York County Council reviews road ratings, data needs and map tool

York County Council transportation staff presented updated county road ratings and a countywide road map at a council transportation workshop, and council members pressed for more data to guide paving and improvement priorities.

County transportation staff described a single map that shows state roads, county paved roads and county gravel roads in different colors, and said the county has “a little over 500 miles of paved roads.” Staff also reported the countywide pavement rating dropped “from a 59 to a 57” compared with the 2022 ratings; staff said the ratings were based on a recent review in which crews rode and scored every paved county road.

The ratings were discussed in the context of the county’s plan to pave about 15 miles of roads each year. Council members asked staff to provide lane miles (rather than centerline miles) by district and to obtain lane-mile comparisons for state-maintained roads. “That shouldn't be too difficult because most county roads are 2 lane,” staff said, and staff agreed to work on those numbers and to send an example scoring sheet requested by a council member.

Council members raised questions about gravel roads and potential upgrades. One member asked whether the county could pave only the portion of an existing narrow gravel road that is already in regular use rather than widening to meet county paving standards. Staff responded that “the way the ordinance is written, any paved county new road has to be built to a certain standard,” and added that widening is often needed because many gravel roads are 14–16 feet wide and would require right-of-way acquisition to expand to 20–22 feet to accommodate two vehicles safely.

A council member said, “It won't be hard to find bad roads. I mean, there's plenty of them to go around,” reflecting concerns about the number of failing roads. Staff noted the county does not have traffic counts on most county neighborhood streets because counts require placing tubes in the field; staff said the county currently has two traffic-counting tubes and estimated there are about 1,950 county roads, so counting every neighborhood street would be time-consuming. Staff offered to prioritize counts for more heavily traveled county roads (for example, Regent Parkway and Cannonball Run) if council provided a target list.

Members also suggested longer-term planning ideas. One council member proposed considering roundabouts in future growth areas, saying roundabouts can be “20 to 50% more efficient” and lead to fewer fatalities and accidents; other members cautioned that roundabouts are costly and would not necessarily save money compared with other treatments. Staff said roundabout placement and costs are case-by-case and could be considered in the county’s comprehensive-plan work.

Finally, staff said they are building an interactive transportation-projects map that will combine projects across jurisdictions (state, Penny's, C Fund, Rock Hill, Fort Mill); staff reported they have received DOT GIS files and expect a public-facing map “this summer” that will be embedded on the county website and allow users to zoom to roads and click for project details.

The workshop ended with a motion to adjourn that was carried by voice vote.