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James Island council approves speed-hump project for Waits Drive, orders wider traffic studies
Summary
After extensive public comment, the town council voted unanimously to advance speed-hump installation on Waits Drive and directed staff to run concurrent traffic studies on nearby Fort Sumter and James streets to assess diversion risks and broader calming options.
The Town of James Island council voted unanimously to approve moving forward with installation of two speed humps on Waits Drive and to start parallel traffic studies on nearby Fort Sumter and James streets.
Residents packed the public comment period, including a petition presented by Veil Henshall showing 100% of Waits Drive households in favor. ‘‘We have a petition where all 100% of the residents on Waits Drive have signed it in favor of installing speed humps,’’ Henshall said. Speakers including parents and long-time homeowners recounted near-misses and urged a rapid response to reduce risk to children and pedestrians.
Town staff told council the 85th-percentile speed on Waits measured 33 mph where the posted limit is 30, which by itself did not meet the strict speed-based threshold for automatic calming. Council members nevertheless emphasized volume, acceleration and neighborhood safety as grounds to proceed. Mayor Bridal Lyon directed staff to begin the design and coordination with DOT/CDOT for approval and said the town will ‘‘start speed studies and wait for petitions from our other streets.’’
Councilmembers discussed mitigations to avoid traffic diversion if humps are installed on just one street, including rumble strips, signal timing review and coordinated, simultaneous contracting for multiple streets if studies show qualification. Garrett Milliken and others urged a systemwide approach: ‘‘If Waits gets theirs, James might be next—do a study of the whole area,’’ Milliken said.
The motion to authorize proceeding with Waits Drive passed on a roll-call vote with unanimous support. Council directed staff to begin the construction planning for Waits and to start individual speed studies for Fort Sumter and James; residents on other streets were asked to collect petitions to trigger their studies.
The next steps: staff will develop plans to submit to DOT for approvals, collect petitions for additional streets, and present study results and an implementation timeline at a future council meeting.
