before construction on that begins. We're comfortable that appropriate modifications can be made at that time. We see no pressing need for them today, especially if doing that risks further delay in building a project that we hoped would be under construction by now.
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