Councilman Ron Brinson – June 10, 2019
Chic Fil A on Dorchester Road will soon reopen with a larger parking area, expanded drive-through lanes and a more spacious kitchen. This popular eatery has become a community gathering place – and a supporter of many public initiatives. Its grand reopening “ceremony” is set for Saturday morning 10 a.m., June 22. Mayor Summey, Councilman Skipper and I will be there – and we hope you can make it, too. Panera Bread at The Corner at Wescott is on schedule for an early September opening. The Krispy Kreme project on Ladson Road is reported as “plugging along.” I’ll try to refine its target date for opening.
Silt Fencing at The Wescott Traffic Circle evidences the beginning of a townhome development for that section of the Circle. This property was zoned for development a decade ago and initially included a gas station-convenience store. Councilman Skipper and I – with Mayor Summey’s help – were able to negotiate an elimination of the gas station – convenience store. A small hotel and some retail stores are still indicated across Wescott Boulevard in other sections of the circle, but there has been no reported development interest. The pending townhomes development complies with density goals. But once again we see development of plans formulated a decade ago being implemented now in traffic and other growth conditions that have changed dramatically in 10 years. State laws protect the property rights implied by zoning and this lack of a shelf-life compounds the effects of population growth. We have begun to ask the legislative delegation to consider appropriate amendments. Not surprisingly, developer interests are strongly opposed.
Repaving Projects Underway – Dorchester Road lanes were repaved last week from Wescott Boulevard to Parlor. A major project to resurface Dorchester Road lanes from Indigo Fields to Club Course/Netherby with rebuilds of the intersections will soon be underway. Much of this work will be done at night. With Mayor Summey’s support, we were able to formulate city funding for mast arms for signal lights at the Dorchester/Club Course-Netherby intersection. Smaller repaving projects will be in motion over the next two months on Wescott Boulevard and Patriot Boulevard and in certain sections of Windsor Hill Boulevard. Our city’s public works teams will also be working on restriping these busy roadways and adding balk lines for stop signs and markings for pedestrian crossings.
Traffic Signals on Patriot Boulevard Near Joe Pye Elementary – One of the three developers we asked to help finance this $350,000 two-light project balked. Nonetheless, we are determined to find the funding for these signals with, yes, the decorative mast arms. Our goal – ambitious, for sure- is installation by this Fall. Also, the developer has confirmed plans to complete the connection of Weber Drive with a project beginning late summer. This will provide a direct routing from Patriot Boulevard to Palmetto Commerce Parkway, Ingleside Boulevard and Northside Drive. It will also connect to the new Interstate 26 exit which Charleston County plans to complete by 2024.
South Carolina Department of Transportation has many active projects in our neighborhoods. One is a safety project that will create a median and crosswalks along Dorchester Road between Parlor and Trolley. This work also will lengthen right-turn lanes to facilitate traffic flows during high-volume periods. Another project will eliminate the high accident rates related to the left turn tendencies from Saddlebrook Drive (the Gables) onto Ashley Phosphate. The community information flyer I’ve appended below provides details on how this will work.
Branch Library– We were a couple of weeks from confirming a location for a Dorchester County branch library when the S.C. Supreme Court invalidated the County’s 2016 referendum because the proposal did not separate the propositions of parks and recreation and libraries. The referendum passed with strong countywide support. It specified a branch library within North Charleston municipal limits. The likely location would have been on Patriot Boulevard next to the aquatics center. The operation would combine public access with use by the Fort Dorchester High School. The retention pond would become a well-landscaped feature of a public complex. Kudos to Dorchester County Council — Chairman George Bailey told us last week that Council would recreate an appropriately worded referendum for voters to consider in the county wide local elections in November. Let’s hope Council is able to cobble this initiative and sati sfy all legal requirements. This would give us a chance to vote and support these projects anew and minimize the costs of further time delays.
Kudos, too, for S.C. Representative Chris Murphy, a District 4 constituent, and S.C. Senator Sean Bennett of Summerville. They are helping us arrange for an early voting station at Wescott Park for the November local elections. This will eliminate the necessity of driving to Summerville or St. George to exercise early voting options.
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Please recirdulate this newsletter to your neighbors. Glad to include any District 4 in the direct mail circulation. Just contact me at rbrin@aol.com
