Next Transportation Advisory Committee meeting will be a working community meeting Wednesday, April 22,
from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Burton Wells Recreation Center, 1 Middleton Drive, Beaufort

The community-led Transportation Advisory Committee held its first community work session in Bluffton, Wednesday, April 1, and continued gathering information and prioritizing a list of transportation-related projects for consideration in the November referendum. 

Colonel Neil Baxley, Emergency Management Division Commander gave a brief update on behalf of Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. He noted traffic concerns and public safety issues from a law enforcement emergency management point of view: traffic density intersections, high risk intersections, increased accidents with injuries and an increasing number of traffic warnings and tickets written. Col. Baxley noted that County infrastructure had not kept pace with population growth and heavy congestion at numerous major arteries is growing. Most notably Sea Island Parkway on Lady's Island, Highway 278, Highway 170, and named the most violent intersection by Col. Baxley, Highway 170 and Callawassie Drive. 

He said the Sheriff's Office tracks vehicle movement around the County for emergency response purposes, and they estimated 4.5 million trips daily--some are duplicates--multiple trips and stops running errands, etc., but that number is a close estimate of vehicle traffic in Beaufort County. The increased traffic, congestion and population is quickly outgrowing an aging transportation infrastructure.

Next, Chair Lisa Sulka led discussions with input from Jared Fralix, Assistant County Administrator for Infrastructure and Bryan Bauer, County Engineering Director, regarding the project list, estimated costs, and an appropriate timeframe for revenue collection. Timeframes ranged from 4 years to 10 years. The committee continues to discuss project costs so no decision was made determining the amount of revenue to be collected.

Members of the Transportation Advisory Committee will continue to go back to their districts to listen to residents' concerns and suggestions of traffic-related issues then compile as comprehensive a list as possible with special attention being paid to cost and project scope and size--which will then be submitted to County Council for referendum consideration.

The next meeting will be working community meeting Wednesday, April 22, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Burton Wells Recreation Center. The public is invited to attend.

Meetings will be held at locations around the County so they will be convenient for everyone to be able to attend at least one. The deadline for the committee to submit a final recommendation of projects to County Council for consideration is Monday, May 11. The meeting schedule voted on by the TAC can be found here.

All committee information, projects and priorities can be found at beaufortcountypenny.com.

To watch the meeting in its entirety, click here.