|
East Cooper businesses fund transportation study
By Dennis Quick
Senior Staff Writer
The East Cooper Planning Council has commissioned transportation experts, roadway designers and economists to study how Johnnie Dodds Boulevard in Mount Pleasant can best be redesigned to accommodate transportation and business needs.
Dover, Kohl & Partners, a town-planning firm based in Coral Gables, Fla., will lead the study commissioned by the planning council, which consists of residents and businesspeople from Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Daniel Island, Cainhoy and Awendaw.
The study will analyze the relationships among transportation, land use and economic development in Mount Pleasant and come up with a range of redevelopment strategies for the Johnnie Dodds corridor.
A public session covering street and building design, open spaces, landscaping and parking along Johnnie Dodds will be held Aug. 27 at the Moultrie Middle School on Coleman Boulevard.
On Aug. 28, a design studio will address detailed roadway designs at the Holiday Inn on Johnnie Dodds Boulevard. Computer visualizations and illustrations will be created to generate immediate feedback from the public.
The study will make its final presentation on Aug. 31 at Mount Pleasant’s Town Hall.
The $200,000 study is separate from the Johnnie Dodds study the town of Mount Pleasant is conducting. Both studies seek solutions to traffic congestion along the boulevard, which handles about 40,000 cars a day and in 15 years is expected to accommodate between 60,000 and 70,000 cars a day. The studies also are searching for ways to provide easier access to businesses along the corridor, also known as U.S. Highway 17.
The town is considering a proposal to build flyovers, or overpasses, at major intersections along Johnnie Dodds. The planning council rejects such a proposal, claiming flyovers would be aesthetically unattractive to the area and a detriment to business access.
The East Cooper planning council’s commissioned study is intended to supplement the information from the town’s study, according to Tony Woody, chairman of the planning council’s Main Street initiative.
Mount Pleasant Town Council members welcome the planning council’s parallel study.
“We’re looking forward to working with them to get the best road for this community and state,” says councilman Joe Bustos.
Brent Havens, owner of Havens Picture Framing at 1070 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., thinks the study commissioned by the planning council will complement the town’s study.
“Two heads are better than one,” Havens says. “Doing this study along with the one the town is doing helps ensure that businesses and communities along Highway 17, including my own, are protected and thrive.”
Dennis Quick is senior staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dquick@charlestonbusiness.com.
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version