Ever since the Interstate 526 beltway connected Mount Pleasant and North Charleston in the early 1990s, suburban sprawl, more traffic and accidents, crowded schools, pollution, jam-packed beaches, and parking issues have been out of control.
The 526-enabled overdevelopment was so rampant that Mount Pleasant had to cap building permits and "get into the road-building business." Since 526, the East Cooper area’s population has quintupled at a time when we should not be encouraging people to move to a coast increasingly vulnerable to powerful hurricanes like Helene and Milton.
Interstate beltways aren’t the solution to traffic and safety headaches. Just try driving through Atlanta, Charlotte, or 526 itself—a daily hub of jams and jolts that have led to the proliferation of accident attorneys in the Lowcountry.
Because of the sprawl catalyzed by 526, local governments now have to build roads through areas previously set aside as green space, such as the former Hamlin property on Rifle Range Road and the proposed Laurel Hill Plantation. Mount Pleasant had to build a "flyover" at Bowman Road and roundabouts, both of which are actual solutions for improving traffic flow.
Why bring this up now?
Many people I’ve spoken to over the past few months don’t know about Charleston County Council’s referendum asking for a third sales tax approval in 20 years and an advance on those monies. The council expects to raise $4.9 billion to $5.4 billion with the tax.
They’re dangling carrots like improvements to local roads, mass transit, green space, and bike-pedestrian infrastructure. But they have prioritized only one mega-project: a nine-plus-mile extension of 526 from West Ashley to James Island, through existing neighborhoods, over the nearly pristine Stono River (twice), and through 46 acres of James Island County Park, with three access points on Johns Island.
It’s a ludicrous plan—one the feds don’t dare touch.
Six of the nine members of Charleston County Council actually think they can pull this off, even though they have completed only one of 17 projects detailed in the 2016 sales tax referendum. They estimate the project will cost $2.3 billion, but they rarely admit that with financing, it will likely reach $3 billion. And that’s the current estimate. Mega-projects always cost more than projected.
This mega-project not only has the potential to hoover up all the sales tax revenue, but it could end up costing even more. Where will that money come from?
The potential damage goes beyond the taxpayer.
Not only would the 526 extension turn the rest of Johns Island into a sprawling development like north Mount Pleasant, but it would disturb existing residents, pollute the Stono River, threaten Charleston’s farms, the Gullah Geechee community, historic sites, and scenic highways, and ruin James Island County Park.
I urge readers of the Island Eye News to vote "no" on the county’s referendum questions for a tax that will do only harm, no good, and nothing for your communities.
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Quick serves as chairman of the Mount Pleasant GREEN Commission (speaking for himself), is a founding member of the Charleston Climate Coalition, volunteers for various community conservation endeavors, worked as a writer for The Post and Courier for 30 years, and regularly attends local government meetings.
