Downtown multi-use paths get OK from committee | Local News | Summerville Journal Scene

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Downtown multi-use paths get OK from committee

Published Thursday, February 04, 2010 12:19 PM

By Jenny Peterson
Summerville Journal Scene ®

The Public Works Committee on Wednesday unanimously voted in favor of paving projects that would connect neighborhoods to parks as well as add a bicycle lane to a popular, well-traveled road.

Residents in the South Pointe neighborhood have been complaining about people speeding down South Pointe Boulevard and ignoring the four-way stop sign, Town Engineer Russ Cornette said.

“The police department went out and said there is a problem,” Cornette said. In order to reduce driver speed, the town is proposing adding four-foot bicycle lanes on either side of South Pointe Boulevard.

“It would narrow the travel lane and slow people down subconsciously,” Cornette said. The project would cost less than $1,000 Cornette said. He said the town does not currently have the money to add a sidewalk to the road.

Councilman Bob Jackson, who sits on the committee, was wholeheartedly in favor of adding the bicycle lane.

“This sounds like a plus to me -- all the way around,” Jackson said. “I don’t see a downside.”

Another project the committee is in favor of is to add a paved multi-use path from the Arbor Oaks neighborhood to the Sawmill Branch Trail.

The project is set to cost around $3,000.

The town wasn’t supposed to pay for the path, but a “gentleman’s agreement” between the developers and Dorchester County from five years ago apparently fell through, Cornette said.

He said Dorchester County was working on the path’s right-of-way when the development was being built, and agreed it would pay for the path when work was completed.

“The developers said it was nothing more than a handshake (agreement),” Cornette said.

Work never began on the path and Cornette said those involved with the agreement are no longer with the county.

“(Residents) are now looking at us to do it,” he said.

Current committee members expressed concern with paying for something that should have been completed, but still voted unanimously for the project.

The final recommendation was to connect the Weatherstone Subdivision to Fripp Lane, allowing residents at Daniel’s Orchard and nearby areas to avoid using Main Street in order to get around town.

The project, which has been in the works for several years, is set to cost $50,000, Cornette said. The town has $180,000 in a transportation fund that can be used for this project.

In other business, the committee discussed the possibility of adding a multi-purpose path from Butler Street and East Richardson to Gahagan Park.

Cornette said it would be a useful project, and that town staff will look into whether hospitality taxes can be used to fund it.

The full council will hear the committee’s recommendations and will vote on the projects at their Feb. 10 meeting at 7:30 p.m. at 200 S. Main St.

Contact Jenny Peterson at 873-9424 ext. 216 or JPeterson@journalscene.com.

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104 East Doty Avenue | Summerville, SC 29483 | 843-873-9424 office | 843-873-9432 fax