Help us stop the Mark Clark Extension and Fix Johns Island's Roads First.

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THE ISSUE

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Charleston County plans to spend more than $420 million to extend I-526 through Johns Island to James Island. This extension will forever alter the character of rural Johns Island, ruin the lowcountry coastal landscape, and waste taxpayer dollars. Moreover, this expenditure on the highway extension produces unclear, uneven and minimal relief to the area’s traffic problems. It is an antiquated project planned before it was understood what highways do to rural areas, the pattern of growth that would take place in the region, and where the traffic problems would occur. We have the resources at our disposal to create a sustainable modern solution to our current traffic problems. Let’s put tax-payer dollars to a good use and solve our traffic problems!

ACT NOW!!
The Concerned Citizens of the Sea Islands and the Coastal Conservation League have hired transportation experts Glatting Jackson to look at alternative transportation solutions, using less money to provide better solutions to congested areas. This approach to solving traffic congestion will allow the Charleston region to maintain rural and natural beauty AND to use leftover money to fix other roads in the area.

Please join us this January 2-4 at our Design Charrette with Glatting Jackson at the Holiday Inn Riverview, 301 Savannah Highway, Charleston:

• Wednesday, January 2nd, 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
  
• Thursday, January 3rd, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  
• Friday, January 4th, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
  

AND the Design Charrette Presentation at Mark Clark Hall at the Citadel, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston:

• Thursday, January 3rd, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  

After Glatting Jackson presents their findings and designs on January 3, please visit this website and urge your politicians to SAY NO to the extension of I-526 to Johns Island and to SAY YES to the cheaper, more effective alternatives.

THE HISTORY
In December of 2005, Charleston County Council lobbied to make the Mark Clark extension to Johns Island one of South Carolina's top priorities. And in June, 2006, the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank (STIB) awarded a $99 million grant to Charleston County and pledged that any other money coming into the STIB would be allocated to fund the extension at a total of $420 million.

The STIB continues to fund this and other projects, despite a budget deficit of more than $700 million.

At the beginning of 2007, the Berkeley Charleston Dorchester Council of Governments ran traffic models to see the effects of the Mark Clark extension on the West Ashley and Johns Island transportation system. Even with the Mark Clark extension completed, Folly Road and Savannah Highway maintain failing levels of service. In other words, with the Mark Clark extension, these roads will remain some of the state’s most congested roads. On Johns Island, the traffic models show the Mark Clark extension results in a slight improvement on Main Road, while Bohicket Road and River Road on will become more congested. A large sum of money would be spent shifting the traffic problems from some areas to others, but would not fix them. Click here to see the traffic maps.