CARTA reports service updates, training plans and LCRT progress; asks county help for crosswalk beacons

Rob Mitchell, with CARTA, told the Charleston County Council the transit agency is moving forward on shelter, safety and service planning while awaiting federal approvals for the Lowcountry Rapid Transit (LCRT) project.

Mitchell said CARTA has scheduled a senior free-ride day in February and an Earth Day free-ride on April 22, has added shelters and benches, installed 30 “soda lights” in recent months, and is seeing steady growth in mobile ticketing. “We did, again, end in the black, so I’m pleased to report that,” Mitchell said of CARTA’s federal fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

The agency will conduct a comprehensive operational analysis to review schedules, on-time performance and public outreach and to prepare for connections to the LCRT project. Mitchell said the LCRT project is in final design and that the agency is waiting on a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) approval; the corridor runs roughly 21 miles and staff are preparing 90% design plans and coordinating with the City of Charleston, City of North Charleston, the Federal Transit Administration and South Carolina Department of Transportation.

Mitchell asked the council for help installing flashing pedestrian beacons at a school crosswalk near a newly placed military magnet shelter, saying motorists “get going pretty fast” on that stretch and that slower pedestrians, including seniors using CARTA to reach a nearby senior center, need safer crossings. He also described a ribbon-cutting for the shelters and a December bike giveaway in partnership with Second Chance, a group that refurbishes abandoned or damaged bicycles from shelters.

Mitchell discussed workforce training tied to an LCRT station building: the second floor of a station at Shipwatch Square will house a workforce training center, and a grant includes CDL training to help expand the pool of qualified drivers. He said the port and other employers are experiencing similar CDL driver shortages.

Mitchell briefly updated council on other projects: plans for a park-and-ride parcel near Joseph Floyd Manor that require relocation of above-ground Dominion power lines underground, and progress toward breaking ground on a Mount Pleasant Street parcel. He said mobile ticketing use is increasing, speeding boarding for passengers who scan phones rather than use cash or paper passes.

Mitchell closed by saying CARTA’s audit will be presented to the board in March after a peer-review delay for the auditor and that staff do not anticipate issues.