CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – The South Carolina Department of Transportation is announcing a new guideline to create safer roads for everyone.
The agency is adopting a “full street” policy that requires consideration of accommodations for cycling, walking and public transportation that can be established on the state road system.
The department will work with the state’s regional transportation partners and public transportation providers to identify the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and people who depend on bus transportation.
They will then find ways to incorporate them into different plans.
“The policy’s goal is to make our road system safe and accessible to all users, drivers, passengers, cyclists, pedestrians and transit passengers,” said SCDOT Transport Secretary Christy Hall. “Proper planning is the key to ensuring that the appropriate level of multimodal accommodation is provided in the right context, on the right project and in the right way to meet the needs of the community.”
State Representative Marvin Pendarvis filed a “Complete Streets” bill in 2019 that urged DOT to find ways to ensure that roads in South Carolina were safe for all users.
According to him, the policy adopted was the result of joint work with the area over the past few years. Although the policy was adopted without the need for a bill, Pendarvis said it was a big boost in the right direction.
“Being able to have a department updating its policies and guidelines to reflect this says a lot about its commitment to responding to what we feel was necessary to do in South Carolina,” said Pendarvis.
Preliminary data from the South Carolina Department of Public Security shows that 180 pedestrians and 14 cyclists died on state highways and roads in 2020.
Charleston Moves Executive Director Katie Zimmerman said the new policy sets an important tone on the state agency’s priorities.
“We have the fourth largest DOT in the country in kilometers of highways that they own and maintain, so they are the ones that set the rules for most bridges, roads and paths,” she said. “For the agency to say that it is important and vital that we are providing the necessary space and protecting vulnerable road users through this space, putting them on paper and committing to it, this sets the tone for the entire state.”
Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.