There's no question that the S.C. Department of Transportation should put the restoration of bike lanes along Folly Road near Battery Island Drive "at the top of the stack," as one DOT official said. They should never have been removed in the first place.
A thousand feet of bike lanes were lost when a turn lane was installed on Folly Road to provide for safe entry to Battery Island Drive. It is gratifying to learn that Rep. Wallace Scarborough, who sought the turn-lane project, is now leading the effort to put bike lanes back along the roadside.
Rep. Scarborough told our reporter he was unaware that bike lanes would be disrupted by the turn-lane project, adding, "Had I known, I would have told the DOT that something else needed to happen."
What needs to happen generally, when DOT undertakes urban and secondary road projects, is to make an accommodation for cyclists as a matter of policy. Cyclists have as much right to the road as motorists, and motorists have a responsibility to share the road.
Unfortunately, many roads simply don't adequately provide for the presence of bicycles. It impedes their use by recreational cyclists and commuters alike.
Local residents will have an opportunity to voice their opinion on needed projects from 10 a.m. to noon today as the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments holds a hearing on bicycle paths and sidewalks. The hearing will be held at COG offices on the former Navy base, near the McMillan Avenue entrance.
The COG recently received a grant to create a project list, and cyclists can help chart the course to a regional system of bike lanes and paths. DOT's cooperation with local jurisdictions and the COG will be essential to achieve that goal.
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