Charleston advances transportation sales-tax priorities for county referendum

Charleston City Council voted Dec. 2 to advance a citywide list of transportation and drainage priorities to Charleston County for consideration as part of a potential 2026 transportation sales-tax (TST) referendum.

Mayor Cogswell said the city’s draft priorities focus primarily on road improvements, flood mitigation and bike/pedestrian safety projects across the Peninsula, Johns Island and James Island and noted the city expects to receive roughly half of projected TST revenue. “We will send this off to the county within the next two weeks,” the mayor said, framing the package as a coordinated submission from Charleston to the county.

The presentation outlined specific projects: Maybank widening and intersection work on Johns Island; turn-lane and intersection improvements on James Island; Lockwood Drive, Haygood and Calhoun Corridor flooding and safety projects on the Peninsula; and a proposed east–west battery extension to improve bike and pedestrian connections. The mayor described use of Council of Governments (COG) commuting data to estimate demand and said the city intends to balance population and projected growth when allocating funds.

Council members asked for clarifications about data sources and geographic coverage; one asked whether West Ashley and James Island figures were fully captured. The mayor responded that the COG supplied the commuting data and pledged to circulate the slide deck and updated figures.

Council voted by voice to adopt the general TST priorities and direct staff to prepare a final package for county council review. The city will finalize pricing and project descriptions in the coming weeks and present a refined package to council at its next meeting before formal submission to the county.