Revival of parkway plan necessary

A May 31 Post and Courier editorial concerning the revival of the proposed cross-island parkway for Johns Island was based on an old study and confused the facts and issues. An earlier article in The Post and Courier reported that Bohicket and River roads on Johns Island are among the top six most dangerous roads in South Carolina. With the Berkley, Charleston, Dorchester Council of Governments’ traffic projections showing ever-increasing traffic on these roads in coming years, these two roads will become even more dangerous. Modifying either Bohicket Road or River Road to enable higher traffic flows would ruin the rural character and cause untold hardship on the many residents, churches, historical buildings and businesses that front these roads, and it would cost significantly more than would a cross island parkway. The Post and Courier editorial would have readers believe that a cross-island, limited-access parkway with access at Edenvale and Plowground roads will be primarily for Kiawah and Seabrook residents, when just the opposite is true. The 11,000 workers who travel daily along Maybank Highway, and Bohicket and River roads to and from their jobs on Seabrook and Kiawah islands, and at Freshfields Village and other parts of southern Johns Island will benefit most from the parkway. These people live on Johns Island, James Island, and in West Ashley and points farther away. Full-time island residents generate fewer than 1,000 trips a day along these same roads. A parkway would also allow safe travel for all lower Johns Island residents. This trip reduction will save lives as it reduces the congestion on Bohicket and River roads. “Establishing a sense of place, economic development, walkability, and environmental protection,” as quoted in the editorial, are zoning issues, not infrastructure issues. The Charleston County Council and Charleston City Council have already approved more than 8,000 new homes on these sea islands that will be built over the coming years. Safe roads are an infrastructure issue, as are water and sewer, and are necessary to handle existing and planned developments. Roads do not bring any more development than zoning will allow. Those who want to keep Johns Island rural and have fewer residents should direct their efforts to the respective councils and planning commissions that regulate zoning.

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