CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) – Charleston County residents could see a transportation sales tax and use referendum question on their ballot this November.
The third transportation sales tax would not be a new tax for residents. It is the continuation of a prior tax first approved by voters in 2004 that allowed half-cent sales tax to be collected until 2031 or when $1.3 billion was collected. Charleston County says that they predict that $1.3 billion will be collected by 2025, so, if this third transportation sales tax gets approved in November, it will be a continuation of the same tax.
If the vote passes it would provide around $5.4 billion to be used towards road projects and improvements in the county. The top priority project for this referendum would be the extension of the Mark Clark Expressway, however, areas including James Island, John’s Island, West Ashley, Mount Pleasant, North Charleston, and the upper peninsula of Charleston would get roadway improvements as well.
Back in February, each municipality created a list of projects that they would like to see done. Then the county asked for feedback from the residents in these areas, to see what projects interested them the most from that list. Now, each municipality has to identify its priority projects based on community feedback they received as the county will not be able to fund all of them.
On Monday morning, the Town of Mount Pleasant’s transportation committee met to discuss their priority list. They presented the original five projects on their list with percentages of resident support based on the feedback given.
-Johnnie Dodds Corridor Improvements: $168 million, with 54% resident support
-Long Point Road Corridor Improvements: $126 million, with 68% resident support
-Darrell Creek Trail Realignment: $46 million, with 68% resident support
-Coleman/Chuck Dawley: $29.5 million, with 58% resident support
-Mount Pleasant Way: $158 million, with 66% resident support
However, they narrowed their list of five down to three. The top three priority projects that they will present to Charleston County Council are Johnnie Dodds Corridor Improvements, Long Point Road Corridor Improvement and Darrell Creek Trail Realignment.
Mount Pleasant Town Council member Howard Chapman, who also serves on the town’s Transportation Committee, says that this transportation sales tax referendum is vital to Mount Pleasant because they have some of the worst traffic problems in the area.
“The Long Point Road project, Long Point floods anytime there is a high tide, and from a public safety standpoint, it’s critical for not only our residents to be able to negotiate Long Point Road, but also our public safety vehicles,” Chapman says.
He claims that last year Stantec conducted a study on the mobility needs for Mount Pleasant and that Johnnie Dodd Boulevard/Highway 17 weighed in heavily on that study as an area of concern.
“And Darrell Creek Road or Trail is significant for upper Mount Pleasant, so, it’s critical for Mount Pleasant to see that projects that were recommended in our plan, mobility action plan by Stantec, get the votes it needs to get those projects improved,” Chapman says.
Charleston County Council member Jenny Costa Honeycutt, who represents District Nine which includes James Island and John’s Island, says that these projects wouldn’t just fix today’s traffic concerns, but also those that they will encounter in the future.
“So, these projects are not just designed to solve today’s traffic woes. They’re built out with twenty-year models in advance and the real reason is because there are thousands of entitlements. That means properties that have not been built but could be based on their zoning and their entitlements on the land,” Honeycutt says.
She says one of their priority projects is on Folly Beach and it includes installing sidewalks for bicycles and pedestrians along Folly Rd and Sol Legare Rd. She says this community has been very vocal about this. That project would cost around $30 million.
She says the project that they received the most feedback from was the Maybank Highway Intersection at River Road which part of it would include widening it to the Stono River Bridge. Honeycutt says this would provide tremendous relief as it experiences a lot of congestion. That would cost around $51 million. The other part of the project on Maybank Highway would include widening it between Bohicket Road and River Road. That would cost around $126 million.
“Folks have said ‘Well if we don’t build the roads, no one else will come.’ That has not proven to be true. In fact, there are still thousands of permits, homes that have not been built, thousands of entitled parcels rather that could be built, it will be built in the next decade only furthering the traffic woes out there,” Honeycutt says.
Charleston County Council Member Joe Boykin also says these projects would create relief in this area.
“Mark Clark Extension is the primary project listed at the top and which would again, it along with these will provide significant, critical traffic relief for John’s Island, Wadmalaw, Kiawah and Seabrook,” Boykin says.
These lists aren’t final, as they must go through three readings through Charleston County Council. The first reading is June 4 and county officials say they expect the third reading to be around the end of July or in August.
You can find more information about the third transportation sales tax, here.
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