SCDOT’s plans to install a concrete median and chain-link fence on Hwy 61 met with strong resistance from residents, business owners, and local leaders
by Lorne Chambers | Editor
Local business owner Julia Jacobs didn’t set out to be a community activist. But when she saw the plans to put a concrete median and chain-link fence down the center of a large swath of Highway 61, she became the outspoken voice for all West Ashley residents and business owners who opposed the multi-layered plan recently proposed by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT).
Jacobs, who owns Capri Salon at 1339 Ashley River Road, snapped into action and began chatting with her friends, neighbors, fellow salon owners, and other businesses that would be impacted by the substantial changes that are scheduled to be implemented in 2026 along with a similar project along Savannah Highway.
“I really didn’t mean to be the spokesperson. I guess I was just loud,” said Jacobs, who started a petition opposing the Highway 61 proposal and quickly garnered more than 500 signatures. She contends the median would significantly inconvenience her employees, booth renters, and customers trying to turn left into her salon, which has operated at its current location for 22 years.
“It will affect all of our businesses,” she added, referring to any business located along the nearly three-and-a-half-mile stretch of St. Andrew’s Boulevard/Ashley River Road between Wesley Drive and Savage Road. This section of roadway was selected for improvement through SCDOT’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Action Plan as a part of the Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program. Besides the controversial concrete median, the plan also includes creating high-visibility crosswalks, ADA ramps, pedestrian crossing signals, new pavement markings, and bike lanes.
Adam Goodwin, who owns The Garden by Charles Towne Fermentory next door to Capri Salon, agrees. “It will definitely make access to The Garden much more difficult and would likely hurt our business.”
Fellow salon owner Molly McAdams, whose business Cosmotique has been located at 1411 Ashley River Road since 1989, is also concerned the impact a project of this magnitude could have on existing businesses as well as any new businesses that might be looking at Ashley River Road as a possible location.
“I’m definitely concerned. It may inhibit being seen or make it hard to figure out how to get into their parking lot,” she says. “Also, I’m concerned with what they may do to make enough room for this. Will they have to take part of people’s property? Most of these are small businesses that need as much visibility as possible.”
SCDOT held a public meeting to officially present the plan to the community officially on Thursday, Feb. 27, at the City Church of Charleston on Wappoo Road. The crowd, which had shown up in force to voice their concerns, strongly opposed the concrete medians and aluminum fencing.
“With the comment period now concluded, we are in the process of reviewing the feedback from the public and assessing its feasibility for integration into the preliminary design as the project advances,” said Hannah Robinson Media Relations Manager for SCDOT.
“I think the proposal they have for the pedestrian crossing at the lights is fabulous,” said Jacobs. “I think that needs to be done. I think that the bike lanes need to be done. But I don’t think there needs to be that much of a change with the medians. They need to stay open for our first responders.”
According to SCDOT, in a 5-year stretch between July 1, 2017-June 30, 2022, the Highway 61 corridor experienced a combined total of 2,008 vehicular accidents, 28 bicycle crashes, and 18 pedestrian crashes. Four incidents resulted in a fatality, and 12 crashes resulted in an incapacitating injury.
While SCDOT cites safety as the main impetus for the project, Jacobs and others are concerned that emergency vehicles will take longer to reach their destination if they have to go down to a major intersection and do a U-turn. She’s unsure if such a maneuver is even possible in a large vehicle, such as a firetruck.
“If we had gridlock, how would emergency vehicles get by,” she asked. Jacobs recently recorded a video of an ambulance using the middle lane to get by vehicles during rush hour traffic and sent it to SCDOT project managers. “Do you think our fire trucks are going to be able to make a U-turn?”
Recently elected State Senator Ed Sutton shares Jacobs’s concerns about emergency vehicles and worries that even delivery trucks would struggle to navigate the busy Highway 61 corridor without a dedicated turn lane, forcing them to make U-turns. Sutton, who lives in West Ashley, is confident that the community’s voices have been heard and that the plan presented at the Feb. 27 public meeting will not be what is actually built next year when construction is slated to begin.
“What we saw was the starting point. It’s likely not a final plan,” Sutton said, adding that this issue is important to him because he ran on an infrastructure platform and sits on the Senate Transport Committee. “SCDOT is listening to us right now, and if that changes, I will raise hell.”
According to Sutton, the two most contentious issues for him are the project’s aesthetics and functionality.
“West Ashley can no longer be an afterthought. We are the largest voting bloc in Charleston, and we need to start throwing our weight around a little bit,” he said.
Sutton insists that to support the Highway 61 project, it must match the beautification efforts seen on Crosstown downtown or Coleman Boulevard in Mt. Pleasant, incorporating trees and grass instead of concrete and aluminum fencing. “I will not support a fence down the middle of the road,” he said. “That is beneath what West Ashley deserves.”
Beyond being an eyesore that clashes with efforts to beautify and revitalize West Ashley, Sutton says the lack of left-hand turn opportunities in and out of businesses and neighborhoods could prove problematic, causing more congestion rather than alleviating it.
Sutton promises to carry West Ashley’s fight to Columbia and says he plans to work alongside the City of Charleston, Charleston County, local fire departments, and SCDOT to get the best plan for Highway 61.
“The City is coming up with some ideas,” he says. “I think they’ll be a good broker in this process and use their traffic engineers to come up with a solution.”
City of Charleston Council member William Tinkler, who represents West Ashley’s District 9, is eager to be involved in the process. He’s heard the complaints from residents and small business owners like Jacobs, Goodwin, and McAdams and decided to gather some information on his own. Through West Ashley-centric social media pages and neighborhood associations, he presented a survey to gauge the public’s support or disapproval for the existing plan. He received several dozen responses, and the feedback was not surprising.
“There were a couple people who thought it was a great plan. But that was a couple. Like 2. Everyone else was pretty clear that they were against the proposal,” said Tinkler, who presented SCDOT with a summary of his results prior to the public meeting on Feb. 27.
In addition to the public meeting, SCDOT presented its plan to the City’s Department of Traffic and Transportation on Tuesday, March 25. Like Sutton, Tinkler feels confident there’s still room for changes and is hopeful that public input is still being considered.
“Whatever they come up with may not be completely set in stone, but I was hoping they would have said more about how they’re taking the public comments into consideration,” Tinkler said. “They did say they’re still going through some of the comments.”
