Some on Johns Is. staunchly opposed
Residents of Johns Island, Kiawah and Seabrook will get another crack at
giving their opinions on a possible toll road across Johns Island.
Charleston County Council on Thursday agreed to sponsor a public hearing to
gauge the community's views, including whether council should pursue asking
the state Department of Transportation to open negotiations for a toll road.
Councilman Paul Thurmond said he didn't think the county has the authority
by itself to undertake a toll road.
Thurmond supports the toll concept, contending that in addition to providing
a speedy path across the island, it would ease current pressure points.
"This seems the best option to try to alleviate this problem," Thurmond said
during a meeting of council's Planning and Public Works Committee.
But some local residents have become entrenched in their opposition to toll
roads or to new roads at all, saying they would dramatically alter the
island's rural character, open it to more development and force people off
property where they have lived for generations.
Many residents "don't even know it's happening," Bill Saunders, co-founder
of Concerned Citizens of the Sea Islands, said of the newest wave of road
debate.
Other opponents say not enough regional study has been done on Johns
Island's growth and road woes.
No date for the first hearing was immediately released. It most likely will
be after June 17.
A site also has not been determined, but it would be on Johns Island and
would be promoted by significant advertising, council members said Thursday.
Engineers for years have been studying possible ways to solve the island's
traffic problems as growth and housing have overtaken an area once dominated
by farms. Ideas for what now is billed as a "Cross Island Expressway" have
been around from more than 12 years, but a consensus on road solutions has
been tough to find.
Cost estimates for constructing a new 11-mile road across the island
currently range from about $58 million for a non-toll road, and upwards of
$150 million for a limited-access toll road.
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