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Charleston County officials say congestion tops public priorities as they present guiding principles for possible transportation sales tax extension
Summary
Staff told council they collected nearly 30,000 public comments and a countywide poll showing congestion and road conditions top residents’ priorities; staff recommended guiding principles for any transportation sales tax extension and council directed staff to draft a recommended program for review.
Charleston County officials on Tuesday presented the results of a months-long public engagement effort on a possible extension of the county’s transportation sales tax, saying residents repeatedly identified congestion and roadway conditions as the most urgent priorities.
Ryan Brown, a county presenter, told council staff held 67 presentations and collected roughly 29,000–30,000 public comments through surveys, meetings and written submissions. A statistically representative poll of about 700 residents conducted Nov. 11–13 showed 57% rate road conditions negatively and 59% rate traffic and congestion negatively. Brown said roughly 67% of residents are “cautiously open” to supporting a sales-tax extension depending on what it would fund.
"Congestion, congestion, congestion," Brown said, summarizing what the engagement returned repeatedly from residents.
Secretary Christy Hall said staff reviewed every submission, identified 634 specific funding requests and applied cost estimates that produced a cumulative total of about $68,000,000,000 across that wide set of potential projects — a figure Hall noted is roughly 16 times projected revenue from a prospective TST extension. Hall recommended council adopt guiding principles that would narrow and prioritize requests into a draft program.
Hall outlined recommended principles the staff said should steer any future TST measure: finish projects already promised under the existing program; prioritize congestion relief and safety; ensure fair geographic distribution of investments; include multimodal options (bike, pedestrian and transit); use green-belt funding strategically to manage growth and address flooding; integrate resiliency and flood mitigation into projects; and maintain strong transparency and oversight of progress and spending.
A council member moved to direct staff to develop a recommended draft transportation sales tax program with suggested allocation amounts based on the guiding principles and public and municipal input; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. Council members were told staff would return with a draft for additional public comment and that a February workshop is planned as part of the schedule to prepare work toward a potential referendum.
Next steps: staff will prepare a draft allocation and return to the Transportation Sales Tax Committee as directed, with a special meeting scheduled to review the recommended draft.
