District 8 County Councilman Joe Boykin was the guest speaker at the Johns Island Council meeting last week. We want to thank Councilman Boykin for meeting with the public, being forthcoming with his remarks, and answering questions from residents.
As you might imagine, roads were the primary topic of discussion. Below are some of the highlights from that meeting. Mark Clark Extension (aka 526): The County is waiting on the State Infrastructure Bank and the Joint Bond Review Committee to release the state’s portion of the funding.
Main Road Corridor Segment A (aka “17 and Main flyover”): The County expects to go out for bid to the three qualified bidders by the end of this year.
Main Road Corridor Segment C (aka Bohicket Road): Mr. Boykin said there will likely be a traffic signal at the Maybank/Main/Bohicket intersection, rather than a roundabout. Regardless of which approach is taken, many of the businesses … including Sunrise Bistro, one of the gas stations, Blackbird Market and the adjacent commercial strip … would need to be acquired for the project. He would also like to see a roundabout at Main and Brownswood Roads.
He said a likely outcome for Segment C is that Bohicket Road would be widened from Maybank Highway to Plow Ground Road. There is some discussion if that widening should be continued to Edenvale Road. His preference is to widen Bohicket Road only as far as Plow Ground Road and to install a roundabout at the Bohicket/Plow Ground intersection.
Main and Chisolm Intersection (at St John’s High School): Mr. Boykin is pushing for a roundabout to be installed at this location. He also would like to see a new road built from this roundabout to Brownswood Road. This new road would help reduce traffic on Main Road, including traffic from parents driving between the new elementary school on upper River Road and the schools on Chisolm Road. [Note that Rational Roads believes a roundabout can be put at this intersection with no impact to the live oaks.]
Upper River Road (between Main Road and Maybank Highway): There is a resurfacing effort ongoing for this portion of River Road. Mr. Boykin asked staff to look at widening the shoulders, not just resurfacing it. He was told SCDOT has authorized the County to widen the shoulders where possible, i.e. without taking out any trees. He is also working with various parties, including the Charleston County School Board, to see if a roundabout can be placed at the River/Brownswood intersection to help calm traffic.
Northern Pitchfork (behind Food Lion): Since there will not be a traffic signal at the Northern Pitchfork intersection with River Road, Mr. Boykin would prefer that only right turns be allowed from the Northern Pitchfork onto River Road The current plan is to permit both right and left hand turns.
Southern Pitchfork (behind the “Harris Teeter coming soon” sign): Mr. Boykin said the current layout of the Southern Pitchfork shows that it does not intersect Maybank Highway at the same point as the Northern Pitchfork, i.e. the intersections would not be aligned. This would require another traffic signal on Maybank Highway. He said that would be a “deal breaker”. It was pointed out in another meeting that the Southern Pitchfork could be one-way only onto Maybank Highway, thereby both improving traffic and eliminating the need for a traffic signal.
Maybank/River Intersection: It was noted by a member of the audience that “a simple restriping” at this intersection could significantly improve evening commute congestion.
Currently, as shown in the diagram above, coming on-island from the Stono Bridge the left lane is for traffic going either straight or making a left turn onto River Road. This lane flares out near the traffic signal for those making the left hand turn. The right lane coming on-island is solely for the limited traffic making a right turn onto River Road. This results in large backups in the left lane. Due to these backups drivers either stop traffic in the right lane to merge into the left lane near the traffic signal or force themselves into the left lane near the traffic signal. The “simple restriping” alternative, as shown in the diagram above, would dedicate the left lane coming on-island to those turning left onto River Road. The right lane would then be dedicated to those going straight or turning right onto River Road. This lane would flare out near the traffic signal for those making the right hand turn. Mr. Boykin said he would discuss this alternative with staff.
Commentary
It was noted in the meeting that Main Road Corridor Segment A is scheduled to be completed two years prior to the completion of Segment C. That means for at least two years the long line of traffic currently backed up on Savannah Highway trying to make a left onto Main Road will now quickly make its way onto Main Road. The result is that this traffic will add to the congestion we already experience on Main Road due to the traffic signal at Maybank Highway.
For example, it is not unusual for morning traffic to back up on Main Road all the way from the Maybank Highway traffic signal to Patton Avenue. Will the traffic now back up to Old Pond Road? We encourage the County to prioritize the improvement of the Maybank/Main/Bohicket intersection so that work is completed concurrently with the completion of Segment A.
