Last week’s Ravenel Bridge closing brought into stark relief the transportation problems in the Charleston metro area. The usual traffic congestion hassles turned into chaos with the closing of just one artery into the peninsula, and the pain was not limited to the Mt. Pleasant corridor. Traffic volume will only increase, with expansion at Boeing, the large-scale Volvo project, planned residential projects in Mt Pleasant, Daniel Island and West Ashley, and continued tourist development. We need serious mass transit solutions which do not rely on the roadways and bridges. Our leadership must reach out to state and federal governments, as well as major industrial partners like Boeing and Volvo, to study a mass transportation system which links North Charleston, West Ashley, James/Johns Island and Mt Pleasant/Daniel Island with Peninsular Charleston to reduce our vulnerability to our over-taxed roads and bridges. It would be a mistake to dismiss the idea of non-road based mass transportation as too expensive without serious study of the issue. Population and traffic will continue to multiply here, whether we plan for it or not!
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