The Evacuation That Wasn't LAURA BLISS AUG 28, 2017
From Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit, Inc.
https://www.facebook.com/BFLowcountryTransit/
Revised, 9/7/2917- For Immediate Release
NOTE- THE UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST CONTAINS OFFICIAL INFORMATION FROM CARTA STAFF ABOUT ASSISTANCE DURING THE EVACUATION.
Charleston, SC- Public Transit is a critical tool for coastal areas like the SC Lowcountry when dealing with Hurricanes. Charleston and the surrounding areas need to be acting now to make sure public transit is organized to support a safe and complete evacuation of vulnerable areas and populations should Hurricane Irma strike the Holy City and surrounding areas.
Recent history has shown dramatic successes and failures by local authorities dealing with disaster. In Charleston in 1989, SCE&G had bus service running again the morning after Hugo. However rural populations in places not served by transit at that time found themselves up to their necks in water at places like Lincoln High School in McClellenville. (Tri County Link buses serve the community now.)
The Hurricane Floyd evacuation of 1999 showed the great hazard of assuming everyone can just get in their cars and evacuate major cities. Only four major roads run inland or North from Charleston: 78, 52, I26, 17 and 41. The dozens of additional lanes being added in Charleston’s suburban fringe all aim traffic at those five roads. Houston was apparently so “car bound” that local leaders resisted evacuation because they believed car accidents might kill more people than the storm.
The incredible inefficiency of the automobile system becomes rapidly apparent in emergencies. Houston has the widest road in North America, recently widened again at a cost of over 2 billion dollars, the Katy Parkway. Wider sprawl inducing roads built after Hurricane Rita to enable evacuation ended up making hurricane evacuation by automobile in Houston allegedly impossible. The Evacuation That Wasn't LAURA BLISS AUG 28, 2017
Road construction advocates in the SC Lowcountry should look to the power of a muscular transit fleet to move large numbers of people, rather than raiding our bus transit funds for 11 million dollars to build more roads which will sprout subdivisions in areas prone to storm surge and flood. Such development in Houston created a sprawling metroplex local officials wouldn't attempt to evacuate, even after
The 11 million dollars taken from our half penny sales tax bus transit funding this year will buy about 1.4 miles of one lane of one road on dry, level ground. It could have bought about 23 buses capable of simultaneously evacuating 1500 people, which at two passengers per car is six miles of traffic. The current CARTA fleet can move about 6 thousand people at one time. (Not all of CARTA’s buses are full sized. The fleet includes many paratransit vehicles for the disabled which, while smaller, could be life savers in a storm evacuation.) All of the 600 million dollars made available for transit from the half penny sales tax would not pay for a single highway lane from Charleston to Orangeburg.
The planned Bus Rapid Transit line from Charleston to Summerville will bring the ability to get large numbers of people to high ground there when it’s completed, allowing BRT vehicles to run on dedicated lanes free form evacuation stressed congestion. Developing shelter capacity inland along the line should be part of future Hurricane planning. I26alt Study, Reccomended Alternative.
During Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans’s national historic landmark streetcars were flooded after being left parked below sea level, putting the electric vehicles out of service for months following the storm. Much of the bus fleet was apparently lost as well. In the years following Katrina, a struggling New Orleans Transit system couldn’t provide the mobility needed to support the city’s recovery, contributing to a massive loss of population. In Superstorm Sandy, the New York Subway system flooded, but careful preparations and a heroic effort by union technicians had the trans running again within a week. In Houston, much of the transit system in the car focused city still isn’t running today.
Transit and the hurricane shelter system need to be coordinated. People will be frightened. Drivers need to be prepared to direct riders to the appropriate transfer points to reach those shelters still receiving people who need a place safe from the storm. The powerful people skills of our experienced union supported transit drivers are a great resource to help move people in the face of an oncoming storm, every bit as important as the big vehicles they drive. Dispatchers and the transit radio network offer mobility which can be smart and adaptable. Many transit riders have a very limited knowledge of the CARTA bus system beyond the trips they regularly make. They need calm, experienced help.
Transit ride planning services like Google Transit and Swiftly can help plan unfamiliar trips. The transit vehicle fleet needs to remain in service as long as possible before the storm. It should then be stored on high, and if possible, sheltered ground after our drivers and buses have transported everyone to safety.
After the storm, transit has a major role to play in the recovery. Many people may lose the use of some of their vehicles. As many as a million automobiles may have been destoryed by the flooding in Houston. A large population of recovery workers will come to town needing rides. As the burden of recovery work settles in, stressed families will find transit a helping hand in getting people without cars where they need to go without the stress of fighting construction activity bloated traffic. Traffic in Charleston is already congested and stressful for those people who don’t welcome lane change combat as part of their lifestyle. Transit gives them an option to sit out the recovery frazzeled fight for space on the road.
RIDE CARTA has posted on their Facebook page stating, “Let's stay safe, folks. We'll have service updates as available in the coming days.”
Today Charleston’s leaders will be focused, as they always seem to be, on traffic. They continue to make the car choked roads do what the massive Katy Parkway in Houston could not do, get everyone where they need to go before and after a hurricane. If you encounter our elected leaders, remind them we have a powerful resource in CARTA and Tri County Link to escape the danger of this storm and to rebuild our community afterward. Our big buses and experienced drivers can do what the car cannot. They should be included in the planning.
By William J. Hamilton, III, Executive Director, Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit, Phone (843) 870-5299 or wjhamilton29464@gmail.com. Hamilton participated in the Hurricane Hugo recovery as an Attorney and regular volunteer in 1989 and is a trained partner advocate working with Americans for Transit and Transit Center.
Thursday, Sep 7, 2017 · 6:22:33 PM +00:00 · PeninsulaProgCHS
Official Evacuation Information from CARTA
Per the Emergency Management Plan, it is CARTA’s roll to support evacuations as directed by the County. All evacuation notices and information will be disseminated by the EOC staff. The 2017 Charleston County Hurricane Guide displays all of the pick-up points to the nearest available shelter. It is recommended that individuals familiarize themselves with the Guide and locate the nearest pick-up point to their location. The following is an example of the sign.
Transportation Notes:
· If you have an animal to evacuate with you and you do not have transportation: Contact the Charleston County Emergency Public Information Line at (843) 746-3900, and a vehicle will be dispatched to transport you and your pet(s) to the evacuation animal shelter. Bring all supplies needed for your pet: crate, collar, leash, food, identification, veterinarian/immunization records, etc.
· If you are disabled and cannot get to the nearest evacuation pick-up point: Contact the Charleston County Emergency Public Information Line at (843) 746-3900, and a vehicle will be dispatched to transport you to the nearest available shelter.
· If you need transportation to the nearest shelter during a voluntary evacuation: Contact the Charleston County Emergency Public Information Line at (843) 746-3900 for assistance.