What You Can Do to Boost the West Ashley Greenway

THE SUBJECT: How to get pedestrians and cyclists safely and economically from the Legare Bridge over the Ashley to the foot of the West Ashley Greenway.

THE QUESTION: Which of three routes (mainly over wetlands) would be best.

THE BUZZ: All Positive

Thursday evening's meeting to address this issues was one of the significant mileposts on the way to linking all of West Ashley to the Charleston peninsula for walkers, runners and bicyclists.

The general plans for the bridge attachment that will carry the traffic have been known for some time. The extension of the West Ashley Greenway from Albemarle Road about a third of a mile to Folly Road (at Windermere Blvd.) has been paved, operational now for over a year.

The actual route from the bridge across the marsh still must be determined, though the choice seemed clear to most of those attending last night.

All the remaining hurdles have everything to do with money – a substantial amount of it. There’s the cantilevered bridge addition, the cross-marsh link, a (possible) bridge over the Folly-Windermere intersection, and finally, the whole package of improvements to the Greenway itself, covering over eight miles.

In attendance at St. Andrews: numerous folks who might walk or ride to destinations downtown including members of Congregation Brith Sholom Beth Israel, members of the staffs of both MUSC and Roper-St. Francis, members of City Council, and a variety of people eager for the completion of this plan.

Another significant item on the checklist: a $25,000 grant from the shopping center firm, Kimco, to the City of Charleston that’s being used to formulate an overall plan for the Greenway. Once that study is complete, the vision will come into focus and we all will see more clearly what we have to work for.
But the challenge of funding all of this is huge. And the atmosphere – a recession.

So, there’s momentum in public opinion and in the overall vision. But the funding is the hard part.

OUR PICK
Of the three alternative routes, Charleston Moves agrees with the (apparent) prevailing viewpoint, that the third (alternative “C” -- or 3 -- the blue line) is best. It’s most direct, and therefore most economical. It also has less impact on the environment and probably would be most pleasant.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Show your support. Go to the Roadwise website and select the “C” alternative. (CLICK HERE)

2. Stay tuned. We believe the momentum to complete this project will pick up now and we will do everything in our power to encourage that process.

For even more on this, CLICK HERE to go to the Post & Courier’s coverage.