Divided Highway
Extend Interstate 526. Widen Maybank Highway. Build high-density
developments. The burgeoning pressure on Johns Island to grow looms larger
on a daily basis, and it's carving a deep rift between the residents of
Johns, Kiawah, and Seabrook islands.
The proposal to extend 526 to Johns Island is currently undergoing an
Environmental Impact Assessment, and Charleston County Council will likely
have a proposal for Maybank in hand by late July. But the latest point of
contention is the proposal to build a Sea Island Parkway from Maybank
Highway to the resort islands of Kiawah and Seabrook. The limited access
road would cost somewhere in the ballpark of $155 million and be funded
privately, with tolls paying off the investment after the road's completion.
The primary argument for the road centers around safety — proponents point
out that both of the current routes to the resorts, River and Bohicket
roads, are among the most dangerous in the state. Between 2005 and 2007, 226
injuries and 8 fatalities occurred on the two roadways. Adding a new
corridor, they say, would eliminate the need to widen those historic roads
(and remove grand live oak trees) by diverting traffic away. Opponents, on
the other hand, say that a new four-lane highway would open up Johns Island
to future development, destroy wetlands and wildlife habitats, and require
using eminent domain to carve a path across private property.
Last Thursday, council hosted a public meeting to gauge sentiments about the
new parkway. Over 550 people showed up to Johns Island High School. "We're
trying to figure out where we stand," Councilmember Paul Thurmond told the
capacity crowd. "A resolution would be for the S.C. Department of
Transportation to negotiate with a private company to put a toll road in
place. We want to make an informed decision."
In 1995, Charleston County first examined building a toll road from Bohicket
Road to the James Island Connector and has revisited the plan in one form or
another every few years since. Using Johns Island's projected population
growth figures for 2030, the county's most recent study shows that
constructing a new four-lane road would do more to reduce traffic congestion
than widening existing roads.
In addition, a survey of 346 area residents last August revealed that 66
percent of those polled favored a new corridor, while less than 30 percent
favored the options of widening either of the other roads or doing nothing.
Safety and protecting grand trees were the top two priorities stated. But
according to the Coastal Conservation League's Megan Desrosiers, presenting
only those four options is inadequate and misleading.
"We have to maintain our existing roads. We learned on Highway 17 in the ACE
Basin that just enforcing the speed limit can make a huge difference in
preventing accidents ," she contends. "People say we don't have money for
improvements, but a great portion of the half-cent sales tax was intended to
go to repaving and adding shoulders to existing roads."
Extending I-526 is projected to cost a minimum of $420 million, while
constructing the parkway will cost an estimated $155 million. Widening
Maybank will cost between $70 million and $90 million.
"According to the Johns Island Comprehensive Plan, the island is not
supposed to dramatically grow," says Desrosiers. "Spending nearly a billion
dollars on Johns Island is crazy when we should be supporting infrastructure
in places designated for development."
After last week's meeting was opened to public comment, Bill Saunders of the
Concerned Citizens of the Sea Islands — a group working to keep Johns and
Wadmalaw Islands rural — expressed suspicion that the resort islands' strong
support for the parkway stems from a desire to complete the road for golf's
PGA Championships, scheduled to be played on Kiawah in 2012. About
two-thirds of the crowd cheered boisterously for over a minute after the
comment. Seabrook Island's Mayor Frank McNulty spoke in response to that
concern.
"This situation has nothing to do with a golf tournament, or with making it
easier for people on Seabrook and Kiawah to get to Charleston. It's got
nothing to do with evacuation routes, or even with roads on Johns Island,"
said McNulty. "The only thing is safety. The roads are too dangerous,
there's too many accidents, and too many people have died."
Kiawah Mayor Bill Wert said that one death due to roads with no shoulders is
too many, pleading to council to recommend the parkway.
"Study time is over. Action time is at hand," said Wert to the loud boos of
much of the crowd.
Several business owners spoke in favor of the parkway, citing concern for
their employees who drive through Johns Island to work. Roger Warren,
president of the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, said that of his 1,600
employees, 250 are from Johns Island.
"Obviously, we're concerned about the safety of the people who drive out
here," Warren said. "There are jobs here for the people of Charleston, and
this road will allow them to get to work safely and to get to work quicker."
Council member Thurmond stressed that the parkway decision was in the
beginning stages and that a long process will be undertaken before any
construction begins. But it wasn't enough to quell dissent. As Coastal
Conservation League members distributed handouts describing safe
alternatives like lowering speed limits and new turn lanes, one parkway
proponent looked to the volunteer and told him to "wipe your ass with it."
Those who stand to lose their land to the road are equally passionate. The
proposed route would cut through horse farms and the neighborhoods on
Edenvale and Plowground roads.
"What about the people who live on this land?" asked Johns Island resident
Pat Luck. "Only 12 percent of Kiawah's homeowners are year-round residents.
People on Johns Island don't talk in percentages or years. We talk in
generations. Just look at the Glenn McConnell Expressway (in West Ashley)
for proof that roads beget other roads. This toll road is not going to
benefit the working man. It's going to benefit the people who have the money
to get from point A to point B quicker."
As one Johns Island resident pointed out, by 2012, the combination of
gasoline and a toll may be out of the budgets of most everyone but Kiawah
and Seabrook homeowners, leaving the road empty and underfunded.
Budget-strapped workers would save money by continuing to use the old
routes, which would remain narrow and no less dangerous than today.
The county will take comments on the parkway until July 7. Click the banner
at CharlestonCounty.org to speak your mind.
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