Chairman says discussion not needed at this time
A widely anticipated discussion of whether Charleston County should continue
to pursue building the last leg of the Mark Clark Expressway has been
scrubbed from this afternoon's County Council agenda, but opponents said
they will not just go away.
The council approved the project when it asked the State Infrastructure Bank
for $420 million to connect Interstate 526 at Citadel Mall to the James
Island Expressway at Folly Road. The bank has approved $99 million and
committed to paying the rest at a future date.
During the last year, a growing group of residents on Johns, Wadmalaw and
James islands and beyond have urged the council to reconsider, saying that
even if the project has merit, the $420 million could be better spent
elsewhere. They had hoped council members would talk about the Mark Clark at
today's Finance Committee meeting and agree to a public hearing.
Megan Desrosiers of the Coastal Conservation League said the decision to
change the agenda "shows a lack of interest in the public's concern for the
issue." She said 533 people have signed a petition opposing the project,
another 144 have sent letters and many more have sent e-mails.
Council Chairman Tim Scott said he realizes the public is interested in the
project, but no new information is available.
"Council has made a decision to go forward with the project, and we were
looking for more clarity on how we are going to do the project. At this
point, that clarity isn't there," Scott said. He said the council would
discuss it before its March 20 meeting.
While the permitting process for the extension is in the early stages,
opponents feel their best chance to scuttle the project would be to get
council members to change their minds.
That might prove a tough sell. Councilman Paul Thurmond, who represents part
of the area along the Mark Clark route, said most council members agreed
with striking the Mark Clark from the agenda.
"I don't think anything would change if we did have a discussion. I think
it's appropriate that rather than bring it out and risk the Infrastructure
Bank changing its mind, I think it's important we move forward," he said.
"I'm in favor of the extension, and I think we need to do everything we can
to ensure this project gets done. There's been plenty of opportunity to
discuss it over the last 12 to 14 years. It just doesn't need to be
discussed anymore. It's time for action."
Desrosiers said the debate is larger than the Mark Clark.
"We want them to look at all of our transportation projects and establish
priorities for how that money will be spent
based on the benefits of those projects for the region," she said.
Scott said he plans to ask representatives from the
Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments to present council
with their latest traffic projec- tions to see potential benefits and
shortfalls of extending the expressway.
But even if a study showed the Mark Clark didn't have the most benefit, it's
unclear if the bank would agree to let the county use the money for
something else. "Right now, we know we have money earmarked for that (the
Mark Clark)," Thurmond said. "We don't have the discretion to say, 'Well, we
don't want this $420 million to go here. We want it to go elsewhere.' "
Thurmond said he agreed with opponents' claims that other roads on Johns
Island also need to be addressed soon, adding that could cost about $12 to
$15 million. "The reality is, Where is that money going to come from? I
can't tell you right now," he said. |
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