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Municipal leaders urge safety, connectivity and clearer public updates as committee compiles penny‑tax project list
Summary
Port Royal and committee members urged prioritizing safety, intelligent traffic systems and neighborhood connectivity; the committee asked legal staff to review whether non‑transportation items like weather‑warning systems are defensible under the sales‑tax statute and requested a public pamphlet on 2018 projects.
Municipal leaders and committee members used the Feb. 25 meeting to press for clear priorities and better public information as the county compiles candidate projects for a proposed 2026 penny sales tax.
Van (Port Royal town manager) briefed the committee on several municipal priorities including intersection improvements along U.S. 21/SC‑128, intelligent transportation systems to improve signal performance, potential impacts from a planned Veterans Administration clinic on Brevo Road, and the recent Parker property purchase at Ladies Island Drive. "We will get you information on that anticipated traffic counts," Van said, and added the town would supplement the county’s GIS submissions with scope and traffic data.
Committee members raised multiple local concerns: school‑adjacent sidewalks near Whale Branch Early College High School, resurfacing and pothole remediation on the Hilton Head bridge, safety at Shanklin Road near the air station (noting FAA/height constraints for signals), and the need to prioritize projects rather than treating the dashboard as a "dartboard." Several members said the public wants to understand what was completed from the 2018 referendum and why some projects remain open.
The committee discussed whether a weather or emergency‑warning system could be funded under the statute that governs transportation sales tax. Staff said the statute lists transportation uses specifically and that legal counsel would need to confirm whether a weather‑warning system would be "defensibly" categorized as a transportation improvement. "I'll get legal to weigh in on that," county staff said.
Members asked staff to prepare a short pamphlet or handout summarizing progress on prior referendum projects to aid public messaging and rebuild trust. Staff agreed to have a draft pamphlet available soon and noted public meetings on related corridor studies are scheduled in March and April.
Next steps: municipalities will submit supplemental materials for their projects, staff will load town background into the GIS and produce an initial public pamphlet on 2018 projects and current proposals, and legal counsel will review statutory eligibility for non‑standard items such as warning systems.
