EDITORIAL: Urban planning: This time it’s personal!
By Bill Settlemyer
Executive Publisher
I recently attended a meeting of the East Cooper Planning Council, a volunteer group of concerned citizens focusing on the future development of the entire East Cooper area.
The topic of the well-attended luncheon was “The Future of Highway 17 North,” with a particular focus on plans to build a series of urban interchanges on Highway 17 between the foot of the new Cooper River bridge and I-526 in Mount Pleasant.
A series of interstate-style overpasses would allow traffic to flow unimpeded from the bridge to I-526. The Planning Council was concerned about the impact on businesses along that stretch of Highway 17 and how this approach to traffic management would impact the character and aesthetic appeal of that part of Mount Pleasant.
Up close and personal
Our offices are next to Staples off Houston Northcutt Boulevard, and to be honest, the thought of having a big overpass a few hundred feet from our location sounded very unappealing to me.
We’ve been very pleased with our new home after moving from downtown Charleston in the spring of 2003. Since that time, we’ve watched a lot of new office and retail construction rise out of the ground along the highway. Overall, it’s a pleasant setting, as befits the town’s name, and I wanted to hear what Planning Council volunteers had to say about alternatives to overpasses as a traffic solution.
In essence, the Planning Council’s preliminary study recommended consideration of a “multi-way” boulevard and traffic roundabouts as a better way to move cars along and across the highway. Examples were cited of major urban areas elsewhere in the country that have used these methods to move large amounts of traffic without overwhelming the urban streetscapes along the roads.
The Planning Council’s plan would use dual center lanes, much as in the highway’s current configuration, to move the “express” traffic, while the current frontage roads on each side would be redesigned to better support an urban cityscape. New paths would be created along the right of way for cyclists and pedestrians.
The presenters estimated that their approach would cost about one-third of the $100 million plus cost of the overpass plan, but they also emphasized that there would still be business dislocations if their approach was ultimately adopted.
There was also concern expressed that the overpass solution might quickly become “a done deal,” now that the half-cent sales tax is available to help fund new road projects in Charleston County, a concern shared by a number of those attending the presentation.
To go fast, go slow
Here’s my take: To go fast, we need to go slow. One thing’s for sure, any major changes to this vital stretch of Highway 17 will change the character of Mount Pleasant forever, for better or for worse. The town, the county and concerned citizens need to work together and take enough time to make sure the chosen solution is the best for the town and the region as well.
Another concern is that the purpose of the “overpass” solution is basically to move traffic quickly from the foot of the bridge to the area of Highway 17 beyond I-526. But as most people who drive east of the Cooper know, the biggest jam-ups today are in the areas further out on Highway 17 between I-526 and Highway 41.
In other words, what do we gain by allowing traffic coming off the bridge to arrive at the “bottleneck zone” more quickly than it does now? I’m not a traffic expert, but I’d sure like to hear more about the big picture and how all this will play out in the future as East Cooper continues to grow.
The current planning is based on the assumption that traffic on this stretch of road will grow from 40,000 cars a day to 70,000 over a 20-year period. In other words, it won’t all happen tomorrow, so we’ve got time to study this issue in depth.
For starters, the city and county should wait until the new Cooper River bridge opens and then monitor the traffic flow for a period of months until we can clearly see how the new bridge affects traffic flows, especially during rush hour periods.
Regional problems, regional solutions
The road-building conundrum in Mount Pleasant is just one illustration of why we need an ongoing regional planning process that involves the public, the business community and all of the area’s county and municipal governments.
Consider, for example, the efforts to severely limit development of the Watson Hill tract in Dorchester County. Highly restrictive zoning there sends a clear message to developers to “jump over” the area and search for available land further out from the region’s urban center—a classic example of why urban sprawl gobbles up rural land at a furious pace in the absence of comprehensive regional planning.
The limits imposed on the Watson Hill tract may be the wisest choice, but we need to realize that local zoning decisions often have consequences that affect the broader regional community outside the area being zoned, and those consequences should be weighed as well.
I’ve said before and will say again there are no perfect solutions to managing urban growth. The best we can do is think regionally, learn from the best practices adopted by communities in other regions of the country, and do our best to strike a balance between the common good and the concerns of individuals who are directly affected by any given land use decision.
It’s hard work. It’s messy. It’s frustrating. But the alternative to open, collaborative and thoughtful regional planning is even worse.
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