Resident urges caution on Middle Road sidewalk plan, suggests green-space alternative

A Ladies Island resident urged the Public Facilities Committee to limit sidewalk construction on Middle Road and instead consider converting adjacent marshland into connected green space to provide a safer walking route to Fussell Elementary.

"There's no pedestrian traffic. There's very little bicycle traffic," said Annie Bellas during the committee's reopened public comment period, where she identified herself as a Middle Road and Marsh Drive resident of more than 25 years. Bellas told the committee that recent condominium and apartment development in the area means the arterial will likely need widening, and she warned against building sidewalks now only to have them torn up during later road expansion.

She proposed a targeted alternative: develop the marsh course into green space with limited public parking and east-side pathways, then connect that to Fussell Elementary's entrance to create a three-quarter-mile safe walking route for students and residents. "If you pay only the east side on one side and limited public parking, turn that into a green space, open pedestrian, bicycle, golf carts, then you have good area," Bellas said.

The committee did not vote on changes to the Middle Road sidewalk plan at this meeting. Bellas's remarks were recorded during the reopened citizen comment period and entered into the public record for committee consideration.

What happens next: No action or formal referral on the Middle Road sidewalk scope was recorded during the meeting. The resident asked the committee to consider limiting current sidewalk work so subsequent road-widening would require minimal rework.