Bike Lane Debate Continues

This week Charleston County Council will hold a public discussion of the proposal to convert one of the four lanes of the northbound U.S. Hwy. 17 bridge going into the peninsula from West Ashley into a bike/pedestrian lane.
The public discussion will be held Thursday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. at the Holliday Alumni Center of The Citadel on Haygood Avenue.
While the state and the city have already approved the conversion, the county would be in charge of its construction. Ands there has been much less support for the conversion, even a temporary one, on County Council.
Supporters claim that traffic demands have forced the area to begin transitioning away from the automobile. They point to the success the bike/pedestrian lane has enjoyed for the past decade on the Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River.
Detractors claim that the removing one lane of traffic, even with a more robust off-ramp exchange at Lockwood Boulevard, would create an untenable traffic nightmare. Some say a better solution would be to create the lane on the Connector.
Various plans and perspectives will be presented, along with some expected rhetorical fireworks.