Charleston, SC- Hungryneck Straphangers and other partners in the effort to generate citizen participation in the upcoming SC Dpt. Of Transportation meeting to plan transportation in our state for the next 25 years will make presentations to the media near the intersection of Market and Anson Street in historic downtown Charleston on Monday, Sept. 22 at 11 am.
With horses and carriages, DASH buses, pedicabs and congestion as our backdrop, we’ll remind everyone it’s time to take transportation alternatives in SC out of the past with reliable, frequent service; safe, accessible stops, night bus service and web connected innovations to empower riders. This event will be held 25 years to the day after the sun rose on the devastation from Hurricane Hugo and as our nation becomes embroiled in another war in the Middle East. It’s time to confront the full costs of forcing everyone to depend on the car. We can plan ways to make transit better for those who want it and driving better for those who still want cars. The Charleston area already has the State’s most heavily used public transit systems with CARTA and Tri County Link providing 5 million rides a year and could lead the state forward to a connected, sustainable future without SCDOT’s projected “mobility gap” in the year 2040 of 37,779,430 one way transit trips in our region.
Final Results from the balloting on Lowcountry Transit Issues will be released at the event, based on ballots tabulated from members of the public, transit riders, drivers and activists. A copy of that ballot can be downloaded from our website. Anyone can fax their choices to Hungryneck Straphangers to be included in the results until 4 pm Friday.
We’ll also release detailed information on the Tuesday, Sept. 23rd “Trolley to Tomorrow” effort which will shuttle transit riders and the public from CARTA’s North Charleston Superstop at Rivers and Cosgrove Avenues to the DOT Planning meeting on Daniel Island Tuesday afternoon. With the support of the SC Coastal Conservation League and Charleston Central Labor Council, a free red tolley bus from Lowcountry Loop Trolley will operate from 4 to 7:30 pm. The meeting is from 5-7 pm.
The limited public transit bus service on Daniel Island does not connect it to Charleston, North Charleston or Mount Pleasant in a way which could be used to attend this meeting. The island also can’t be reached by bicycle.
The event will be held on the patio in front of Café Paradisio, just South of the intersection of S. Market and Anson Streets. After statements are presented and questions answered, some of us will remain for lunch at Café Paradisio and assist members of the public in submitting online comments to the SCDOT website regarding the meeting.
For more information, see www.busec.org or call William Hamilton at (843) 870-5299.