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Charleston Moves advocates innovative planning, alternative modes of transportation and anemphasis on active lifestyles. Although our reputation is for as advocacy for bicyclists andpedestrians, our broader focus is on quality of life, active lifestyles and alternative forms oftransportation. We recognize the important role of the automobile, but we stress that peopleshould not be limited to using cars as their sole mode of transportation.

We have given detailed attention to the latest proposal from Charleston County and the SouthCarolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) to expand I-526, linking it from Rte. 17(Savannah Highway) approximately 7.9 miles to the end of what we call The James IslandConnector. The latest proposal is commonly known as Alternative G.

Our findings are divided into two main sections: 1/ an assessment of whether or not the planfulfils its own objectives, and, 2/ a list of other projects that might enter the broader conversationabout what would make transportation in the Low Country better.

THE PROPOSED I-526 EXTENSION DOES NOT MEET SC DOT OBJECTIVES

The stated purpose of the Mark Clark Expressway Project is to increase the capacity of theregional transportation system, improve safety and enhance mobility to and from the WestAshley, Johns Island and James Island areas of Charleston.

By the standards it authors outlined for the project, it delivers negligible bang for enormous bucks.If enhancing mobility includes cutting travel time and hours spent on the road, SCDOTs ownstatistical assessment of the potential results fails to support the projects $489 million price tag.

First, consider the departments own statistics on how travel time and travel miles would be

improved: West Ashley and James Island commuters would save an average of only 36 seconds People travelling from Johns Island would experience an average 4.5-minute reduction

for a 30-min. commute. The proposed route would yield a 2% reduction in vehicle miles travelled (VMT).

Second, Note that the project doesnt improve auto crash statistics on four of the most dangerousstretches of roads, I-26 from Edge of Model Boundary to UA 17A, US 17 / Savannah Highwayfrom Route 162 to Bees Ferry Rd., Maybank Hwy. from Main Rd. to River Rd., and Main Rd. (Itcould conceivably worsen conditions on Maybank Hwy.)

Third, looking at some of SC DOTs non-statistical objectives, more huge shortcomings can befound:

While the proposal emphasizes that "the majority of peoplealong this route would like anew roadway and connections," it neglects to include that they also said they wouldlike more alternative transportationmore green spacemore bike and pedestrianaccess, and that they do not want impacts to their way of life, wildlife, wetlands,vistas...

While it says a major route selection criteria was to ..avoid environmentally sensitiveareas (i.e. wetlands, historic sites), it shows proposed roadways in the middle of themarsh and wetlands and parks. 82%of land in the study area is listed as natural,

Position Paper:

I-526 (Mark Clark) Extension

9/9/10

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residential or agricultural. Alternative G, the proposed route, will convert 278 acresfrom agricultural, vacant, undeveloped, residential and special purpose (church,school, historic,..) and 0% is commercial.

o The proposal also openly acknowledges more Issues including: 1/ Road noise 2/wildlife and habitat damage including changes in water flows in marshesand impacts on streams 3/ negative impacts on Fenwick Hall archeological

site and on a second archeological site dating to 1656, 4/ Impact on over130 acres of floodplain for Alternative G. It says the intent was to utilize areas with limited or no development to the greatest

extent possible If that is so, wouldnt it be better to aim for the commercial andindustrial uses to consolidate the impacts, to have the roadway located nearcenters that would use it not in natural open spaces and residential areas?(Roads like this mean development even if theyre in a marsh.)

It is designed as a kind of ring road to alleviate traffic. But instead of ringing the city, itdumps huge volumes of traffic directly onto Calhoun Street, already choked at rush hourwith Connector traffic.

WHY SHOULD ROADS BE THE ONLY ANSWER?

Our transportation issues can no longer be addressed simply by coating more of the Low Countrywith asphalt, always trying to fix traffic problems with more roads that wind up bringing even morecars, more traffic. It just gets worse and worse. We must encourage mass transit, ride sharing,HOV lanes, commuter rail and light rail. The Mark Clark Expressway extension project wouldspawn more single-story construction, more parking lots, and more conventional suburbansprawl. It would detract from the beauty of our region. It would require rolling out approximately9,266,400 square feet of asphalt, the equivalent of 16 Savannah Highway K-Mart sites or 435football fields.

Roads bring development, often, undesirable development. Sometimes, it has despoiled pristinemarsh views. Is the community willing and ready to handle the inevitable development that willfollow the Mark Clark? As so many Johns Island residents have testified, development pressureon the island is alarming. Once a remote rural farming community, suburban residential

development now creeps into the countryside, often frustrating farming operations that haveexisted for generations. The Mark Clark will only exacerbate this problem. One need only look tothe Mount Pleasant extension of the Mark Clark for proof. The Mark Clark in this area wassupposed to alleviate traffic congestion on Highway 17 North and was completed in 1991. Dataindicates that traffic counts on Highway 17 North (between the Cooper River Bridge andCottingham Road) dropped from1992 to 1995. By 1998, however, the traffic counts for the samestretch of Highway 17 North exceed those of 1991

One part of the proposal is a good sign: the inclusion of a parallel multi-use path for bicyclists andpedestrians. Planners had good intentions in this case and are paying attention to the need forsuch facilities. However, in this case, it does not overcome the negatives.

In our view, smart transportation requires a balanced approach: Roads and autos, routes andrails for mass transit including light rail, streetcars and buses as well as ubiquitous bike lanes and

bike routes for bicycles as well as safe routes for pedestrians.

In its failure to meet its own objectives and for its huge price tag, the I-526 extension proposalfailsthe test of common sense.

MODEWISE not ROADWISE

We deceive ourselves if we believe there is much more open, unused space that can bedeveloped in the Low Country. In the most densely developed parts of our region, even findingthe space to park a single additional car is daunting. In downtown Charleston if has becomealmost mathematically impossible.

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It is time that we replace the concept Roadwise with Modewise. As a community, we haveno other choice than to adopt new transportation options that can balance our systems and movepeople in greater numbers comfortably, safely and efficiently. We dont dispute that those optionsshould include making auto and truck traffic more efficient. But time has come for us toacknowledge that mass transit and other options must be put into serious play. It is these otheroptions, not huge new roads that will help preserve neighborhoods and quality of life.

While we know that the sum allocated toward the Mark Clark cannot necessarily be transferred toother projects, we nevertheless list some alternative projects that can be considered in the future.We emphasize that they are not listed as direct alternatives to the I-526 project but presented asoptions that could markedly improve aspects of transportation in the low country.

It is a smorgasbord of possibilities that could be mixed and matched to bring significanttransformation in our region. Examining this list, we hope, will stimulate conversations aboutalternatives.

Improve of the I-26 corridor (including making portions south of Cosgrove into a beautiful,tree lined boulevard).

Establish a light rail along a corridor from Summerville through North Charleston todowntown Charleston.

Make multi-mode boulevards out of roads like the Crosstown, Folly Road, Spruill andRivers Avenues, Savannah and Maybank Highways, Establish Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems to move large numbers of people along

existing major roads (including those mentioned above). Vastly improved and modernized CARTA DASH system (and give serious consideration

to the return of the Charleston streetcar), Return all one-way streets on the Charleston peninsula to two-way status, and make

Coleman Boulevard, Folly Road, and Savannah Highway more pedestrian/bike friendly. Quickly complete a bicycle-pedestrian crossing of the Ashley River together with hard-

surfacing a path for the entire length of the West Ashley Greenway. (The Greenwayshould also undergo landscape and other improvements for park-goers as well.)

Establish a system of bike boulevards in dense neighborhoods, and make bike lanesand sharrows ubiquitous.

Marshall broad-based multi-governmental support for Bike/Ped routes like our Battery toBeach route (with an extension to North Charleston),

When residents of Charleston County approved the half-cent years ago, they gave governmentofficials some clear direction: to improve our road system and to protect more green space. Theyalso wanted much more attention to projects that improve mass transit and trips by bicycle and onfoot. These were not mere afterthoughts.

Even though this project includes provisions for bicyclists and pedestrians but it fails the overalltest. And our overall assessment of county-wide progress since passage of the half-cent sales taxshows only the faintest of lip service given to alternative forms of transportation, some of thepublics stated priorities.

Even if the first square foot of it is never built, the I-526 extension project is already very costly

proof of that.