[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6550066,"mediaKeyId","5418266-918ddea6c5b6ce87a3084b4a401857b6","parentId",5418266,"title","Committee hears brief updates on stormwater work, Central Park closure and Folly Road 'road diet' design","audioSeconds",2364,"startMs",1225000,"endMs",3589000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5418266-918ddea6c5b6ce87a3084b4a401857b6&start=1225&end=3589","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5418266-918ddea6c5b6ce87a3084b4a401857b6/thumbnail_1225000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6550066/James-Island/Charleston-County/South-Carolina/Committee-hears-brief-updates-on-stormwater-work-Central-Park-closure-and-Folly-Road-road-diet-design","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6550066-ba8a6651e0dfb4cff28ab0883e987e48/orig.mp4?Expires=1771142224&Signature=RLeNo81l3HTgdOuE5b4Ct7wyPCIGUDcKlMYAjwx99zkVsB2M7xREX6gViEMzUqL-MMN9WD1Y-fcx7PsI8XF1gzb0y1gJOVvYv~4JrzlptSyZVyvYqmNawNe2TJDzT1PBPq4fQB0IyGfy7HjgDiiVeRbdxkQ503eBMZYgQ~OIeTEReYSnTLOWCG7fh0SP1sd6kJeyVcahu2Z8-bK0Nd6y6PQk1ajwsXi6UtBLbISPCc8O4rH6iUlGIaefV4HYJIvVRa4M6TPMXqa9EyOQHZgxgjxEMSIWHFOGabqNEdrX0pmMrl7XgviXapnOQflm7~jDa8ES6Aw3tkTG52X1XpAt6w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","James Island","date","2025-07-16T00:00:00Z","article","At the July 15 meeting the committee received project updates from jurisdictional staff about ongoing construction and planned design work affecting James Island traffic and drainage.

Folly Beach reported that construction for the Center Street stormwater project has begun; crews completed utility investigations and are working on side roads. A town representative said the planned work will replace pipes with larger capacity sections and implement innovative stormwater approaches. The project-contact asked the committee if there were questions; a committee member asked whether the city had other stormwater projects underway and was told the city has additional work in its pipeline.

Committee members also discussed the Charleston County Central Park Road closure. Staff said the closure will last about four months for work on drainage; detour signage was strengthened to route traffic to Camp Road and the city has added an earmark for Hollings Road drainage. Participants said the closure has been well-managed and that they had not received significant complaints about detours so far.

Finally, town staff said the city is preparing to bid design work for a Folly Road “road diet” near Bowens and Pease Island that will reduce four lanes to two and add dedicated left-turn lanes into Bowens and Pease Island. Staff said SCDOT has already approved the concept and the city is starting the design-bid process; construction is expected to be more than a year out. A town representative said the change aims to improve safety and that traffic sequencing along Folly has shown typical afternoon congestion.

Ending: Committee members noted these projects when discussing broader Folly Road safety priorities; no formal votes or funding decisions were taken on the project updates.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","James Island - ReThink Folly Road Steering Committee - Jul 16, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Committee members received short status reports on a Folly Beach Center Street stormwater project, the Central Park Road closure and early design work for a Folly Road road diet near Bowens and Pease Island; SCDOT has approved the road diet concept for design bidding.","taxTitle","James Island, Charleston County, South Carolina","taxId",70277,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6550071,"School officials and parents discuss Camp Road Middle car line as Central Park closure adds pressure",1749,1426000,3175000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5418266-918ddea6c5b6ce87a3084b4a401857b6&start=1426&end=3175","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5418266-918ddea6c5b6ce87a3084b4a401857b6/thumbnail_1426000.jpg","/articles/6550071/James-Island/Charleston-County/South-Carolina/School-officials-and-parents-discuss-Camp-Road-Middle-car-line-as-Central-Park-closure-adds-pressure","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6550071-6d405238c3e79184488390a0e1a4615b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771142223&Signature=DwFCjZ-9zpLnlBAFyO~eyvo3zFZCfNpwtiALkwMS8kKxj57mcSv1DrOaRBOdI6HPOG3R-SegRToNrv5GgBFGhx6oEmhGFjQ9n9NqEnfImHAAo6xnuq1wKoyIfzWLT-QWkQxL~vkTg8X2KPAVT2Al9gS-6Y~AlOz1ObLvtC0hgJ59m8GBwXdSlyrxpOH5yNPpL0Y4IuWpQQLOo735BDSpisjc9G8TT0qUa3jeahYgIuvms~GEH0F1Y29Ycc57ctnPuraa3V3AZhMjgRMP7TU3rE6ascxBKRsMWR-ZVtqPYlF3S~gGabxH1QMHiUT4TAM4xbluOQ6wvqEdEnNRyuuY1A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","School district staff and James Island parents pressed the Charleston County School District on July 15 for quicker work on car-line solutions at Camp Road Middle School, saying the upcoming school year and a nearby road closure make delays more likely.

Michael Reidenbach, executive director of security and emergency management for the Charleston County School District, told the committee the district has studied car-stacking and worked with law enforcement to observe peak periods. “For a school the size of Camp Road Middle, which had 900 students, [SCDOT] guidelines recommend a car stacking length of between 1,500 and 2,000 feet,” Reidenbach said, adding that the campus and adjacent turn lanes provide roughly 3,200 feet of stacking space. He said the school still experiences significant afternoon backups, particularly early in the year: “In August, it's pretty rough.”

Why it matters: the district described a mix of operational fixes and structural constraints. Reidenbach said the school opened interior doors earlier and improved loading efficiency to reduce morning stacking; afternoons remain the larger challenge. Parents and committee members urged the district to prioritize stacking changes, staggered dismissals or supervised use of available rear-campus space to reduce queuing onto Folly Road.

Parents proposed a range of short- and medium-term options, including staggered dismissal groups, assigning dismissal “flights” or using a nearby parking lot or church as a remote pick-up point for a subset of families. Reidenbach said each option carries trade-offs: siblings and carpools cross grade lines, and enforcing narrow arrival windows is administratively difficult. “We would love to find a way to implement [staggered dismissals],” Reidenbach said, but added the district had not found a comparable neighborhood school in the state that successfully staggered dismissals at scale.

The district also flagged that capital improvements—reconfiguring car stacks or adding pavement—require stormwater study, permitting and state traffic approvals and are therefore longer-term projects. Reidenbach said new principal Principal Sayer has already made campus traffic a priority and the district will continue brainstorming operational mitigations before the start of school.

Next steps: the district agreed to continue evaluating operational changes and to meet with parent volunteers after the meeting. Committee members said they will raise the issue with the incoming principal at an intergovernmental meeting on July 30.

Ending: No formal action was taken; parents asked the district to prioritize solutions over the next 30 days given the expected August peak.","Charleston County School District staff and local parents discussed persistent car-line backups at Camp Road Middle School, possible short-term mitigations and longer-term infrastructure limits ahead of the August start of school.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6550076,"Rethink Folly Road committee awaits DOT safety audit results; consultant funding stalled",878,360000,1238000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5418266-918ddea6c5b6ce87a3084b4a401857b6&start=360&end=1238","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5418266-918ddea6c5b6ce87a3084b4a401857b6/thumbnail_360000.jpg","/articles/6550076/James-Island/Charleston-County/South-Carolina/Rethink-Folly-Road-committee-awaits-DOT-safety-audit-results-consultant-funding-stalled","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6550076-f168fac52ed4225fac457579f1fc1fca/orig.mp4?Expires=1771142223&Signature=ip1jGIBwT7Tb4w35DZ0dGEhIT4HuBUUQFPWMlIr0shZOFykiOyCYxkVI8FpN8n2aWTJZYXBHzxv0sgP2S4xun6y3xhP-nwLmeemVrGo8aon-7mHqBbYTPwGhp5LW-EzsFi2-AQ0TZeOfPc7N-hqJ4EpHkKlOVl0UFC9yXMTQz6iRMi3~6Rgm~dbqdqSe2U4zk4~3taDHxLQsR5y9~Q1DIM4nU6-FTluPLVLatiM8jwuqaWAkdcGlCZmaX6C3wOhgGgbVHtchVd7h8QZ2HTMcqQ08kUzBNdT-n2~lJkJj3mQ0yGP0OqURZVnL57n1Xxa9nTW6HEOjxkWNPBEZ0vQzyw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Rethink Folly Road committee on James Island heard renewed concerns July 15 about the placement of traffic signals and the pace of follow-up on a DOT safety audit, and members said funding for a consultant to coordinate grants and design work remains unresolved.

The committee chair said the town and other jurisdictions have continued to press SCDOT on changes but have mostly received revisions to earlier concepts. A privately raised issue during public comment underscored how signal placement can affect safety: resident Richard Stuhr of 1350 Pickett Street said recent changes at the Grimble/Soledigree intersection make it harder for drivers and bicyclists to see signal changes when approaching Folly Road. “When they changed the stoplights there, they put the stoplights on the far side of the intersection … If they were on the far side of the intersection, people could see them,” Stuhr said.

Why it matters: the safety audit is the committee’s primary tool for shaping what SCDOT will study or fund, and committee members said being listed on DOT’s safety project list improves chances of getting construction dollars. Committee members and town staff said many residents voiced opposition to proposed medians during public meetings; the town has passed those comments up the chain.

Committee debate centered on two linked problems: (1) whether SCDOT will move from audit concepts to funded improvements, and (2) who will assemble grant applications or provide project coordination if jurisdictions cannot agree on a consultant. The chair summarized the conclusion of the item as a set of follow-ups: ask county staff for a status update on grant funding and request clarification from SCDOT about which audit concepts are on its funded safety list.

Members described a breakdown in cross-jurisdictional direction to the consultant role. One committee member said the consultant had been expected to coordinate grant applications, but the county did not give clear direction and therefore the consultant (Kyle/COG referenced in meeting) has not had a mandate to prepare applications. The committee recalled prior budgeting for consultant work: “when we initially started this committee, we had $60,000 a year budgeted for the consultant, and that was split proportionally by the jurisdiction such that Folly Beach this year was $6,000,” a committee speaker said. A county representative was not present to clarify the county’s position.

Committee members pressed for smaller, interim grant work if full consultant funding is unavailable. One participant said a tool used earlier in the process (referred to in the meeting as a previous consultant product) could be leveraged for modeling, but participants said grant-writing and coordination remain stalled until jurisdictions provide unified direction. Town staff proposed adding a county-briefing to the next agenda to get a clear update on the county’s role and any pending grant decisions.

The committee also discussed SCDOT’s process: a safety audit produces conceptual recommendations, then jurisdictions and DOT refine those concepts, DOT performs traffic modeling and decides what it will implement within its budget, and other recommendations remain available for jurisdictions to pursue with other funds. Committee members said being on DOT’s safety-list helps secure SCDOT funding.

Next steps: The chair asked to place a county update and a DOT clarification on the next agenda; the committee said it will continue to press jurisdictions for a coordinated approach to consultant funding and grant applications.

Ending: The committee did not take a formal vote on new funding; members said they will report back at the next meeting with any county or DOT responses.","Committee members and residents pressed for clearer outcomes from the Folly Road safety audit and debated paying for a consultant to coordinate grant applications after jurisdictions gave inconsistent direction to the consultant role.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee hears brief updates on stormwater work, Central Park closure and Folly Road 'road diet' design

School officials and parents discuss Camp Road Middle car line as Central Park closure adds pressure

Rethink Folly Road committee awaits DOT safety audit results; consultant funding stalled