Traversing down St. Thomas Island Drive, while not riding in a vehicle, is an activity that is not for the faint of heart. Bikers, walkers and runners can often be spotted alongside cars and trucks on the busy roadway connecting Clements Ferry Road and Daniel Island. It’s a tight squeeze indeed, but planners with the City of Charleston and Berkeley County are working to make things a little easier, and safer, for all involved.
Planners for both jurisdictions are combining efforts to apply for a federally funded enhancement grant that would pay for a new recreational, 10 foot wide asphalt path separate from the existing roadway that would extend from the intersection of Clements Ferry Road to the entrance to Blackbaud Stadium. It’s the first phase of a two-part project that ultimately would connect the path with the trail system on Daniel Island.
The proposal was presented at a public meeting on September 22 at the Daniel Island Library. More than 30 local residents, mostly from the Shell Ring community on Thomas Island, showed up to hear more about the project.
"It’s not just Shell Ring residents trying to attach to a dentist’s office (on Daniel Island)," said Juliana Haacke, who lives in the Shell Ring community but has family on Daniel Island. "It’s community, it’s family and it’s friends."
The available funding for enhancement grants, dispersed every three years, would come from a pool of federal money generated through a gasoline sales tax and administered through the regional Council of Governments.
"We put together our best shot of getting this trail funded at this particular point in time," said Eric Greenway, director of planning for Berkeley County. "If we don’t get the trail funding at this time, our next opportunity will be three years down the road."
This isn’t the first time planners have attempted to get funding to pay for a new path connecting Thomas Island and Daniel Island. A grant proposal for the section of Daniel Island Drive between Blackbaud and Fairchild Street was denied last year, according to Berkeley County Councilman Tim Callanan, who has been one of the biggest advocates for the cause. This time around, Callanan said, they have high hopes for success. Not only is it multi-jurisdictional, with both the city and county involved, but it also connects communities and has the potential to tie into other similar initiatives.
"These applications are scored," explained Callanan, who was also in attendance at last week’s meeting. "And there are certain things that give us a higher score that are putting us in a much better place than we were last year."
The project would cost an estimated $500,000, said Berkeley County Planner Mark Davis. The item with the biggest price tag is a new, $210,000 free-standing pedestrian and bike bridge that would run parallel to the existing bridge (the one closest to Thomas Island) in front of Blackbaud.
"It would not be attached to the existing roadway," added Philip Overcash, a planner for the City of Charleston. "So we’re looking at something pre-manufactured that would have to be dropped into place. Because of utilities and things that run along the bridge, it could be more expensive to retrofit the other bridge, than to just bring another one in."
The path itself will wind down along the road on the Blackbaud side all the way to the Clements Ferry Road intersection. Some in the audience questioned why the trail would be placed on the north side of the road, when most all of the neighborhood pedestrian and bike traffic would be entering from the south. In the Shell Ring neighborhood for example, residents utilizing the path would have to cross the road to gain access to the path. One resident expressed particular concern over the area where the road curves near the bridge.
"I just think that path where you go around that curve, I would be terrified to do that at 28 years-old," she said. "I would never let a kid go out the path at the back of our neighborhood and cross the street right there. You almost get hit there on a daily basis…Some significant work would need to be done to make it even remotely safe to cross there."
Davis said although the city and the county did receive DOT approval to place the path on the south side, they didn’t think it was a cost effective option.
"That was the more favorable side to run it," added Davis, of the Blackbaud side. "Ultimately, it does work better, because it’s easy to go through where there is less development and less things in your way…it also helps bring the cost down."
Greenway, Davis, Overcash, and Callanan agreed that if the grant is approved, they would evaluate ways to make crossing the street to get to the path safe for all.
"There are going to be some improvements to the road, for the safety of the road, with regards to speed, signage, speed bumps, whatever you can do to mitigate that issue," added Callanan. "It’s not just going to be the path."
City and county officials are hopeful that if their grant request is approved, it will pave the way for other enhancements to be completed in the area, such as extending the path from Blackbaud to Fairchild Street on Daniel Island.
"It’s in the city’s comprehensive plan," said Overcash. "It’s gonna be done. We just don’t know how to get there. It’s a matter of timing and funding."
"If we had a million dollars, we’d do the whole thing now," added Davis.
Planners would also like to see the path eventually connect to the existing Clements Ferry Road widening project, which will extend from I-526 to Jack Primus Road. The deadline for the grant application to be submitted is September 30. It will then take several months before a decision is rendered. Greenway said even if all is approved, it would likely be 2 years before construction would be complete.
