King Street Bike Lane

King Street, some may argue, is the heart of downtown Charleston, it is also the 3rd most dangerous road in South Carolina for walkers and bikers (aka vulnerable road users). The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has put forth recommended changes to King Street to make it safer for all people.

Their proposal included designs for a buffered bike lane while keeping on-street parking and reducing the travel lanes from 2 to 1. This proposal had many benefits including:

  • Dedicated space for all modes of transportation, which reduces conflicts

  • Narrow lanes mean slower speeds and increased safety for all

  • Designated bike lanes that boost business

  • Bike lanes to calm traffic and improve safety for pedestrians

  • Bike lanes are part of the City’s Climate Action Plan (CAP)

  • Make sure bicyclists, who will always be present on King Street, have a safe space to travel

This plan would also be entirely federally funded. However, the City put forth a counterproposal, which also reduces travel lanes from 2 to 1, but does not include a bike lane. This would create an extra-wide lane for car traffic, which would encourage speeding, and would provide no infrastructure to protect other vulnerable road users.

We helped to get over 4,000 locals to send emails speaking out in support of the original plans and had dozens of people come out to several City Council meetings to support the inclusion of the bike lane. CCC also worked diligently to collect support from dozens of business owners and hundreds of workers on King Street. Unfortunately, due to skepticism by a small handful of business owners and city officials, the plans were delayed multiple times throughout 2023, and eventually the plans went on the back burner with the new mayoral administration.

However, we will continue to work diligently with our local partners to improve alternative modes of transportation, and

ORIGINAL SCDOT PLANS

CITY COUNTERPROPOSAL

How we got here:

2019-2021 » The improvement concepts were developed by the state after conducting Road Safety Audits along the corridors, because they are four of the ten most dangerous for people on bikes and foot in South Carolina.

2022 » SCDOT hosted a public meeting and comment period that generated overwhelming support for the agency's proposed improvements. Written opposition was received after the comment period, and a private meeting occurred with objections to the King Street design.

2023 » In March, the Project Agreement vote was deferred by the City's Traffic & Transportation Committee. No discussion took place. In June the vote was once again deferred. Updated plans have still not been released to the public, and there has been concern that that many of the discussions are going on behind closed doors and that the King Street Bike lane has already been struck from the plan, which is a step backward from the original plans proposed by SCDOT.

We are re-sharing petition signatures with both the City and SCDOT. Providing safe space for all modes of travel is vital and dire, for the safety and enjoyment of residents, workers and visitors. This is particularly important for King Street, which at last count hosted 50,000 daily visits on foot (compared to the 2022 annual average daily counts of motor vehicles at 12,300). It's abundantly clear that the economic engine of King Street is running off people-power.