Island Of Safety

Work is nearly complete on the much-anticipated pedestrian safety island in the Avondale Point section of Highway 17 in West Ashley.
An official with the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) confirmed this week that outside of some painting and striping, the island was complete.
After cars hit three pedestrians in separate incidents crossing at night in the boisterous bar-rich area, locals began calling for something to be done.
Local groups, safety advocates, merchants, traffic engineers, and interested parties held a series of planning meetings last year to come up with an answer.
Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. made repeated requests to Columbia for a solution. The result was a plan for a raised cement respite, replete with trees, a textured crossing area, and trees to be constructed with state dollars.
The idea was to give walkers and revelers a chance to rest in the middle of the four-lane highway, protected by the barrier and trees and enhanced paint.
Drivers, it was hoped, would see the trees in the distance and begin to slow, even though the speed limit was already 35 miles per hour along that stretch of the highway.
Traffic was modestly affected by the construction, which occurred mostly at night, and took close to a month to complete.
A few weeks ago, several residents took to the internet to complain about the project, saying it wasn’t what they hoped it would be, but as more cement has been poured, the project has come closer to full completion, the number of complaints seem to have subsided.
Local merchants have voiced plans to continue the momentum, by creating flags and further enhance the intersection’s “feeling of place.”