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Dorchester committee delays vote on Bridal Green Road connection after safety and sidewalk concerns
Summary
Dorchester County Planning, Development & Building committee delayed action on a road-connection request for a new St. George subdivision after council members pressed for more data on sidewalks, turn lanes and school access.
Dorchester County's Planning, Development & Building (PDB) committee voted unanimously on March 17 to delay action on a developer request to connect a new subdivision to Bridal Green Road, citing concerns about pedestrian safety and future traffic near Dorchester Academy.
Miss Reinertsen, director of planning for Dorchester County, presented the request on behalf of Stantec and the developer, saying the project covers two active phases of a proposed neighborhood in the town of St. George and would place three tie-in points along Bridal Green Road. “The traffic impact analysis indicated that development impacts would be negligible,” Reinertsen said, and staff recommended approval with no conditions.
Committee members questioned that conclusion. Council member (and PDB committee participant) raised school access as the main concern: committee members noted Dorchester Academy sits near one of the proposed connections and pressed whether sidewalks or wider shoulders should be required. One member said the neighborhood will include sidewalks that will stop at Bridal Green Road and expressed worry about children walking across the rural two-lane road to the school.
A developer representative told the committee the project scope had shrunk: “We’re only doing 162 units so we decreased the number of units,” the representative said, and confirmed the phase layout includes 76 units in one portion and 86 in another. The presentation noted Phase 3 of the conceptual plan had been removed from the current development and a prior traffic-impact analysis was based on an earlier, larger conceptual layout.
After discussion, a motion to delay was moved and seconded so staff could gather further information about road upgrades, turn lanes and sidewalk options and to continue coordination with the town of St. George. The committee approved the amendment to delay unanimously; the committee set no engineering decision during the meeting and directed staff to return with additional information and potential conditions.
The item will return to the committee for follow-up rather than advancing to a final vote this meeting. The delay leaves the developer’s connectivity request unresolved pending the county’s further review of safety and pedestrian access near the school and potential roadway improvements.
