Sidewalk planned for Sol Legare Road

CHARLESTON CO., S.C. (WCBD) – Pedestrian safety improvements are planned for Sol Legare Road on James Island.

Currently, the lack of sidewalks paired with roadside ditches, leave pedestrians and bicyclists with little to no options to travel safely down Sol Legare.

“It’s a bad thing ‘cause somebody can get hurt,” said Cardaryl Mikell, a resident who was walking on Sol Legare Road on Thursday.

Anthony Chavis told News 2 he rides his bike every day and said he and his neighbors have been advocating for a sidewalk for years.

“Even though the speed limit is 35, they zoom 60, 80. There’s several people that have been killed. Hit by drivers,” Chavis said.

According to Charleston County officials, there are plans to construct a one-mile long, five-foot wide sidewalk from Folly Road to Chavis road, using $1 million in state funds.

“If we had a sidewalk, there would be a lot less people being injured,” said Vance Sudano, who lives in the area.

Though the original plan was to extend the sidewalk the full 2.5 miles to the public boat landing, officials said it’s a start.

“It’s for pedestrian safety. That’s the purpose. Our goal is to make it safer for the residents and anyone who’s walking along that road,” said John Martin, a Construction Project Manager for Charleston County Public Works. “Right now, there’s not much room, really, to walk.”

The county’s Finance Committee considered accepting the funds at their meeting on Thursday. Martin said the next step would be to move forward with the design and permitting.