[00:00:14]
[1. Call to Order]
HILTON PARKWAY CORRIDOR INDEPENDENT REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10TH.I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER, AND IF WE COULD START OFF WITH A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE
[2. Approval of the Minutes]
DECEMBER 12TH, 2022 MEETING.ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
[3. Unfinished Business]
BUSINESS, UH, GENERAL OBSERVATIONS NOTED DURING THE[a. General Observations Noted During the Site Visit]
VISIT SITE.SO, SEAN, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, UM, TEAM CONTINUES TO WORK FORWARD THROUGH THE SCOPE OF WORK, UH, TO EXECUTE WHAT WAS BEING EXPECTED, UH, FROM BOTH TOWN COUNCIL AND THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, WE HAD A TECHNICAL, UH, MEETING LAST WEEK, UH, TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT PROGRESS.
AND I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO NATE AND HIS TEAM TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE STAND WITH THE ITEMS LISTED, LISTED HERE, UM, ON THE AGENDA.
UM, AND THEN, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALIGNED WITH YOUR DIRECTION GOING FORWARD TO, TO BE ABLE TO EXECUTE.
I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITH YOU HERE AGAIN, UH, TODAY.
UM, WITH US TODAY, UH, ON OUR TEAM, WE HAVE MS. KATE WINFORD, UH, SHARIF ULA, AND THEN, UH, MR. BRAD STRADER WITH C TWO G IS JOINING US AS WELL.
UM, THIS IS ALSO A REMINDER TO MYSELF, UH, JUST SO THAT SHARIF AND KATE AND BRAD CAN HEAR US, UH, JUST TRY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO SPEAK DIRECTLY INTO THE MICROPHONE SO THAT THEY CAN, UH, HEAR US APPROPRIATELY.
UM, SO AGAIN, ONE DE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO BE WITH YOU TODAY.
UM, UH, I THOUGHT THAT WE COULD START OFF JUST BY GOING OVER THE, UM, AGENDA, MAKING SURE THAT WE ADDRESS THE AGENDA ITEMS THAT WAS POSTED, UM, THE KEY OBJECTIVES TODAY.
UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU A, A BRIEF OVERVIEW, UH, A HIGH LEVEL STANDPOINT OF SOME OF THE OBSERVATIONS THAT WE NOTED DURING OUR SITE VISIT IN DECEMBER.
I DID WANNA SAY THAT THE ITEMS I'M GONNA SHARE WITH THAT IS MORE OF A HIGH LEVEL STANDPOINT.
WE ARE NEARING THE COMPLETION OF OUR SIMULATION MODELS FOR SYNCHRO AND VISIM, UH, STILL FINALIZING THE CALIBRATION.
SO OF COURSE, WE'RE NOT PREPARED TO GIVE SPECIFIC OPERATING CONDITIONS AT THIS TIME, BUT WE WILL SURELY HAVE THAT READY FOR YOU AT THE FEBRUARY MEETING.
UM, SO I'LL BE TOUCHING ON THOSE HERE IN JUST A MOMENT.
UH, SHARIF'S GOING TO, UH, GIVE YOU ALL AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE GROWTH RATE DETERMINATION.
AND THEN KATE IS GOING TO, UH, SHARE OUR PLANNED APPROACH IN CHOOSING THE, UH, THE FOUR CORRIDOR ALTERNATIVES BASED UPON THE MEETING THAT WE HAD, UH, LAST MONTH.
AS I SAID, IN, OR AS YOU ALL KNOW, KANE TYSON WERE ABLE TO BE HERE WITH US LAST MONTH.
UM, WE HAD THE, THE SITE VISIT ON THE 12TH THAT COINCIDED WITH THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, MEETING.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY BENEFICIAL TO HAVE THEM HERE TO BE ABLE TO MEET WITH YOU ALL AGAIN, FACE TO FACE, UM, UH, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY FOR KATE AND TYSON TO BECOME, UH, INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH THE CORRIDOR AND THE, UH, THE OPERATING CONDITIONS ALONG THERE.
THE WAY THAT WE BROKE IT UP, JUST SO YOU KNOW, KATE AND I TOOK CARE OF THE INTERSECTION OBSERVATIONS, UH, AT THE 12 PROJECT LOCATIONS WHILE TYSON WAS, UH, PERFORMING ALL OF THE TRAVEL TIME RUNS.
SO STARTING AT MOSS CREEK AND TRAVELING DOWN TO INDIGO RUN, CIRCULATING BACK, AND THEN STARTING AT BUCKINGHAM PLANTATION, FOR EXAMPLE, TRAVELING DOWN TO SEA ISLAND OR, UH, SEA PINE CIRCLE AND TRAVELING BACK, TRYING TO GET AS MANY TRAVEL TIME RUNS AS POSSIBLE AND COLLECTING THAT REAL TIME DATA.
UM, THE FIRST BULLET POINT THERE, THOSE ARE ITEMS THAT KATE AND I, UH, TOOK NOTE OF WHILE WE WERE OBSERVING THE INTERSECTIONS.
AND I'LL TOUCH ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SOME OF THOSE HERE IN JUST A MOMENT.
AND THEN BELOW THAT, THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT TYSON, UM, THE, THE TECHNOLOGY THAT HE USED.
UNFORTUNATELY, TYSON ISN'T ABLE TO BE HERE WITH US TODAY.
HE'S ACTUALLY IN WASHINGTON, DC AT A TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD CONFERENCE, BUT HE'LL BE BACK IN FEBRUARY TO DIVE INTO GREAT DETAIL AND ACTUALLY SHOW YOU HOW THE SYSTEM OPERATES, SHOULD YOU GUYS WANNA SEE THAT IN, IN OPERATION.
UM, SO GETTING INTO THE ITEMS THAT WE TOOK NOTE OF THE OVERALL GOAL HERE, NOT ONLY FOR OUR INTERSECTION OBSERVATIONS, BUT ALSO FOR TYSON, IS CALIBRATION, CALIBRATION, CALIBRATION.
WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO, UH, TAKE THIS INFORMATION BACK TO OUR SIMULATION MODELS AND BEST CALIBRATE THEM TO WHAT'S OCCURRING TODAY ON WILLIAM HILTON PARKWAY.
AND THE ITEMS, UH, UP AT THE TOP THERE THAT ARE NOTED, FOR EXAMPLE, SATURATION FLOW RATE, UM, IT'S A FANCY WORD FOR US, GETTING DOWN TO THE NUANCES OF UNDERSTANDING HOW LONG IT TAKES FROM A, UH, A STACK OF QUEUE VEHICLES, FROM A STOP CONDITION, FROM A RED LIGHT ONCE IT TURNS GREEN.
WE ACTUALLY TOOK A STOPWATCH AND WE WANTED TO SEE HOW LONG IT TAKES TO STACK THE CARS TO TRAVERSE THAT STOP BAR.
[00:05:01]
MAY SEEM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE TOO NUANCE IN WHAT IT NEEDS TO BE, BUT WHAT IT DOES IS IT HELPS US CALCULATE AND PUT INTO OUR MODELS THE PERCEPTION AND REACTION TIME OF WHAT THE MOTORISTS ARE DOING RIGHT NOW.UM, ON THE CORRIDOR, UM, Q LINKS, I THINK EVERYBODY'S FAMILIAR WITH WHAT Q LINKS ARE, BUT WE ALSO MEASURED THE, THE STACKED CUES AND ALSO TOOK NOTE OF WHAT WE TERM AS ROLLING CUES.
SO THOSE THAT ARE ACTUALLY APPROACHING THE INTERSECTION AT A SLOWER RATE OF SPEED LANE UTILIZATION.
UM, JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE TWO LANES, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S A 50 50 SPLIT.
SO BASED ON OUR OBSERVATIONS, WE TOOK NOTE OF, RIGHT, HOW MANY, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THOSE VEHICLES ARE ACTUALLY UTILIZING THE INSIDE LANE, WHICH IS THE OUTSIDE LANE.
AND, YOU KNOW, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE AS YOU APPROACH A LEFT TURN LANE, IF THERE'S MORE PEOPLE USING INSIDE LANE, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD ACTUALLY HELP THAT LEFT TURN LANE TO BE, UM, STACK UP FASTER AND SPILL INTO THE, THE INSIDE THROUGH LANE.
UM, TURNING SPEEDS, THAT'S A, UM, I, I MISSED THAT, I APOLOGIZE.
BUT EVEN GETTING DOWN TO THE NUANCES OF MEASURING HOW LONG OR WHAT SPEED WE CAN BREATHE SAFELY, TAKE A TURN, UM, WITH OUR SOFTWARE, WE CAN, UH, PUT IN THERE IF IT'S NOT A STANDARD 15 MILE AN HOUR OR 20 MILES AN HOUR, IF IT TRULY BASED ON GEOMETRY OR SITE CONDITIONS, IF IT TAKES YOU, YOU HAVE TO SLOW DOWN TO MAKE THAT TURN SAFELY.
WE'LL BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THAT.
SO WE CAN ALSO THEN SEE HOW THE MODEL IMPACTS THE DOWNSTREAM TRAFFIC AS IT'S APPROACHING.
AND JUST THOUGH THEIR, UH, AS THEY PUT DOWN THEIR NOTE WHERE THEIR DRIVER TENDENCIES, HOW AGGRESSIVE ARE THEY? DO THEY, DO WE SEE RED LIGHT RUNNING? DID WE SEE PEOPLE GOING THROUGH ON STALE YELLOWS AS IT WERE? WHERE DO THEY STOP AT THE STOP BARS? AND, UM, ONE ITEM AT THE BOTTOM THERE, YOU CAN SEE THE IMPACT OF DISTRACTED DRIVERS.
I'LL TOUCH ON THAT, UH, IN JUST A MOMENT.
BUT FROM AN OVERALL STANDPOINT, AS I SAID, WE DON'T HAVE SPECIFIC DATA RIGHT NOW.
WE'LL HAVE THE, UM, INFORMATION FOR YOU OF FEBRUARY FOR THAT.
BUT JUST OVERALL SPEAKING, WE DID OBSERVE THAT WE FEEL LIKE THE ADAPTIVE SYSTEM IS MAKING, MAKING AN IMPACT.
UM, WE NOTED THAT THE, UH, EVEN THOUGH THAT THE CUES WOULD BUILD UP QUICKLY AT A RED LIGHT CONDITION, THERE WAS MORE THAN AMPLE GREEN TIME TO SERVE ALL OF THE STACKED VEHICLES, AS WELL AS ANY ROLLING QUEUES.
UM, SO IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING QUITE WELL.
HE'LL, UM, IN FEBRUARY, HE'LL BE ABLE TO DIVE INTO THE DETAILS A LITTLE BIT MORE AND SHOW YOU WHAT THAT SYSTEM AND HOW IT ACTUALLY OPERATES IN REAL TIME.
UM, HE PROVIDED ME WITH A FEW BULLET POINTS OF SOME HIGH LEVEL OBSERVATIONS I CAN SHARE HERE IN JUST A MOMENT.
UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE UH, INTERSECTIONS, UH, MOST INTERSECTIONS, UH, PERIODS OF SEVERE CONGESTION WERE RATHER, UH, MUTED, I GUESS EXCEPT FOR A FEW.
UM, THAT, UH, THE ONES THAT I NOTED, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT STOOD OUT TO ME WAS BE AT WILBORN.
I HAPPENED TO BE THERE DURING THE A AND PEAK.
SO I NOTED THE, UH, NORTHBOUND TRAFFIC AS IT SPILLS BACK FROM THE HILTON HEADS CAMPUS.
THEREFORE, THAT IMPACTS THE ABILITY OF WESTBOUND RIGHTS TO COME IN AND THE EASTBOUND LEFT TO THEN COME IN.
UM, AND THEN I WAS ABLE TO BE THERE DURING THAT ENTIRE 20 MINUTE SEGMENT WHERE, UM, IT'S SEVERELY CONGESTION, BUT THEN IT DISSIPATES AFTER THAT.
UM, ALSO NOTED AT WINDMILL HARBOR, FOR EXAMPLE, IS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, HOW THE RECEIVING ENTRY POINT AFTER THREE OF IT, IF MORE THAN THREE VEHICLES ARE QUEUED AT THAT ENTRY POINT, THEN THAT FOURTH ONE, THAT FOURTH VEHICLE IS STANDING OUT, AND IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE IN THE, UH, THE WESTBOUND TRAVEL STREAM, AND THEN AS THE IMPACT OF DISTRACTED DRIVERS.
UM, IT'S KIND OF INTERESTING AS YOU'RE STANDING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, UM, JUST HOW PREVALENT IT IS THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING DOWN AT THEIR PHONE, WHETHER IT'S AT THE STOPLIGHT CONDITION.
UH, SO, UH, GETTING BACK TO THAT SATURATION FLOW RATE MEASUREMENT, YOU'D THINK IT'S, AS SOON AS IT TURNED GREEN, PEOPLE WILL GO, WELL, NO, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION.
AND SO THREE SECONDS MAY GO BY BEFORE THEN THEY GO.
OR YOU CAN SEE NOTICEABLE GAPS IN TRAFFIC WHERE PEOPLE ARE APPROACHING THE INTERSECTION SLOWLY, BUT THEY'RE JUST ON THEIR PHONE.
SO, UH, THAT'S DEFINITELY MAKING A, UH, HAVING A, AN IMPACT ON THE CORRIDOR.
UM, SO THESE ARE THE BULLET POINTS THAT, UH, TYSON SHARED WITH ME.
AGAIN, KATE AND I OBSERVED IT FROM AN INTERSECTION STANDPOINT ON THE GROUND THAT YOU COULD SEE THAT THE BENEFITS OF THE ADAPTIVE SYSTEM IN OPERATION TODAY.
HE COULD ALSO SEE THAT AS HE WAS TRAVELING, UM, AND HE COULD GO OVER THE SPACE TIME, SPACE DIAGRAMS, UM, AND WHAT THOSE ACTUALLY MEAN.
[00:10:01]
UH, HE NOTED ALSO THAT WINDMILL HARBOR, UH, INTEREST, INTERESTINGLY, IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE ADAPTIVE SYSTEM.SO HE DID NOTE THAT THE, THE PROGRESSION SOMETIMES GOT, UM, DELAYED THERE BECAUSE IT'S NOT PART OF THAT SYSTEM.
EASTBOUND CUES, AS WE ALL KNOW, THE EASTBOUND MOVEMENT ACROSS THE BRIDGE IS, IS QUITE SIGNIFICANT, BUT WE DID NOT OBSERVE IT BEING FULLY STACKED.
UH, MAKE SURE GENERALLY SPEAKING, UH, IT'S ALSO THE FIFTH BULLET POINT GETTING INTO THE, UM, THIS WAS THE SYSTEM THAT, AS I SPEAK TO THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, WE SPOKE WITH THE VENDOR OF THE ADAPTIVE SYSTEM AND THEY GROUPED THE SQUIRE POPE INTERSECTIONS TOGETHER ON ONE SUBSYSTEM AND THEN GUMTREE ROAD ALL THE WAY OUT TO INDIGO RUN AS A SECOND, AND THEN THE THIRD ONE BEING THE, UM, INTERSECTIONS DOWN BY THE SEA PINE CIRCLE.
AND SO TYSON, UH, NOTED THAT THERE WAS MORE OF A, A FREQUENCY OF STOPS FROM, UH, GOING IN BETWEEN THE SUBSYSTEMS OF, BETWEEN THE CROSS ISLAND, UH, PARKWAY.
NEXT PRESENTATION, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHOW YOU THE CORNER BEFORE I HAND IT OVER TO SHARIF.
AGAIN, KNOWING THESE ARE JUST BROAD BASED OBSERVATIONS, I WANTED TO OPEN UP FOR THIS.
ANYBODY HAD ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO SHARIF'S GROWTH RATE DISCUSSION? COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT? THAT A SECOND? OKAY.
[b. Status of Growth Rate Determination]
RIGHT.SHARIF, WOULD YOU MIND, UM, GO AHEAD AND FEEL FREE TO? SURE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME VERY WELL? OKAY.
SO WE DISCUSSED, UH, IN THE LAST MEETING IN DECEMBER THAT, UH, UNFORTUNATELY THE TRAVEL DEMAND MODEL, WHICH WE HAVE FROM THE LOCAL MPO CANNOT BE USED, UH, IN THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, UH, FOR THE GROWTH RATE ESTIMATION AS, UH, IT DIDN'T INCLUDE, UH, ALMOST 70,000 PEOPLE, UH, FOR THE FUTURE YEAR.
SO, UH, WE TRIED TO COME UP WITH SOME ALTERNATIVES WAY, UH, TO BUILD A QUICK MODEL AND SEE WHETHER, UH, WE CAN USE, UH, OTHER RELEVANT DATA AND, UH, TRYING TO CORRELATE, UH, WHETHER, UH, THOSE INFORMATION CAN BE, UH, EFFECTIVELY TIED WITH THE TRAFFIC GROWTH ALONG THIS CORRIDOR.
SO, UH, I WANT TO THANK THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD FOR PROVIDING SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THAT REGARD.
UH, ON, UH, JANUARY 3RD, WE RECEIVED, UH, INFORMATION ON, UH, AT THE SHORT TERM RENTAL UNITS.
UM, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT'S JUST FOR ONE YEAR, SO WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DATA POINT, UH, BUT IT'S BETTER THAN NOTHING, AS I SAID.
AND THEN, UH, WE ALSO RECEIVED INFORMATION FOR ALMOST LIKE FIVE YEARS FOR THE ACCOMMODATION AND HOSPITALITY, UH, TAX REVENUES FROM 2018 TO 2023.
SO WITH ALL THIS DATA, WE ARE NOW, UH, EVALUATING DIFFERENT OPTIONS, WHETHER, UH, WE CAN DEVELOP A MODEL WHICH WOULD SHOW THAT ALTHOUGH THE ISLAND DIDN'T, UH, HAVE ANY, UH, SIZABLE INCREASE IN POPULATION FROM, UH, OVER THE LAST 10 YEAR OR SO.
BUT, UH, UH, AS THE LOCAL RESIDENT, YOU ALL CAN FEEL THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, TRAFFIC IS GROWING.
SO, UH, IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THE TEMPORARY RESIDENCE.
IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE COMING TO THE ISLAND TO, UH, ENJOY THE BEAUTIFUL BEACHES OR LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, EATING AT THE RESTAURANTS AND SO ON.
UH, SO THAT'S WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, TRYING TO DO A QUICK MODEL BASED ON, UH, THE INFORMATION WE GOT FROM THE TOWN.
SO IN THE NEXT MEETING, WE'LL HAVE A BETTER IDEA WHETHER, UH, WE CAN HAVE A, UH, STATISTICALLY, UH, SIGNIFICANT MODEL, UH, WHICH, UH, WE CAN USE FOR, UH, THE TRAFFIC GROWTH ESTIMATION.
SO THAT'S WHAT I HAVE, UH, IN TERMS OF, UH, THE TRAFFIC GROWTH RATE, UH, STATUS, UH, FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT.
SO BEFORE YOU GO TO THE NEXT SUBJECT, UM, MY QUESTION IS WHAT DO YOU USE AS YOUR BASE DATA? YEAH.
SO, UM, WHAT'S THE BASE FOR CALCULATING OFF THESE OTHER, UH, UH, PROJECTIONS AND ARE YOU ABLE TO DATA NOW THAT'S COMING IN FROM THE ADAPTIVE, UH, SIGNAL ONE, TWO, CAN YOU USE GOOGLE DATA, UH, JUST AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO HOW CORRECT YOUR BASE DATA? SO
[00:15:02]
GOOGLE DATA, UH, FOR TRAVEL TIME.UH, I'M, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION A BIT.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW, HOW, UH, TRAFFIC MODELERS USE THE GOOGLE DATA, BUT, UH OH, OKAY.
SO, SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS THAT WE USE, UH, THE DATA.
YOU CAN SEE IN GOOGLE, LIKE, UH, UH, I'M PRETTY SURE ALMOST ALL OF YOU HAVE USED, UH, GOOGLE MAP FOR GETTING TRAVEL TIME INFORMATION, SAY FROM EXAMPLE, FROM HILTON HAN ISLAND TO CHARLESTON.
AND THEN, LIKE, YOU KNOW, DURING DIFFERENT HOURS OF THE DAY, IT'LL GIVE YOU INFORMATION ON HOW MUCH TIME IT'LL TAKE, UH, FROM YOUR PLACE, UH, TO GO TO SOME OTHER PLACE, RIGHT? SO THAT'S ALMOST LIKE THE REAL TIME INFORMATION YOU CAN GET BASED ON, UH, ALL THE REAL-TIME DATA THEY COLLECT.
SO WHEN WE DEVELOP A MODEL, WE TRY TO CALIBRATE OUR MODEL BASED ON THE GOOGLE DATA AS WELL, THAT WHETHER OUR MODEL'S TRAVEL TIME IS WITHIN A SPECIFIC RANGE OF, UH, THE GOOGLE TRAVEL TIME DATA.
UH, BUT, UH, FOR THE FUTURE PROJECTIONS, UNFORTUNATELY, GOOGLE DATA CANNOT BE THAT USEFUL BECAUSE GOOGLE DATA IS MORE LIKE THE REAL-TIME DATA, UH, WHICH WE CAN USE.
UH, SO FOR THE GROWTH RATES, UH, WE RELY ON THE CENSUS DATA, OBVIOUSLY, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S OUR MAIN SOURCE, UH, TO IDENTIFY THE POPULATION GROWTH, EMPLOYMENT GROWTH INFORMATION.
AND THEN, UH, WE ALSO LOOK AT THE INFRASTRUCTURE DATA FROM, UH, THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES LIKE THE DOT, UH, MUNICIPALITIES, COUNTIES, AND SO ON, ABOUT THEIR FUTURE PLANS OR NUMBER OF ROADS, UH, ROADWAY EXPANSION, TRANSIT SERVICES AND SO ON.
AND WE COMBINE EVERYTHING INTO THE MODEL, UH, TO, UH, FORECAST THE FUTURE CONDITIONS, UH, ALONG ANY PARTICULAR CORRIDOR.
SO IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, AS I SAID, THE MPO MODEL, UH, UPDATE WAS, UH, A BIT INCOMPLETE IN A WAY THAT, UH, IT DIDN'T, UH, COUNT A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF, UH, UH, LIKE, YOU KNOW, FUTURE GROWTH, UH, BOTH IN THE MAINLAND AND ALSO IN THE HILTON HEAD AREA.
SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE NOT USING IT.
SO WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH IS, UH, WE HAVE THE 2023, UH, TRAFFIC COUNT INFORMATION.
SO, UH, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UH, SOME IMPORTANT DATA LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH TAX REVENUE THE TOWN IS COLLECTING, UH, FROM ACCOMMODATION, FROM, UH, THE RECREATIONAL TAXES, UH, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SPENDING MONEY AT THE RESTAURANTS AND SO ON.
SO WE RECEIVE SOME GOOD DATA, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS OF DATA.
UH, AND THEN, UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION ON THE SHORT TERM RENTALS.
UH, WE BELIEVE THAT IS WHAT IS ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS IN DRIVING THE TRAFFIC GROWTH, UH, UH, ALONG THE, UM, US 2 78 CORRIDOR, WHICH WE ARE STUDYING RIGHT NOW.
UH, BUT, UH, WITHOUT THAT, LIKE, UH, WE ARE TRYING TO SEE LIKE WHETHER WE CAN RUN A MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS, UH, AND SEE WHETHER, UH, WE CAN CORRELATE THE GROWTH IN TRAFFIC, UH, WITH OTHER INFORMATION WE CALL, UH, COLLECTED FROM THE, UH, TOWN.
SO, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE, UH, TRYING TO DO AT THIS TIME.
SO GROWTH RATE CAN NEVER BE A STRAIGHT LINE.
SO THERE'S A ACCELERATION POINT, CORRECT? IT SHOULD BE A CURVE, NOT A STRAIGHT LINE.
MM-HMM,
UH, SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GOOD POINT.
SO, UH, IF, IF WE TALK ABOUT A GROWTH RATE OF 1% FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS OR SO, THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
UH, SO, SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE, UH, THERE COULD BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, MANY OTHER FACTORS WHICH IS GOING TO BE INFLUENCING, AND THEN LIKE, YOU KNOW, UM, IN THIS PARTICULAR GRAPH, YOU CAN SEE A GROWTH RATE, THE TOP ONE, 1.19%.
UH, WE THINK, LIKE BASED ON THE INFORMATION WE RECEIVED SO FAR, THAT'S HIGHLY OPTIMISTIC GROWTH RATE.
MAYBE IT'LL NOT BE AS HIGH AS THIS BECAUSE LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, SUCH HIGH GROWTH RATE IS NOT SUSTAINABLE.
SO, UH, WE ALL CAN THINK THAT IF THE ECONOMIC GROWS AT 3%, 4% PER YEAR, UH, WE ALL KNOW THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH, RIGHT? AT SOME POINT IT NEEDS TO BREAK DOWN, UH, AND THEN LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'LL COME BACK TO, UH, MAYBE AT A LOWER GROWTH OR SOMETHING.
SO THE TRAFFIC GROWTH, UH, WILL BE SIMILAR TO THAT.
SO BECAUSE, AND THE MAIN REASON IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOUR SUPPLY SIDE, YOUR SUPPLY SIDE IS YOUR ROADWAYS, UH, THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO YOUR DEMAND COULD BE HIGH, BUT LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE, UH, YOU DON'T HAVE UNLIMITED RESOURCES, UH, TO PROVIDE SUPPLY TO FULFILL YOUR DEMAND.
SO, SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S HOW, UH, YOUR GROWTH RATE, UH, CANNOT BE A STRAIGHT LINE, UH, FOR AN INFINITE PERIOD.
SO, UH, WHAT WE DO TYPICALLY, LIKE
[00:20:01]
IN THIS TYPE OF PROJECT IS THE PLANNING LEVEL STUDY.SO WE TRY TO PREPARE OURSELF FOR THE WORST CONDITION POSSIBLE.
SO, SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY WE GO WITH A SAY LIKE, YOU KNOW, 1% GROWTH OR 0.75% GROWTH AND TRY TO SEE, OKAY, SO BEING CONSERVATIVE, UH, MAKING SURE THAT AFTER 20 YEARS OR SO WHEN YOU ARE SPENDING, UH, SOME TAX DOLLARS FOR YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, UH, YOU CAN AT LEAST ACCOMMODATE, UH, THE UNFORESEEN, UM, CONDITIONS IN THE FUTURE.
SO, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT, UH, OUR, OUR TARGET IS, UH, AS, AS PART OF THIS PROJECT.
SO IN YOUR FINAL CONCLUSION, WHEN YOU COME TO A, A GROWTH RATE THAT YOU FEEL IS REALISTIC, UM, BUT A SLOPE DOWN, RIGHT? THEN BASE THAT ON THE CAPACITY HOUSING AND BUSINESSES ON THE ISLANDS, UM, OR DO YOU BASE THAT ON, UH, GROWTH IN, IN HOUSING UNITS OR, UM, THAT IN MY VIEW, YOU SHOULD, YOU PROBABLY NEED TO, UM, TAKE THE, THE MAXIMUM CAPACITY INTO ACCOUNT.
I MEAN, WE CAN'T BUILD EVERYWHERE AND WE CAN'T HAVE ROADS EVERYWHERE ON THE ISLAND.
UM, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU ANTICIPATE, UH, CREATING A REALISTIC CURVE? WHAT DO YOU BASE IT ON? I MEAN, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THIS NOW IF YOU DON'T KNOW, BUT IT'S SOMETHING YEAH.
LOOK, LOOK, LOOK AT, UM, AS YOU MODEL IT OUT.
SO, SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE DATA AGAIN, UH, DEVELOPING A MODEL, UH, FOR, UH, UH, THE PROJECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE FOR SUCH AN IMPORTANT CORRIDOR.
IT NEEDS TO BE A, A HOLISTIC ONE.
SO, SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE IDEAL ANSWER FOR, UH, YOUR QUESTION WOULD BE TO LOOK AT THE TRAVEL HUMAN MODEL, BUT AS I SAID, UH, UNFORTUNATELY WE CANNOT USE THE EXISTING MODEL BECAUSE OF ITS LIMITATIONS.
SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE LOOKING AT SOME QUICK ALTERNATIVES.
LIKE WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME, UH, AND RESOURCES TO SPEND AS PART OF THIS, BECAUSE WHEN WE STARTED THE PROJECT, OUR INITIAL UNDERSTANDING WAS, UH, THE MPO HAS A FUNCTIONAL MODEL, WHICH WE CAN JUST TAKE, AND THEN LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN MODIFY, UH, UH, BASED ON LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, THE ANTICIPATED, UH, CHANGES IN THE ISLAND AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, IN OTHER AREAS.
UH, BUT AS IT HAS, UH, ITS OWN LIMITATIONS, WE ALSO FOUND THAT, UH, IT HAS A VISITOR MODEL, BUT THAT VISITOR MODEL IS, UH, NOT UP TO THE STANDARD.
SO, SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, MOST OF THE GROWTH, LIKE AS THE LOCAL RESIDENT, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, THE VISITORS ARE JIVING YOUR TRAFFIC VOLUME PROBABLY, UH, TO THE BIGGEST EXTENT POSSIBLE.
SO THE QUESTION IS HOW YOU CAN COUNT THEM OR HOW YOU CAN QUANTIFY THEM.
UH, SO SHORT-TERM RENTAL UNITS, THAT'S A GOOD WAY TO LOOK AT IT.
NUMBER OF, UH, THE HOTEL, UH, ACCOMMODATIONS PARTIER, THAT'S A GOOD WAY TO LOOK AT IT.
AND THEN, LIKE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, UH, SPENDING MONEY IN RECREATIONAL FACILITIES AND SO ON.
THAT'S ANOTHER GOOD WAY TO LOOK AT IT.
SO, SO LIKE, AS AN ALTERNATIVE, WE ARE TRYING TO LOOK AT THOSE AND TRYING TO SEE, OKAY, SO OVER THE LAST FIVE YEAR OR SO, WHATEVER TRAFFIC GROWTH YOU HAVE, WHETHER WE CAN CORRELATE WITH YOUR TAX REVENUE INCREASE OR DECREASE OR TREND, UH, AND SEE LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER WE CAN HAVE A GOOD CORRELATION ON THAT.
SO IF WE CAN COME UP WITH SOMETHING, UH, THEN WE FEEL CONFIDENT, THEN LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO TELL YOU THAT, OKAY, SO YOUR, UH, EXPECTED GROWTH RATE WOULD BE X PERCENT OR SOMETHING, UH, OR, OR LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU SHOULD LOOK AT, UH, UPDATING YOUR TRAVEL MODEL, UH, IN THE FUTURE SO THAT LIKE, UH, IT ACTUALLY ACCOMMODATES, UH, ALL OTHER FACTORS, UH, IN, UH, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS ACTUALLY, UH, INCREASING YOUR DEMAND FOR TRAVEL.
AND ALSO, LIKE, YOU KNOW, UM, IT, IT IS ALSO GOING TO SHOW YOU, UH, THAT HOW MUCH INCREASE IN SUPPLY YOU ARE GOING TO PROVIDE, UH, FOR THE 2050 CONDITIONS.
SO, UH, THAT'S KIND OF LIKE WHAT, UH, WE ARE TRYING TO DO.
SO HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT MEETING WE'LL HAVE A BETTER ANSWER FOR YOU, UH, ONCE WE ANALYZE ALL THE DATA WE GATHERED.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE COMMITTEE?
[c. Update on Modeling Capabilities]
KATE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO, UM,UM, SO ONE ITEM THAT I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS WITH EVERYBODY TODAY, AND THEN WE NEED AN ANSWER
[00:25:01]
ON BEFORE WE LEAVE, IS THE GENERAL SCOPE OF THE ALTERNATIVES THAT WE ARE GOING TO CONSIDER FOR FUTURE MODELING.UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO STEP INTO THAT NEXT PHASE OF THE PROCESS UNTIL WE HAVE A GROWTH RATE AGREED UPON, AND ASTRI REITERATED, WE'RE VERY CLOSE TO THAT STEP.
SO, UH, WE CANNOT DISCUSS SPECIFIC INTERCHANGE OR INTERSECTION TYPES TODAY, BUT I DO WANT TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT ON THE, UM, I GUESS THE, THE NUMBER OF LANES PROVIDED THROUGH THE CORRIDOR FOR EACH OF THESE ALTERNATIVES TO PROVIDE US A BIT MORE NARROW OF A SCOPE WHEN WE STEP FORWARD AFTER WE DO HAVE A FUTURE GROWTH RATE DETERMINED TO DECIDE WHAT DIFFERENT POTENTIAL INTERSECTION OR INTERCHANGE CONFIGURATIONS WE CAN CONSIDER FOR ALTERNATIVES TO ADDRESS YOUR FUTURE CORRIDOR NEEDS.
[1. Approach to Alternatives]
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PREVIOUS GRAPH ON THE SCREEN SHOWED VARIOUS GROWTH RATES THAT WE ARE POTENTIALLY CONSIDERING AND KIND OF A THEORETICAL SIX LANE THRESHOLD OF GENERALLY SPEAKING, WHAT LEVEL OF TRAFFIC WOULD TRIGGER THE NEED FOR A SIX LANE SECTION VERSUS A FOUR LANE SECTION.AND I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS GRAPH IS BASED ON, UM, I GUESS THE, THE THRESHOLD UP THERE, THE 3,600 VEHICLES PER HOUR IS BASED ON IDEAL PERFECT OPERATING CONDITIONS, MAXIMIZING THROUGHPUT FOR EVERY LANE THAT YOU HAVE OUT ON THE CORRIDOR, AND ALSO MINIMIZING STOPS.
AND SO UNDER THEORETICAL CONDITIONS, OF COURSE, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE VERY HIGH TOTAL VOLUME THROUGHPUT WITH A MINIMUM NUMBER OF LANES.
AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT A GRAPH SIMILAR TO THIS HAS BEEN ANALYZED AND PRESENTED AS PART OF SOME OF THE PRIOR STUDY EFFORTS.
AND WE THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO TRY AND RECREATE IT WITH OUR OWN DATA THAT WE HAVE SEEN AND GATHERED THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.
BUT WE ALSO FELT THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO TRY AND FIND AN ADDITIONAL DATA SOURCE, AN ADDITIONAL POINT TO COMPARE THIS INFORMATION AGAINST WHEN ANSWERING THE QUESTION OR ASKING OURSELVES, UM, YOU KNOW, DO WE THINK THAT FOUR LANES IS THE ANSWER FOR THIS CORRIDOR INTO THE FUTURE, OR DOES IT NEED TO BE A SIX LANE CORRIDOR? SO IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, NATE.
UM, THERE IS, UH, YES, THIS SHOWS THE EXISTING A DT THAT IS OUT THERE TODAY.
SO THE, THE PREVIOUS GRAPH DISCUSSED PEAK HOUR PER LANE VOLUMES.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE CERTAINLY LIMITATIONS WITH, WITH THAT.
UM, OKAY, UH, YOU COULD, YOU COULD HAVE STAYED ON, STAYED ON THAT SLIDE.
UM, THERE ARE CERTAINLY LIMITATIONS TO THE, THE PEAK HOUR PER LANE, UM, 3,600 THRESHOLD, AS I MENTIONED.
IT'S BASED ON, UM, PERFECT CONDITIONS, ESSENTIALLY VERY IDEAL CONDITIONS.
AND SO IS THERE AN ADDITIONAL WAY THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THIS DATA TO MAKE A SUGGESTION COME UP WITH A RECOMMENDATION FOR IF WE FEEL THAT FOUR LANES OR SIX LANES IS APPROPRIATE FOR THIS CORRIDOR? AND SO THE OTHER DATA POINT THAT WE HAVE TO USE IS A-D-T-A-D-T VOLUMES.
SO THIS GRAPH, UH, THIS PICTURE GRAPHIC SHOWS THE CALCULATED, UM, REAL ACTUALLY WHAT HAPPENED ON YOUR CORRIDOR, A DT FOR 2023.
UM, YOU'RE NORTH OF 57,000 VEHICLES PER DAY AVERAGE, AND YOU CAN SEE THE EXACT COUNTER LOCATION WHERE THAT WAS TAKEN.
AND SO NOW NATE, IF YOU GO TO THE THAT NEXT SLIDE, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO LOOK THROUGH THE HIGHWAY CAPACITY MANUAL THAT IS HCM, THE ACRONYM IN THE TITLE OF THIS SLIDE.
AND THEY PROVIDE A PLANNING LEVEL CAPACITY TABLE AS SHOWN ON THE LEFT HALF OF THE SCREEN, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A LOT OF NUMBERS, A LOT OF DATA, BUT ESSENTIALLY THEY TRY THEIR BEST.
OF COURSE, EVERY SITUATION IS UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT, BUT THEY TRY TO APPLY CERTAIN PARAMETERS TO THOSE THEORETICAL CALCULATIONS AND ALLOW US TO HAVE AN EVEN MORE REALISTIC VIEW OF WHAT POTENTIAL CORRIDORS COULD HANDLE TRAFFIC-WISE, FROM THE DAILY VOLUME PERSPECTIVE, HOW MUCH A DT CAN CERTAIN ROADWAYS HANDLE.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY HAVE COLUMNS FOR TWO LANE STREETS, FOUR LANE STREETS, SIX LANE STREETS.
THEY ALSO BREAK IT UP INTO SUBCATEGORIES PER POSTED SPEED LIMIT.
THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF VARIED FACTORS.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE THE K AND THE D FACTOR, ESSENTIALLY.
ALL OF THOSE ARE, UM, DIFFERENT SUBSETS OF, OF CALCULATIONS THAT WE USE TO QUANTIFY TRAFFIC AND RELATE TRAFFIC FROM HOURLY TRAFFIC TO DAILY TRAFFIC.
UM, SO I DON'T WANNA GET TOO BOGGED DOWN INTO THE, INTO THE DETAILS, THE MINUTIA OF THAT TABLE.
BUT, UM, I THINK WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT AND WHAT REALLY HELPED TO KIND OF ALIGN OUR THINKING ON THIS PROJECT THUS FAR IS THE, THE RIGHT HALF OF THIS SLIDE.
[00:30:02]
THIS TABLE SUMMARIZES THAT FOR TWO, FOUR OR SIX LANE ROADWAYS, THERE ARE RANGES OF POTENTIAL DAILY VOLUMES THAT THEORETICALLY THESE ROADS CAN HANDLE.AND SO IF WE FOCUS ON THE FOUR LANE VERSUS THE SIXTH LANE, UM, YOU KNOW, THEORETICALLY A FOUR LANE UNDIVIDED STREET WITH LEFT TURN LANES AT BUSY INTERSECTIONS AND COORDINATED SIGNALS, WHICH SOUNDS A LOT LIKE WHAT YOUR PARKWAY CORRIDOR IS TODAY, UM, YOU KNOW, GENERALLY THAT'S GONNA BE ABLE TO ACCEPTABLY AND COMFORTABLY HANDLE ANYWHERE FROM 18,000 TO 37,000 VEHICLES PER DAY.
YOU GUYS ARE ALREADY WELL OVER THAT THRESHOLD.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE BULLET POINT BELOW THAT, THE SIX LANE DIVIDED STREET ARTERIAL, UM, YOU KNOW THAT THAT SEGMENT OF ROADWAY CLASSIFICATION CAN COMFORTABLY HANDLE THE RANGE OF 29,000 TO 55 ISH THOUSAND VEHICLES PER DAY.
SO OF COURSE THIS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, STILL AT A THEORETICAL LEVEL, BUT I BELIEVE THAT IT HAS MORE CONSTRAINING FACTORS BUILT INTO THESE, THIS TABLE, THE HIGHWAY CAPACITY MANUAL TABLE, THAN DOES THE KINDA EVEN HIGHER LEVEL RULE OF THUMB.
YOU KNOW, WE GENERALLY CAN HANDLE 1800 PASSENGER CARS PER HOUR PER LANE, WHICH IS WHAT THE PREVIOUS GRAPH SHOWED.
AND KINDA THE ESTIMATION THAT PREVIOUS STUDIES EVEN HAD BEEN BASING THEIR CONCLUSIONS ON WHEN THEY WERE DETERMINING IF FOUR LANES OR SIX LANES WERE PERHAPS MORE APPROPRIATE FOR THIS CORRIDOR AS PART OF THEIR STUDY CONCLUSIONS.
I WAS ASKING A QUICK QUESTION.
YES, WE HAVE A, UM, IT'S ALL INTERESTING AND A LOT OF WORK HAS GONE INTO IT, BUT, UH, I WOULD PUT MORE VALUE IN A OVERVIEW OF THE TRAFFIC, UH, DURING PEAK HOURS RATHER THAN DAY OF THESE TWO PERIODS IN THE MORNING FROM WHATEVER IT IS, SEVEN TO NINE, AND IN THE
I THINK TO ME, THAT WOULD BE CRITICAL AND WOULD REALLY GIVE ME A, ALLOW ME TO MAKE A VALUE JUDGMENT ON WHAT WE NEED.
CAPACITY, HAVE THAT, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE GENERATED? UH, CAN YOU REPEAT, CAN YOU REPEAT THE LAST HALF OF YOUR QUESTION?
SO YOUR MIC'S OFF MORE SPECIFIC AND YOU'LL BE MORE SPECIFIC ON, UM, THE VOLUME DURING PEAK HOURS.
'CAUSE I MEAN, THE VOLUME BY DAY IS OKAY, BUT I THINK WHAT WE ARE REALLY LOOKING AT IS, IS THOSE, THOSE, UH, HOURS WHEN WE LOOK AT CONGESTION? YES, CERTAINLY.
UM, SO WE WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT BOTH, RIGHT? UM, SO THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THEN WE HAD PRIOR TO LOOK AT GENERAL CAPACITY ACROSS AN ENTIRE DAY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE A DT VOLUMES.
BUT YOU ARE CORRECT THAT THE PEAK HOURS ARE ALSO VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
AND OUR OBSERVATIONS OF YOUR PEAK HOUR FROM THE SITE VISIT THAT NATE AND I AND TYSON, UH, PERFORMED AS HE DESCRIBED EARLIER IN THIS MEETING, IS THAT YOUR EXISTING CONDITION STILL HAS A LOT OF CONGESTION, UM, ROLLING CUES, EVEN WITH YOUR ADAPTIVE SYSTEM THAT SEEMS TO BE HELPING A LOT ON YOUR CORRIDOR.
EVEN WHEN WE HAVE PRELIMINARILY PUT THAT INFORMATION INTO OUR MODELS, IT STILL SHOWS FAILING LEVELS OF SERVICE IN MANY AREAS.
AND IF YOU HAVE FAILING LEVELS OF SERVICE ON ALL APPROACHES, ALL FOUR APPROACHES OF AN INTERSECTION, UM, REALLY THE ONLY WAY TO ADDRESS EACH OF THOSE IS TO ADD CAPACITY.
AND SO, BASED ON OUR SITE OBSERVATIONS, BASED ON THE PRELIMINARY INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE OBTAINED FROM OUR MODELS, WHICH ARE STILL BEING, YOU KNOW, BUTTONED UP AND CALIBRATED A LITTLE BIT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BASE ASSUMPTIONS ARE THAT THERE'S A LOT OF CONGESTION ON THE CORRIDOR TODAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT A SHOCKER TO ANYBODY.
YOU GUYS HAVE A CONGESTED CORRIDOR AND YOU'RE, YOU'RE HOPING FOR HELP WITH IT.
UM, AND THEN THE ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE THAT WE SOUGHT FROM NATIONAL STANDARDS AND MANUALS SUCH AS THE HIGH CAPACITY MANUAL, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THESE POINTS OF INFORMATION ARE LEADING US TO CONCLUDE THAT A FOUR-LANE ROADWAY, UH, DOES NOT HAVE A HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF
[00:35:01]
SATISFYING YOUR FUTURE CORRIDOR CRITERIA INTO THE FUTURE.AND MY, MY MAIN QUESTION FOR YOU TODAY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DISCUSS AS MANY OF THESE POINTS AS YOU'D LIKE, BUT MY MAIN QUESTION FOR THIS COMMITTEE AND THE ANSWER THAT WE NEED MOVING FORWARD TODAY IS, DO YOU STILL WANT LOCK MUELLER TO ANALYZE A FUTURE CORRIDOR SCENARIO THAT HAS A FOUR-LANE ROADWAY CROSS SECTION, KNOWING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE THINK THERE IS NOT A HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT IT WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE LEVEL OF SERVICE AND THE SATISFACTION THAT YOU ARE HOPING FOR IN A CORRIDOR, AND IT DOES NOT HAVE A HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF HAVING, UM, YOU KNOW, ACCEPTABLE METRICS AT THE END.
THE METRICS WE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT AT OUR LAST MEETING, RIGHT? WE HAVE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT WE WANT TO HIT AND WE ALSO WANNA MINIMIZE RIGHT OF WAY TAKING, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE'S A HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT WE ARE GOING TO FIND A FOUR LANE SCENARIO THAT WILL DO BOTH OF THOSE THINGS ACCEPTABLY.
AND SO PER OUR SCOPE AND THE PLAN THAT WE HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS PROJECT, WE HAVE THREE FUTURE ALTERNATIVES TO PLAY WITH, SO TO SPEAK, TO KIND OF DECIDE WHICH DIFFERENT CON UH, CONFIGURATIONS COULD WE PUT TOGETHER FOR THE CORRIDOR TO POTENTIALLY FIND A SOLUTION FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
AND SO MY, MY QUESTION, UM, YOU KNOW, DO YOU STILL WANT LOCK MUELLER TO CONSIDER A FOUR LANE SCENARIO INTO THE FUTURE? UM, BASED ON EVERYTHING THAT I'VE SEEN SO FAR, I DO NOT THINK THAT HAS A HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF BEING SUCCESSFUL IN MEETING YOUR FUTURE CRITERIA.
OR WOULD YOU LIKE US TO USE ALL THREE OF OUR FUTURE CORRIDOR SCENARIOS ON POTENTIAL SIX LANE OPTIONS? I HAVE A, I HAVE A COMMENT.
UM, THE, THE FOUR LANE SCENARIO THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WHY WOULDN'T IT WORK, UH, IN A DIFFERENT LOCATION, SAY, UH, YOU KNOW, AS IN AS A SECOND BRIDGE, FOR EXAMPLE, TO THE RIGHT.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU WERE TO DEVELOP THAT AN ALTERNATIVE, WHAT WOULD BE WRONG WITH THAT? THAT'S, THAT WOULD BE THE FOUR LANE, UH, CONDITION, I WOULD THINK, RIGHT? SO THAT, THAT IS AN OPTION THAT WE CAN TAKE TO, TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND I KNOW THAT THE, THE SECOND BRIDGE ALTERNATIVE HAS BEEN DISCUSSED AT LENGTH, UM, IN THESE MEETINGS PRIOR.
IT WAS A TOPIC IN, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PROPOSAL AND THE SELECTION AND THE WAY THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT IDEA IS, IS THIS, UM, WE WOULD HAVE ONE OF THE THREE FUTURE ALTERNATIVES BE A FOUR-LANE SCENARIO.
I DO NOT EXPECT THAT WITHOUT A REDUCTION IN TRAFFIC DUE TO A SECONDARY CONNECTION THAT THAT IS GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
SO WE THEN WOULD DO A VERY, VERY HIGH LEVEL ESTIMATION, UM, BASICALLY START TAKING OFF DIFFERENT PERCENTS OF TRAFFIC.
WOULD A FOUR LANE WORK IF 10% OF THE TRAFFIC WAS REROUTED TO A DIFFERENT LOCATION, WHAT ABOUT 15? WHAT ABOUT 20? WE WOULD SEQUENTIALLY GO THROUGH THE PROCESS UNTIL WE FOUND A LEVEL OF TRAFFIC THAT WOULD NEED TO BE ACCOMMODATED BY A DIFFERENT CONNECTION DOCUMENT THAT ASSUMPTION, AND WE COULD, YOU KNOW, HAVE A, HAVE A CONFIGURATION THAT WOULD, WOULD POTENTIALLY WORK UNDER THE VERY LARGE CAVEAT THAT X PERCENT OF TRAFFIC IS, IS ACCOMMODATED ONTO THE ISLAND ELSEWHERE.
IT IS A HUGE, MASSIVE UNDERTAKING ON SO MANY LEVELS OTHER THAN JUST TRAFFIC TO DETERMINE WHERE AND HOW AND IF VIABLE CONNECTIONS CAN BE MADE.
AND SO WHAT THIS STUDY CAN DO FOR THAT EFFORT IS SUMMARIZE A GENERAL AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC THAT A SECONDARY CONNECTION WOULD NEED TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE TO MAKE IT VIABLE.
THAT PIECE OF INFORMATION COULD THEN BE USED TO SUPPLEMENT SEPARATE ADDITIONAL PLANNING EFFORTS TO REALLY INVESTIGATE A SECONDARY CONNECTION TO THE ISLAND.
IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THIS COMMITTEE OR THE COMMUNITY FEELS IS A WORTHWHILE INVESTIGATION, UM, I THINK IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE MPO IS PLANNING ON A STUDY ON THIS TOPIC IN 2028 OR SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE THAT CONCLUSION FROM THIS STUDY AND OFFER IT TO, TO THAT EFFORT.
AND THAT WOULD HELP THEM DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF A SECONDARY CONNECTION IS VIABLE, IT HAS TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THIS AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC TO MAKE IT WORTHWHILE, SO TO SPEAK.
BUT AT THAT POINT, YOU WOULD HAVE END UP HAVING ESSENTIALLY, UM, EIGHT LANES OF TRAFFIC, OKAY? MM-HMM.
[00:40:01]
LANES WHERE THEY ARE NOW, OR FOUR LANES RATHER WHERE THEY ARE NOW, AND, UH, REHABILITATED THAT, AND, BUT IF YOU BUILT THE, THE SECOND BRIDGE, LET'S CALL IT ON THE, THE, THE SOUTHERN CONNECTION, UH, FIRST I'M, I'M JUST POINTING THIS OUT AS A SCENARIO, UH, THEN YOU'D BE ABLE TO COME OVER AND REHABILITATE OR KNOCK 'EM DOWN AND BUILD, BUILD NEW THERE.I MEAN, I DON'T, I'M NOT SURE, SURE.
I'M NOT SO SURE COST IS, IS A PART OF OUR CONSIDERATION HERE.
AND, UM, SO THERE, YEAH, GO AHEAD.
I GUESS LOOK, YEAH, SORRY, I, MAYBE, MAYBE I'LL PHRASE IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE NOT SAYING THAT A SECONDARY CONNECTION IS NOT WORTH INVESTIGATING.
UM, I'M NOT SAYING THAT I PROFESSIONALLY DON'T THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, BUT AT THIS POINT TODAY, THAT IDEA HAS NOT BEEN INVESTIGATED THOROUGHLY ENOUGH OR HAD ANY SORT OF ORGANIZED EFFORT TO TRY AND FIND AN ANSWER FOR A VIABLE SOLUTION BASED ON ALL THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND NEPA FACTORS.
UM, THERE, THERE IS NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION COLLECTED FOR ME TO SAY THAT I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA DOT BRIDGE MOVE FORWARD AS A SIX LANE SECTION IN THE INTERIM, OR THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE NEEDED AS IMMEDIATE NEAR TERM IMPROVEMENTS.
EVEN IF TODAY THE EFFORT GOT STARTED TO FIGURE OUT WHERE OR HOW, OR WHAT A SECONDARY BUTCH CONNECTION NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE, THE FINAL PRODUCT OF THAT, YOU KNOW, THE ACT ACTUALLY REALIZING WHERE A SECOND CONNECTION, A SECONDARY CONNECTION COULD COME IN AND HAVE IT ACTUALLY BE CONSTRUCTED IS AT LEAST, AT LEAST 10 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.
IN THE INTERIM, YOU GUYS STILL HAVE A CONGESTION PROBLEM ON YOUR CORRIDOR.
AND SO, KNOWING THAT I, IT IS, IT'S OUR PROFESSIONAL OPINION THAT YOU NEED TO IT MOVE FORWARD WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANTIME UNTIL SUCH TIME THAT YOU HAVE MORE CONCRETE DATA TO BASE A DECISION ON A SECONDARY CONNECTION IN.
BUT ALL ALONG, I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN, UH, SAYING THAT WHY COULDN'T THE EXISTING BRIDGES BE WIDENED AND NOT, NOT BUILD A PARALLEL ONE? UM, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THAT'S, THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.
EVEN THOUGH PRESENTLY THEY'RE, THEY'RE, LET'S SAY, NOT SEISMICALLY, UH, ADEQUATE, BUT AS AN INTERIM SOLUTION, WHY COULDN'T THAT BE CONSIDERED TO WIDEN THE BRIDGES? UH, AND THEN WITH THIS, UH, 10 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD THING, CONSIDER A SECOND CROSSING TO THE ISLAND AND THEN COME BACK AND, AND REHABILITATE THE, OR NOT REHABILITATE, BUT, UH, MAYBE KNOCK 'EM DOWN AND BUILD NEW AND CHARLIE
YOU DON'T IMMEDIATELY HAVE TO BUILD A SECOND BRIDGE, BUT YOU CAN, UH, YOU CAN MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ON WHAT TRAFFIC WOULD USE A SECOND BRIDGE, RIGHT? UH, AND HOW THAT WOULD AFFECT THE, THE REMAINDER OF THE TRAFFIC.
SO I, I THINK WE, YOU KNOW, AS THE MAYOR ALSO SAID WHILE BACK, YOU KNOW, WE WILL NOT LEAVE ANY STONE UNTURNED AND WE SHOULD NOT, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD, THIS IS THE TIME THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT, UM, UH, HYPOTHETICALLY WHAT A SECOND BRIDGE WOULD DO TO THE REST OF THE, UM, TRAFFIC FLOWS, RIGHT? AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, I THINK IT'S PREMATURE TO RULE OUT, UM, FOUR LANES, SIX LANES OR, OR OR TWO LANES, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T REALLY EVEN COME TO A CONCLUSION ON THE GROWTH RATE.
SO LET'S NOT, LET'S NOT, UH, TOSS ALTERNATIVES OUT THE DOOR IF WE HAVEN'T, UH, STARTED WITH THE BASIC MODELING, MY CONCERN IS EACH ONE OF THOSE HAS A LEFT HAND, LEFT TURN, AND I'M AGAINST LEFT TURNS.
I NEVER HAVE LIKED LEFT TURNS.
AND I, I THINK WE NEED TO TAKE SOME SERIOUS LOOK AT WHAT OTHER STATES HAVE DONE, WHETHER YOU CALL IT THE HOOK OR THEY HAVE ALL KINDS OF NAMES WHERE YOU ACTUALLY GO BY THE INTERSECTION OR YOU TURN BEFORE IT AND YOU COME AROUND, YOU MAKE A LOOP AND THEN GO ACROSS, UH, YOU, YOU NOTICE THE TRAFFIC FLOW, LEFT-HAND TURN LANES, WHAT DO WE SEE AS WE COME ON 2 78? THE LEFT LANE IS BACKING UP BECAUSE THEY'RE QUEUING UP TO MAKE A LEFT-HAND TURN THAT AFFECTS YOUR VEHICLES PER DAY THAT ARE GETTING THROUGH.
SO NOW YOU HAVE EVERYONE THAT'S GOTTA TURN DOES IT FROM THE RIGHT LANE, YOUR LEFT LANE, YOUR CENTER LANE ARE THROUGH LANES, YOU
[00:45:01]
KNOW, IT'S PEDAL TO THE METAL, WHICH IS ALL OUT THERE ALL THE TIME, BUT IT'S THROUGH TRAFFIC THAT IMPROVES SAFETY, TRAFFIC FLOW AND MUCH MORE.SO SIX LANE, I DON'T REALLY HAVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN MANY OF THE DOTS ACROSS THIS COUNTRY THAT IF THEY SAY THEY'RE GONNA BUILD THE BRIDGE OUT AT SIX LANES, THAT THEY'LL ACTUALLY DO IT, AND IT MIGHT ONLY BE FOUR.
SO WHAT DO WE HAVE? WE COME ACROSS, WE HAVE A ROADWAY THAT'S SET FOR SIX, YOU NARROW IT DOWN TO FOUR LANES TO GET ACROSS THE BRIDGE.
THAT IS, I LIKE SIX LANE, BUT THAT'S MY FEAR.
I JUST HAVE, I'VE WORKED WITH MANY DOTS AND WHAT THEY SAY TODAY AND WHAT THEY ACTUALLY GO OUT TO BID WITH TOMORROW, TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND I, I, I THINK IT, IT, IT, IT'S WORTH POINTING OUT THAT WE'RE NOT MAKING A FINAL DECISION ON WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE.
THIS IS FOR THE STUDY AS TO WHAT HAS BEEN PROPOSED BY DOT ON THE BRIDGE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S GONNA BE A CONVERSATION THAT COMES AROUND IN THE FUTURE REGARDING A SECOND BRIDGE, AND THAT STUDY I THINK IS GONNA BE IN 2030, IS WHEN THAT STARTS.
UM, WHO KNOWS HOW LONG THAT WILL TAKE, BUT FOR THE PURPOSE OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE, UM, IS HAS TO EXPLORE THE ALTERNATIVES WITHIN THE, THE AVAILABLE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE TO DO SUCH IN HOW WE WANT LOCK MUELLER TO MOVE, MOVE FORWARD WITH UNDERSTANDING HOW TRAFFIC PATTERN NEEDS TO FLOW THROUGH THE STONY AREA THROUGH WHOOPING CRANE.
UM, SO I'M NOT, YOU KNOW, SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT THE, THE ADDITIONAL A, UH, ACCESS POINTS, BUT FOR THE STUDY AND, AND WHAT WE NEED TO SEE AS TO HOW TRAFFIC CAN FLOW, THAT'S THE DECISION.
I THINK WE NEED TO DETERMINE IF WE WANT THEM TO MOVE FORWARD WITH TWO, FOUR OR SIX.
UM, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG THERE, KATE.
NO, YOU, YOU HIT THAT, UH, RIGHT ON THE HEAD, MR. MAYOR.
UM, WE, YEAH, I'M NOT TRYING TO DETERMINE SPECIFIC INTERSECTION CONFIGURATIONS OR TYPES TODAY, UM, BUT UNDERSTANDING THAT WE HAVE LIMITED FUNDS TO DO THE STUDY, UM, WE CANNOT JUST CONTINUE DOING INFINITE NUMBERS OF ALTERNATIVES INTO THE FUTURE.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE REALLY MAKING SMART CHOICES WITH THE THREE FUTURE ALTERNATIVES THAT WE HAVE TO CONSIDER.
AND IF IT IS UNLIKELY THAT A FOUR LANE SCENARIO IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR EXISTING TRAFFIC AND FUTURE TRAFFIC, ASSUMING THAT A SECONDARY BRIDGE CONNECTION IS NOT GOING TO MAGICALLY APPEAR IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, THEN UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT THAT TO BE A WASTED EFFORT.
I DON'T WANT TO WASTE ONE OF THE THREE FUTURE ALTERNATIVES THAT WE HAVE WHERE WE COULD HAVE CONSIDERED DIFFERENT INTERSECTION OR INTERCHANGE ALTERNATIVES ON A FOUR-LANE SCENARIO.
THAT IS JUST GOING TO SHOW THAT YOU HAVE CONGESTION ON THE CORRIDOR, BECAUSE QUITE FRANKLY, THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE TODAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GONNA SHOW MUCH DIFFERENT IN THE FUTURE IF WE DON'T HAVE EITHER A MEANINGFUL REDUCTION IN TRAFFIC TO MAKE IT DIFFERENT, OR AS I SAID EARLIER, IF I, IF I CAN ASK THE QUESTION.
UM, AND, AND I'M NOT SURE WHO'S TO ANSWER THIS.
UM, THE PORTION OF THE HIGHWAY THAT'S ON JENKINS ISLAND, WHO HAS THE, THE DESIGN RIGHTS OF THAT? IS THAT THE TOWN OR IS THAT THE STATE AND COUNTY? DOES ANYBODY KNOW THAT? I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER.
THAT MAYOR, OBVIOUSLY ANYTHING OUTSIDE THE TOWN'S MUNICIPAL LIMITS OR, OR BEYOND OUR JURISDICTION, I THINK WE CAN HAVE AN OPINION, BUT I WANNA REMIND THE COMMITTEE THAT THE, THE COMMITTEE SUPPORTED THE SCOPE OF WORK COUNCIL SUPPORTED THE SCOPE OF WORK, AND WE'RE ASKING LOCK MUELLER FOR THEIR PROFESSIONAL OPINION AND HOW TO REACH SOME FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS.
UM, WE ASKED AT THE LAST MEETING ABOUT CRITERIA TO BE ABLE TO EVALUATE, AND THERE WAS SOME CRITERIA, CRITERIA GIVEN ABOUT MINIMIZE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, MINIMIZE PROPERTY ACQUISITION AND TAKES THROUGH STONY.
UM, WHAT I'M HEARING FROM LOCK MEER IS WE'VE GOT FOUR ALTERNATIVES TO MODEL, AND IF IT, IF IT, IN THEIR OPINION THEY'RE SAYING A FOUR LANE TO TWO MODEL, A FOUR LANE ALTERNATIVE BASED ON THEIR PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE IS NOT GONNA YIELD MEANINGFUL RESULTS, THEN WOULD THE COMMITTEE BE COMFORTABLE USING THE ALTER THE, THE MODELING FOR SIX LANE? RIGHT.
SO, SO IF I CAN, UM, AND, AND THIS IS HOW I UNDERSTAND IT, AND, AND AGAIN, CORRECT ME IF I'M INCORRECT ON THIS, BUT FROM THE BASE OF THE BRIDGE TO STONY, IT WOULD BE PROBABLY MOST LIKELY A SIX LANE.
AND IF WE GO TO FOUR LANES AND IT WOULD FUNNEL IN THERE FOR A A AT, AT STONY FROM STONY TO, WELL, JUST BEFORE SPANISH WELLS, IT WOULD, IT WOULD FUNNEL DOWN TO FOUR LANES AND THEN BACK TO SIX BECAUSE THERE'S ALREADY SIX AND EIGHT LANES IN
[00:50:01]
THAT SECTION NOW.SO WHAT IS THE, THE AREA THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS LESS THAN A QUARTER OF A MILE.
WITH GREAT IMPACT, UNDERSTANDABLY, UM, TO THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT IT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF ACTUAL IMPACT ON THE ROAD IS LESS THAN QUARTER OF A MILE.
BUT COMING BACK TO OUR, OUR FIRST MEETINGS, WE, THE REASON THAT WE ARE, UM, HAVE LOCK MORE LOOK AT THIS, UH, AND WITH THEIR EXPERTISE IS, UM, YES, UH, TO COLLECT THE DATA AND TO SEE WHAT IS REAL, BUT ALSO, UM, TO COME UP WITH FRESH NEW IDEAS.
SO THE WAY I LOOK AT IT NOW, YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF DATA COLLECTION AND YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY WITH THIS, BUT THERE'S STILL ISSUES THAT LIKE GROWTH RATE AND OTHER THINGS THAT NEED TO BE RESOLVED.
AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, WE WOULD LIKE Y YOUR EXPERTISE TO BE DEPLOYED ON WHAT POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES THERE ARE BESIDES THE SECOND BRIDGE, YOU KNOW, UH, NO LEFT TURNS, UH, DO YOU WIDEN THE CROSS ISLANDS, UH, ENTRY ONTO 2 78 GOING WEST? UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE YOU COME IN.
SO, MM-HMM,
AND THAT'S WHEN THE FUN STARTS.
THAT'S REALLY WHEN YOU CAN SEE HOW TRAFFIC IMPACTS AND WHETHER WE, WE NEED THREE LANES ON EACH SIDE OR FOUR LANES OR GOD KNOWS WHAT, BUT TO, TO ELIMINATE, UM, ALTERNATIVES AT THIS POINT I THINK IT'S UNJUSTIFIED.
ARE YOU CONSIDERING AT ALL ANY WIDENING OF THE EXISTING BRIDGES AS PART OF THIS STUDY? AND I'LL, I'LL TAKE THE FIRST.
SO AS A PART OF OUR AGREED UPON SCOPE, THE, WHAT WE WERE, UH, ASKED TO DO WAS TO GIVE A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW FROM A, ALMOST LIKE A TABULAR STANDPOINT TO SEE WHAT THE COSTS WOULD BE IF YOU RETROFITTED VERSUS BUILT NEW, BUT JUST MORE OF LIKE GIVING A PROFESSIONAL OPINION AND TECHNICAL MEMO.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S TO BE PROVIDED IN THE, IN THE SCOPE, BUT THE, I THINK WHAT KATE, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO CONVEY HERE IS JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS, THE, THE SIX VERSUS VERSUS THE FOUR, AND TO, TO DIETRICH'S POINT, UM, WITH, YES, DIETRICH, THE GROWTH RATE HASN'T BEEN DETERMINED YET, BUT WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS THAT BASED ON THE VOLUMES THAT WE HAVE NOW AND UH, PRELIMINARILY, UM, THE, THE SYNCRO MODELS HAVE NOT BEEN FINALIZED OR THE VISTA MODELS FINALIZED, BUT JUST LOOKING AT THEM, UM, BEFORE THE MEETING, THERE'S STILL WORK TO BE DONE, BUT IT'S SHOWING LIKE FAILING LEVELS OF SERVICE.
AND SO KATE, WHAT KATE'S TRYING TO CONVEY IS THAT THE EXISTING CONDITIONS ARE SHOWING FAILING LEVELS OF SERVICE.
SO THEN IF WE ADD A GROWTH RATE ON TOP OF THAT, THEN IT WOULD JUST BE POTENTIALLY WORSE.
NOW, TO YOUR POINT AS WELL, UM, WE RECEIVED GREAT FEEDBACK FROM YOU ALL AT THE LAST MEETING, UM, ABOUT THE INTERSECTION TREATMENTS.
UH, ED, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE ABLE TO TO BE HERE, BUT, UM, THE TOPIC THAT ED BROUGHT UP ABOUT MAYBE THE CIRCUITOUS PATTERNS DID NOT, WASN'T PALATABLE TO THE PALATABLE TO THE GROUP, BUT THAT WAS ONE TOPIC THAT WE DID BRING UP.
UM, MAYBE COMING AROUND AND DO MAYBE LIKE THE J TURNS, AS YOU MENTIONED, UM, UH, TO YOUR, TO YOUR POINT, WE, WE ARE GOING TO LIKE PLAY AROUND WITH THOSE DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES AT THE DIFFERENT INTERSECTIONS.
AND THAT'S WHY I'M SO KEEN ON THE MODELING.
'CAUSE THE MODELING CAN REALLY PLAY AROUND WITH THESE THINGS.
IF IT DOESN'T WORK, OKAY, THEN WE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, GIVEN THE TRAFFIC FLOW AND SO ON, UM, IT'S REALLY AN AMAZING TOOL TO HAVE, UM, FOR US TO UNDERSTAND, FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND AND FOR US TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION.
WELL, IT'S GREAT FOR ME TO HEAR YOU SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS IN THE MODEL, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, GONNA PLAY AROUND WITH IT AND THEN IT'S OUR PROFESSIONAL OPINION AS TO WHAT, WHAT WILL WORK AND WHAT WHAT DOESN'T.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR UNDERSTANDING PREVIOUSLY IS THAT THERE WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, STRONG OPINIONS THAT THIS CORRIDOR NEEDED TO RETAIN ITS CURRENT FOOTPRINT AND NEEDED TO STAY A FOUR-LANE SECTION.
AND SO PART OF THE DESIRE FOR US TO BRING THIS UP TODAY WAS TO EITHER FURTHER VET THAT OR UNDERSTAND THAT AND PERHAPS, UM, YOU KNOW, OPEN THAT CONVERSATION UP A LITTLE BIT THAT BASED ON WHAT WE SEE FOR TODAY'S VOLUMES, OUR EXISTING INFORMATION, UM, YOU KNOW, WE THINK THAT THE CORRIDOR ALREADY WOULD BENEFIT FROM ADDITIONAL THROUGH LANES.
AND ONCE WE DETERMINE A GROWTH RATE AND ADD THAT IT REALLY IS JUST GONNA EXASPERATE THE EXISTING ISSUES THAT WE'RE
[00:55:01]
ALREADY SEEING.AND SO WE WERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO BRING THIS UP FOR DISCUSSION AND I GUESS NOT, UH, TAKE ANYBODY BY SURPRISE SO TO SPEAK, WHEN WE COME BACK WITH FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALTERNATIVES.
AND NONE OF THEM INCLUDE A FOUR-LANE SECTION FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THE CORRIDOR.
SO I WILL, I'LL ASK THE COMMITTEE WHAT DOES THE COMMITTEE WANT TO SEE IN TERMS OF THE MODELING OPTIONS? OKAY, YEAH.
SIX LANES, BUT I THINK IT SHOULD INCLUDE WIDENING OF THE EXISTING BRIDGES
YEAH, IT KINDA JUST SPEAK TO THAT POINT.
UM, THERE WAS SOME PREVIOUS EVALUATION ABOUT BUILDING A NEW BRIDGE, UM, OR RETROFITTING, ENHANCING, WIDENING THE EXISTING BRIDGES.
SO WE HAVE SOME DATA THAT WAS DEVELOPED ON THAT.
UH, THERE WAS SOME, AND THIS WAS PRESENTED TO TOWN COUNCIL A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
UM, THERE WAS SOME CONCERN BECAUSE THE DELTA AND COST WAS NOT THAT LARGE.
UM, IT WAS ABOUT 10% OF THE CURRENT PROJECT, UH, BUDGET.
AND THEN THE CONCERN ABOUT THE LIFESPAN, THE, UH, WITH A NEW BRIDGE, YOU GET A UNIFORM LIFESPAN OF SAY 75 YEARS BUILT TO CURRENT STANDARDS WITH A, WITH A, UM, A BRIDGE THAT'S RETROFITTED, YOU DON'T GET THAT SAME CONSISTENT LIFESPAN.
SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS LOOKED AT.
I DON'T THINK LOCH MUELLER'S GONNA GET INTO THE FINAL DESIGN OF THE BRIDGE, I THINK RIGHT NOW JUST TO UNDERSTAND LIKE, IS IT BASED ON CURRENT CAPACITY AND CONDITIONS, WHAT IS NEEDED FROM A TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM TO SERVE EXISTING AND FUTURE VOLUMES? UM, AND I THINK WHAT I'M HEARING NOW IS THAT THEY, THAT THERE'S SIX LANES REQUIRED.
UM, IF, IF FOUR IS, IF IT NEEDS TO BE A FOUR LANE LONG TERM, THEN THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE A SECONDARY ACCESS.
AND THE FEASIBILITY OF THAT IN THE NEAR TERM IS VERY LOW.
I AGREE, BUT TEMPORARILY, I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT CANNOT BE DONE TO EXPAND THE EXISTING BRIDGES TO WIDEN AND THEN WHEN THE NEW BRIDGE IS BUILT, OTHER THAN THE, THE SOUTHERN CROSSING BACK AND NARROW 'EM DOWN AND RE AND BUILD NEW, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THAT CAN'T BE DONE.
IT'S A, I THINK IT'S AN OPTION FOR FUTURE OR FUTURE DISCUSSION, BUT A SECONDARY, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE HERE FOR.
YOU KNOW, THIS SHOULD BE, THIS SHOULD BE, UH, ON OUR PLATE, UM, AND WE WE'RE SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
AND THIS TIME IN THE MOMENT TO EVALUATE THAT AND WE HAVE THE, THE, THE BENEFITS OF THE EXPERTISE OF M UM, IN ADDITION, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, TWO OR THREE LANES, LANES, DO WE TALK ABOUT, TALK ABOUT THREE LANES? DO WE TALK ABOUT TWO LANES AND A BREAKDOWN LANE? OR WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THREE LANES, IS IT THREE ROADWAYS AND A BREAKDOWN LANE ON BOTH SIDES? FROM, FROM YOU TALKING ABOUT, I'M SORRY, I'LL TAKE A LEAD, KATE, BUT JUST FROM A CAPACITY SIDE, YES, IT'S THREE TRAVEL LANES AND THEN WE'D BE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, FHWA, WHAT THE GUIDING DOCUMENTS WOULD BE, WHAT'S REQUIRED ON A BRIDGE OF THOSE VEHICULAR, UM, VOLUMES.
WHAT ARE REQUIRE ON, ON EITHER SIDE, TALKING 11 LANES WHEN YOU INCLUDE THE, UM, BIKE, UH, THE BIKE LANE MARE, AND HEY, DID YOU WANNA BRING UP YOUR, YOU MADE IT FOR THE SIXTH LANE AND, AND WHEN I LOOK AT THE BRIDGE, I'M WITH CHARLIE, I, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, I DON'T KNOW WHY THE BRIDGE COULDN'T BE EXPANDED.
UH, AS I TRAVELED THIS COUNTRY, THERE ARE MANY BRIDGES THAT ARE BEING WIDENED.
AND IF I LOOK AT TECHNOLOGY TODAY VERSUS TECHNOLOGY FIVE YEARS AGO, IT'S NIGHT AND DAY, IT'S IMPROVED A THOUSAND PERCENT.
SO TO SAY THAT WE CAN'T WIDEN THE BRIDGE AND AT THE SAME TIME INCREASE THE LIFESPAN, I WON'T BUY THAT.
NOT WHAT I SEE IN TECHNOLOGY, UH, TODAY AND GOING FORTH.
AND IF WE WERE TO WIDEN THE BRIDGES, I DON'T SEE THE NEED FOR THE ADDITIONAL WIDTH.
I, I CAN SEE THE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, THREE LANES AND A BREAKDOWN LANE.
YOU KNOW, AND THE BREAKDOWN LANE WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE AT FULL 12 FEET, IT COULD BE SIX FEET, WHATEVER, I MEAN, TO, TO JUST TO GET A CAR OFF THE ROAD.
SO, I MEAN, I'M JUST, AND AND I, AND I'LL JUST SAY THIS JUST JUST FOR THE CLARIFICATION THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION
[01:00:01]
TO THE COUNTY AND DOT, UM, THAT'S WHAT WE CAN DO, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE DRIVING THAT SIDE OF THE BUS AND WE'RE TRYING TO DRIVE ON OUR SIDE, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION, YOU KNOW, AND ASK, I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY ACT.HOW DID THEY ACTUALLY STUDY IT THE LAST TIME? YOU KNOW, DID THEY GO FOR A, THE WHOLE MCGILL? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH WAS THAT STUDIED? 'CAUSE HE, YOU WERE SAYING IT'S 10% DIFFERENCE IN COST.
AND I THINK THESE ARE ALL GREAT POINTS.
I'M, I'M, I'M TRYING TO BRING IT BACK.
LOCK MILLER NEEDS A DECISION ON WHETHER OR NOT, UM, THE COMMITTEE SEES ANY VALUE BASED ON THEIR INPUT ON MODELING OTHER, ANYTHING OTHER THAN THREE LANES.
WELL, I, I MIGHT MAKING SURE THERE'S CONSENSUS.
SO KATE, I, I, I THINK YOU'VE GOT YOUR DIRECTIVE THERE WITH, WITH THE SIX LANES, UM, TO LOOK AT IT.
AND I JUST WANNA LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT, THAT WE'RE GONNA BE HAVING CONVERSATIONS, UM, WITH THE AFFECTED PARTIES IN THAT AREA IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, JUST, YOU KNOW, TO BEGIN OR REFIRE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
SO JUST SO EVERYBODY IS AWARE OF THAT.
UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM, FROM THE COMMITTEE BEFORE WE GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT? YEAH, SO I'M NOT, I'M NOT YET CONVINCED THAT WE SHOULD TOSS OUT THE, THE TWO LANE IDEA WITH A, WITH A, WITH A BREAKDOWN LANE.
I THINK IT'S PREMATURE AND I THINK WE SHOULD, AND IT'S NOT MUCH MORE OF AN EFFORT TO, TO KEEP THAT ALTERNATIVE IN THERE.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO CHOOSE NOW WHERE WE, WHETHER THERE'S STILL SO MUCH UNCERTAINTY.
A A TWO LANE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL VOLUME, TWO LANE AT MAX IS 18,000, YOU GO TO SIX LANE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE LOOKING AT 55 PLUS.
I MEAN, JUST SIMPLE MATH, MATHEMATICS HERE.
WE'RE GETTING MORE CARS MOVING BACK AND FORTH AND, AND NOT BEING A PARKING LOT OUT THERE, PARKING LOT, IT EQUALS SMOG AND FRUSTRATION AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT IF WE CAN ELIMINATE THAT, UH, GOOD ON US, BUT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE DETAIL YET ON HOW THESE TRAFFIC FLOWS MOVE DURING THE, UH, DURING THE, THE, UH, TIME OF THE DAY DURING PEAK HOURS.
SO I, BUT DON'T LET ME THROW THIS AT YOU.
DON'T, DON'T YOU THINK THAT THE MODELING OF THE SIX LANES WILL TELL US, GIVE US A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION AS TO IF IT'S OVERKILL OR NOT? YOU KNOW, IF IT NEEDS TO BE SCALED BACK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE 11 LANES THAT YOU MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, IS THAT TOO MUCH IN, IN THAT MODEL? WOULD, WOULD THAT NOT SHOW US THAT SPECULATION? YEP.
I THINK THAT'S WHY I, I DON'T WANT TO BE SITTING HERE NOW AND SAY, WE, WE ARE GONNA EXCLUDE THIS ALTERNATIVE, EXCLUDE THAT ONE, AND WE'RE GONNA, TO ME DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
UH, FROM MY STANDPOINT, IT'S A LOT EASIER TO GO FROM SIX LANES AND REDUCE IT DOWN TO TWO LANES THAN IT IS TO TRY TO TAKE A TWO LANE AND EXPAND IT OUT TO SIX LANES.
UH, IT, IT'S, IT'S LIKE ANYTHING, YOU TAKE YOUR HOUSE, IT'S A TWO BEDROOM HOUSE, NOW YOU WANT A SIX BEDROOM HOUSE, IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF WORK.
YOU CAN CLOSE OFF SEVERAL BEDROOMS AND JUST HAVE A TWO BEDROOM HOUSE.
SO I, I'M ALL FOR LOOKING AT THE BIGGER PICTURE.
AND THEN IF THE MODELING SHOWS WE DON'T NEED ALL SIX, THEN WE CAN NARROW IT DOWN.
I, I'M FINE WITH THAT, BUT AT LEAST DON'T, DON'T SHUT OUT A, UH, ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IN THAT FRAME OF MIND.
I DON'T THINK IT'S SHUTTING OUT ANY ALTERNATIVES.
I, I THINK IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S THE MODEL THAT'S GONNA TELL US, RIGHT? AND WE GO FROM THERE.
ANY OTHER, NATE, DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY MORE COMMENTS? BUT, BUT BEFORE THAT, ANY OTHER, UH, COMMITTEE COMMENTS? NATE OR SHARIF? DO YOU, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL POINTS THAT YOU WANTED TO ADD? UM, I'LL JUST ADD ONE MORE, ONE MORE CLARIFIER.
UM, OUR MODELING WILL BE ABLE TO TELL US ABOUT THE REQUIREMENTS FOR VEHICLE USED SPACE, IF THERE IS CONCERN ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, BREAKDOWN LINES AS YOU'RE CALLING THEM, OR SHOULDERS OR THE NEED FOR THOSE.
UM, AS NATE MENTIONED, THOSE ARE BASED ON STATE STANDARDS AND MANUALS OF PRACTICE AND THE NEED FOR THOSE WE WILL NOT COMMENT ON IN THE MODEL.
OUR MODELING RESULTS WILL SPEAK SPECIFICALLY TO VEHICLE TRAVEL LANES AND ANY ADDITIONAL SAFETY WIDTHS OR SHOULDERS AS REQUIRED PER YOUR SOUTH CAROLINA DOT MANUAL OF PRACTICE.
UM, IS, IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE ARE PREPARED TO COMMENT ON.
AND I, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY APPRECIATE THAT THE DISCUSSION AND THE CONCERN SURROUNDING, UM, THIS TOPIC.
YOU GUYS ARE VERY CLEARLY, YOU KNOW, PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS PROJECT AS YOU SHOULD BE.
UM, BUT OUR, OUR FOCUS HERE, LOCK MILLER'S FOCUS HERE IS ON THE, THE TRAFFIC SPECIFIC PIECES OF THESE ON THE PORTION OF THE CORRIDOR THAT YOU, THE TOWN CAN CONTROL.
[01:05:01]
YOU KNOW, AS THE MAYOR POINTED OUT, WE CAN SUGGEST THINGS FOR PIECES OF THIS ROADWAY AND THE BRIDGE THAT ARE NOT WITHIN OUR PURVIEW, BUT ULTIMATELY LOCK MAILER'S.MAIN FOCUS HERE IS TO TRY AND FIND A CONFIGURATION FOR THE FUTURE ROADWAY THAT IS UNDER TOWN CONTROL, WHICH, UM, IS MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE PART THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IS TOUCHING, TOUCHING THE GROUND AND NOT NECESSARILY THE, THE BRIDGES.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE DIALOGUE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE LOTS OF QUESTIONS SURROUNDING THAT.
BUT JUST A, A LITTLE, UM, YOU KNOW, TIDBIT THAT THAT'S WHERE, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE.
WE ARE COMING FROM TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SPENDING YOUR DOLLARS AS JUDICIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE FOR THE PARTS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE CONTROL OVER.
AND, AND DIETRICH TOO, JUST SO, JUST AS A REASSURANCE, WE'LL BE BRINGING FORTH WHAT THOSE EXISTING OPERATING CONDITIONS WILL BE WITH THAT FOUR-LANE SECTION.
SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO KNOW DEFINITIVELY WHAT, WHAT IT IS TODAY.
I KNOW IT MAY SEEM LIKE WE'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT CONCEPTUAL RIGHT NOW, BUT WE'LL HAVE THE HARD DATA FOR WHAT A FOUR-LANE SECTION IS FOR YOU AT THE NEXT MEETING AS A PART OF THE GROWTH RATE AS WELL, PRELIMINARILY.
CAN WE, UH, AS A COMMITTEE, WE SEE A PRESENTATION BEFORE THE MEETING.
'CAUSE I THINK I CAN'T READ THE, THE CHART.
UM, AND IT'S JUST ADDS A BIT OF VALUE SO WE CAN ACTUALLY, UH, SEE WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO, TO, TO END AND HAVE A MORE MEANINGFUL DISCUSSION IF THAT'S OKAY WITH THE COMMITTEE.
I, I THOUGHT JUST A POINT HERE.
I THOUGHT THAT LOCKE MUELLER WAS CHARGED FROM MOSS CREEK TO, IN, INTO THE ISLAND.
THAT WOULD INCLUDE THE BRIDGES.
WHY WOULD SHE MENTION NOT INCLUDING BRIDGES? UH, SHE INCLUDED, UH, NOT MENTIONED NOT INCLUDING THE BRIDGES BECAUSE THAT PART IS NOT UNDER THE, LIKE, JURISDICTIONAL CONTROL OF THE TOWN.
IT'S NOT THE TOWN ALONE THAT'S PAYING FOR THOSE.
OUR STUDY DOES INCLUDE THAT ENTIRE STRETCH FROM MOSS CREEK ACROSS THE BRIDGES IN QUESTION ONTO THE ISLAND INTO THE CORRIDOR, THE PARKWAY CORRIDOR.
BUT IF THE TOWN IS TO GO AND RECONSTRUCT ANY PART OF THE CORRIDOR, IT WILL BE THE PART THAT IS FROM YOUR JURISDICTIONAL AND YOUR JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS INWARD INLAND.
SO I WAS SIMPLY TRYING TO SAY THAT WE HAVE THE MOST CONTROL OVER SUGGESTING CONFIGURATIONS FOR THE PART THAT THE TOWN IS JURISDICTIONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR.
AND WE HAVE ADDITIONAL LAYERS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE NOT THE ONLY PEOPLE IN CONTROL IF THOSE OTHER PARTS THAT THE TOWN DOES NOT HAVE JURISDICTIONAL CONTROL OVER, SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING TOWARDS SUBJECTS LIKE THE, THE BREAKDOWN LANE KATE.
THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE, UM, WANTING TO HIGHLIGHT THERE.
WE, AS, AS MARY POINTED OUT, WE CAN MAKE SUGGESTIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR WHAT YOUR OPINION IS AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE THAT TO BE REVISITED OR NOT.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR MODELS WILL NOT SPEAK TO THAT.
THAT IS BASED ON THE SOUTH CAROLINA DOT MANUAL STANDARDS OF PRACTICE.
AND THEY HAVE THEIR OWN RECOMMENDATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE BASED ON MORE STRUCTURAL DESIGN THAT IS NOT TRAFFIC ANALYSIS SPECIFIC.
AND SO LOCK MEER, UM, YOU KNOW, IS ALWAYS GONNA TRY TO STAY IN OUR LANE, SO TO SPEAK.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THE TRAFFIC EXPERTS HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR TEAM THAT'S WITH YOU TODAY, UH, WE ARE NOT STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS EXPERTS.
UM, AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, OTHER, OTHER PEOPLE HAVE GONE THROUGH THE, THE TROUBLE OF STUDYING THAT AND COMING TO CONCLUSIONS.
AND IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS ON THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT SEEMS LIKE WE CAN CERTAINLY, CERTAINLY ASK THOSE QUESTIONS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE COMMITTEE? RIGHT? YAS? PARDON? YASMINE DO WE HAVE, UH, ANY APPEARANCES BY CITIZENS ON ITEMS UNRELATED TO TODAY'S AGENDA? OKAY.
[4. Appearance by Citizens]
DO WE HAVE ANY FOLKS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS AGENDA? OKAY, BUT WE'LL OPEN IT UP.WELL, UM, JUST A, A COUPLE OF QUICK COMMENTS.
IF, IF YOU WOULD STATE YOUR NAME AND YOUR NAME JUST PLEASE.
UH, UH WAS STEPHEN BEARER INDIGO RUN.
UM, A COUPLE OF QUICK CAPTAINS.
STAY AWAY FROM A A DT BECAUSE THIS TRAFFIC IS HIGHLY PEAKED AND YOU USE THE P AND K FACTORS TO TRY TO DETERMINE THOSE PEAKS.
JUST USE THE PEAKS YOU'RE MEASURING AND SUCH ON THE ORDER OF 1200 VEHICLES PER HOUR PER LANE.
NUMBER TWO, YOU'RE NOT GETTING THAT BECAUSE OF THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS.
ANY PLAN THAT DOES NOT HAVE A WAY TO DEAL OR BYPASS OR OVERPASS OR UNDERPASS, THOSE TRAFFIC LIGHTS IS INEPT AND IS GONNA BE CHALLENGED BY CITIZENS.
AT LEAST ONE OF THE OPTIONS YOU LOOK AT, OR TWO OF THEM NEED TO INCLUDE A BYPASS, WHICH WILL GIVE YOU AN EXTRA ONE OR TWO LANES IN EACH DIRECTION, SOME OF IT ON TOWN OWNED LAND OR OVERPASSES.
AND THOSE HAVE TO BE PART OF THE OPTIONS AND THE MODELING TOOLS CAN HELP DETERMINE
[01:10:01]
WHICH IS THE BEST.THAT WILL GIVE YOU MUCH MORE CAPACITY.
'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT GETTING 1200 VEHICLES PER HOUR PER LANE, YOU'RE PROBABLY GETTING 800 NOT BECAUSE OF THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS AND THE MERGERS AND SPLITS.
UM, WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT THERE IS SOME UNDERSTANDING THAT AN ALTERNATE BRIDGE WOULD HAVE SOME VALUE AND I THINK IT WOULD HAVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF VALUE.
WE KNOW THAT THE, UM, TRAFFIC COMING ON ISLAND NOW SPLITS INTO 50% CROSS ISLAND, 50% ON THE BUSINESS ROUTE.
THAT IS WHERE OUR OFF ISLAND WORKERS ARE NOW SEPARATING INTO.
THEY'RE TRYING TO GET TO BOTH ENDS OF, UH, OF THE, UH, ISLAND.
AT THE SAME TIME, IF WE HAVE A SECOND BRIDGE THAT'S SORTING OF ALL THAT TRAFFIC TAKES PLACE BEFORE THEY CROSS THE WATER, AND IT IS TO ME, I'M GONNA SAY THIS, I THINK IT'S STUPID NOT TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE SURE IN THIS STUDY THAT WE DON'T TAKE A LOOK, UH, AT THE ALTERNATIVE FOR A SECOND BRIDGE.
NOW, FROM WHAT I'M HEARING IS, WELL, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT A SECOND BRIDGE LATER, OKAY? BUT WHAT I'VE JUST LEARNED TODAY IS THAT, UM, THE FOUR LANES IS GONNA HAVE 30% EXCESS TRAFFIC THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANY PLACE TO GO.
AND WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THAT RIGHT, RIGHT AWAY.
BUT YOU'RE NOT GONNA TAKE CARE OF IT RIGHT AWAY BECAUSE AS YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, WHEN YOU WERE LOOKING AT THE SIX LANES COMING DOWN, THEY COME DOWN INTO FOUR LANES AND THEY'RE ALL GOING TO THE CENTER OF THE ISLAND BUSINESS AREA AND INTO THE SOUTH ISLAND.
AND THAT'S WHERE THINGS SLOWED DOWN.
THAT'S WHERE THE TRAFFIC IS GOING.
SO THE KEY THING THAT WE SHOULD FOCUS ON IS THE OFF ISLAND EMPLOYEES.
OKAY? A SECOND BRIDGE WOULD ALLOW THEM TO GET TO WORK A LOT FASTER.
WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO KEEP MORE PEOPLE EMPLOYED THEN ON, ON THE ISLAND.
AND, UH, I THINK THAT THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY A KEY THING.
SO I WOULD RECOMMEND, AND I WOULD, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO ASK YOU, IS THERE ANY REASON WHY THIS CONTRACT, THIS ENG ENGINEERING, UH, COMPANY, UH, CAN'T LOOK AT THE SECOND BRIDGE ALTERNATIVE? YOU DON'T HAVE TO DESIGN IT.
YOU JUST HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TAKE HALF THE TRAFFIC AWAY FROM OUR CURRENT SET OF BRIDGES AND PLACE IT ON THIS NEW BRIDGE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING IN THE STONY AREA.
YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO PUT ANY ADDITIONAL LANES.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER THING WE'RE NOT REALLY LOOKING AT HOW DO PEOPLE CROSS THE STREET THERE? WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE OVERPASS WALKING BRIDGES AND SO FORTH.
THIS IS STARTING TO LOOK LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT REALLY GETTING INTO THE SAFETY ISSUES ENOUGH.
IT'S JUST YOU REALLY HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS OTHER ALTERNATIVE AND THIS IS THE TIME TO DO IT.
AYE, UM, CHRISTOPHER CLIFF, UH, 14 SAN FIDDLER ROAD.
UH, I HAVE A QUESTION ACTUALLY.
UM, IF I UNDERSTOOD THE PRESENTATION BY, UH, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR COLLEAGUE.
UM, I'M LOOKING AT THE HCM PLANNING LEVEL CAPACITY AND THE COMMENTS ABOUT THE A A DT.
THE IMPLICATION I'VE, UH, UH, TAKEN FROM THAT IS THAT THE CONSULTANTS DON'T THINK THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE PROPOSED BY THE SC DOT IS GOING TO SOLVE OUR CONGESTION PROBLEM.
UH, HAVE I UNDERSTOOD CORRECTLY THAT ON THE BASIS OF YOUR INITIAL, UM, AN ANALYSIS AND, UH, EARLY STAGE, UH, DISCUSSIONS, YOU'VE CONCLUDED THAT THE S-C-D-O-T SOLUTION DOES NOT SOLVE OUR CONGESTION PROBLEM? BECAUSE IF I UNDERSTAND IT CORRECTLY, UM, YOUR COLLEAGUE, UH, MADE COMMENTS ABOUT THE A A DT FOR 2023 OF ROUGHLY 56,000 UM, VEHICLES, AND THIS CHART SHOWS THAT A SIX LANE HTMS HCM CAPACITY IS 55,300.
DOESN'T THAT ADD UP TO THE FACT THAT THE S-C-D-O-T MODEL, WHICH IS A SIX LANE, ISN'T GONNA CRACK IT? HAVE I MISUNDERSTOOD SOMETHING? YEP.
[01:15:01]
MISUNDERSTOOD SOMETHING.WE, WE WON'T GET INTO DISCUSSION DISCUSSION, BUT YOU CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
NO, JUST BY SHARING THE INFORMATION, WE'RE NOT IN ANY WAY CONVEYING IT.
WELL, WE HAVEN'T EVEN, UH, AS I SAID, WE'RE JUST GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF FINALIZING OUR EXISTING OPERATING CONDITIONS.
SO I'M BY NO MEANS TRYING TO CONVEY THAT.
UH, BECAUSE THE LAST TIME I SAW CRAIG WYNN, UH, MAKE A PRESENTATION, HE WAS, HE'S BEEN, HE WAS VERY OPEN AND HE MADE THE REMARK THAT THE TIMING IMPROVEMENTS AT THE INTERSECTIONS WAS EXTREMELY POOR.
IT WAS ONLY MARGINAL AS COMPARED WITH EXISTING CONDITIONS.
HE ACTUALLY PUT A CHART UP, WHICH IS ACTUALLY IN THE BOOK IF YOU GO ONTO THE S-C-D-O-T WEBSITE.
AND IT CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THE IMPROVEMENT IN TIMING AT INTERSECTIONS FAILS, DOESN'T MEET, UM, THE STANDARD THAT THE, UH, FEDERAL HIGHWAYS THINK WE SHOULD BE AIMING FOR.
AND YOUR COLLEAGUE HAS JUST POINTED OUT QUITE CLEARLY THAT IT AIN'T GONNA WORK.
IF I MAY, IF I MAY ADD, UM, WE, ONE OF OUR ALTERNATIVES, ONE OF OUR ALTERNATIVES WILL BE TO LOOK AT THE S-C-D-O-T MODIFIED PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.
WE HAVE NOT BEGUN THAT EFFORT YET.
THIS INFORMATION ON THE SCREEN IS PLANNING LEVEL.
AND ANYTHING THAT WOULD RESULT IN A DEFINITIVE CONCLUSION NEEDS TO COME FROM A MODELING EFFORT.
WELL, IT, IT'S ALL CLEARLY SHOWN IN THE SC DOT WEBSITE.
THERE'S NO AMBIGUITY, THERE'S NO SECRET THEY'VE BEEN QUITE EXPLICIT ABOUT THE POOR IMPROVEMENT IN, UH, TRAFFIC FLOWS OR INTERSECTIONS.
IT'S NOT A SECRET, IT'S NOT AMBIGUITY.
AND YOU ARE SAYING HERE THAT YOU ARE BASICALLY CONFIRMING IT ISN'T GONNA SOLVE THE CONGESTION PROBLEM MATHEMATICALLY, UM,
SO WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GONNA STUDY A SIX LANE, UM, A PROPOSAL IF YOU'RE ALREADY STARTING FROM THE VIEWPOINT? IT DOESN'T WORK.
I'M NOT A TRAFFIC ENGINEER, I'M AN ACCOUNTANT, BUT I CAN SEE THAT DOESN'T ADD UP AND, AND YOU ARE ACTUALLY STATING IT.
SO WHAT ARE WE PLAYING A GAME? I THINK THERE WAS ALSO A PRESENTATION AT ONE POINT OF IF NOTHING WAS DONE, HOW MUCH WORSE IT WOULD BE.
OH, WELL, I'VE LOOKED AT ACTUALLY THE PROJECTIONS OF THE S-C-D-O-T AND THE 1.19% IS QUOTED THERE AS THE FIGURE THEY'VE USED.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE, THE LOW COUNTRY TRAFFIC ADVISORY, WHICH WAS CHAIRED BY, UH, LISA SULKER, UM, THEY OPENLY ADMIT, UH, THE SOURCES OF TRAFFIC OVER THE ISLAND THAT WERE OUTSIDE OF THEIR STUDY.
I MEAN, THE WHOLE THING'S A BIT OF A SHAM AND IT'S TAXPAYER MONEY.
AND I NOTICED THAT, UH, LAST WEEK, UH, BLESS HIM.
UH, OUR GOVERNOR HAS PROPOSING THAT OUT OF 1.5 BILLION SURPLUS, UH, THAT THE STATE HAS GOT 500 MILLION SHOULD GO ONTO ADDITIONAL BRIDGES AND SO ON.
SO NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO GET IN THERE AND ASK FOR A SECOND BRIDGE INSTEAD OF THIS NONSENSE THAT WE'RE PURSUING.
SO WHY NOT DIVERT THE MONEY, UH, SOME OF IT TO LOOKING AT A SECOND BRIDGE AND HAVING A LONG-TERM SOLUTION RATHER THAN WHAT THE, YOUR, YOUR CONSULTANTS ARE SUGGESTING.
THIS IS ONLY A SHORT TERM FIX.
OKAY, OTHER COMMENTS? MS. PRICE? MAYOR, I'M SORRY I COULDN'T SIT THERE ANY LONGER.
UH, FIR FIRST OF ALL WITH REGARD TO THE FOUR LANES, I APPRECIATE THE TECHNICAL COMMENTS ABOUT THAT.
BUT I DO NEED TO POINT OUT THAT IN THE RESOLUTION APPROVED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL, IT ADOPTED, UH, ESSENTIAL PARTS OF AN RFP.
UM, AND ONE OF THOSE IS, UM, TASK THREE.
UM, THE THIRD FROM THE BOTTOM, UM, BULLET IS EVALUATE OPPORTUNITIES TO ACHIEVE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY BY MAINTAINING FOUR LANES.
AND I WON'T GO THROUGH THE REST OF THAT, BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT IN ORDER TO REMOVE THE FOUR LANE ALTERNATIVE, IT WOULD TAKE AN ACTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL.
SECONDLY, WITH REGARD TO THE SECOND BRIDGE, AND IN RENOVATING THE EXISTING BRIDGES THAT MR. WACK HAS POINTED OUT SEVERAL TIMES AND THE JURISDICTION OF THE TOWN, THE JURISDICTION OF THE TOWN IS ONLY LIMITED BY THE STATUTE ON MUNICIPAL CONSENT.
BUT THE ENTIRE PROJECT IS BASED UPON THE REFERENDUM LANGUAGE, WHICH INCLUDES THE BRIDGE AND BASED UPON THE APPLICATION TO THE STATE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK, WHICH INCLUDES THE BRIDGE.
SO I DO NOT THINK THE TOWN'S JURISDICTIONAL VIEW IS LIMITED TO EXCLUDING THE BRIDGE.
AND IN FACT, IF YOU AGAIN LOOK AT THE RFP UNDER TASK FOUR, THE FIRST BULLET
[01:20:02]
EVALUATES THE SAFETY FOR BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIANS WITHIN THE ORIGINAL PROJECT STUDY AREA FROM MOSS CREEK TO SPANISH WELLS ROAD.AND IT GOES ON TO DESCRIBE THAT FURTHER SECOND BULLET IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE PROPOSED INTERSECTION DESIGNS OF THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE WITHIN THE ORIGINAL PROJECT STUDY AREA FROM MOSS CREEK TO SPANISH WELLS ROAD.
SO IT'S NOT LIMITED TO THE TOWN'S CORPORATE JURISDICTION.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ANY OTHER COMMENTS, MS. BECKER? UM, I DO THIS, UM, AND I KNOW IT'S OUT OF PROTOCOL, BUT I DO HEAR, HAVING SAID IN THESE MEETINGS SEVERAL TIMES, THAT THERE'S A GREAT CONCERN BY OUR CONSULTANT TEAM WITH REGARD TO THE DOLLARS, UM, THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM.
UM, I HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS, AND I'M JUST ASKING AT THIS POINT TO HAVE A, UM, PRIVATE CONVERSATION WITH OUR MAYOR WITH REGARD TO, UM, INFORMATION THAT I HAVE FROM OUR SENATOR WITH REGARD TO ADDITIONAL MONIES THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO PURSUE IN AN ADEQUATE FORM ALL OF THE OPPORTUNITIES TO RESEARCH FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE SURE WE GET THIS DONE RIGHT.
ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS? SEEING NONE.
UM, WE'LL GO TO, TO NEW BUSINESS AND I, I DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF NEW BUSINESS.
UM, I'M CERTAIN THAT Y'ALL HAVE SEEN THAT ON OUR EXECUTIVE, UH, COMMITTEE FOR TOWN COUNCIL NEXT TUESDAY.
THERE IS A DISCUSSION REGARDING THIS AND LEGAL ADVICE THAT IS GONNA COME THROUGH IN THAT EXECUTIVE SESSION.
THERE IS NOT, UM, ANY DESIRE TO MAKE ANY VOTE AT THAT MEETING, SO IT IS ONLY GOING TO BE A DISCUSSION AND EXECUTIVE SESSION.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE EVERYBODY AWARE OF THAT.
UM, YES, THE COUNTY HAS ASKED FOR MUNICIPAL CONSENT.
COUNSEL HAS NOT HAD A DISCUSSION REGARDING THIS, SO IT WILL, WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME CONTRACT DISCUSSIONS AND LEGAL ADVICE WITHOUT ANY VOTES, JUST SO THAT THE COMMUNITY IS AWARE OF THAT.
SO THERE'S NO SURPRISE THERE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO BE FRETTING THINKING THAT WE'RE GETTING READY TO PUSH SOMETHING THROUGH WITHOUT FULL DISCLOSURE AND DISCUSSION.
UM, SO WITH THAT, IS THERE ANY OTHER NEW BUSINESS FROM, FROM THE COMMITTEE? OKAY, SEEING NONE, JUST ONE REMARK.
UM, MR. MAYOR, I THINK THAT WE'VE, TODAY, WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE SECOND BRIDGE, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK WE HAVE, UH, PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN VERY, VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN THIS WHOLE PROCESS.
AND WE ARE NOT THROWING THESE THINGS OUT AT A WHIM.
I THINK WE, WE'VE THOUGHT THROUGH IT AND I THINK WE, WE OUGHT TO TAKE IT SERIOUS.
UM, AND I THINK WITH, WITH THE ADAPTIVE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, UM, UH, TOWN HAS MADE A LEAP TO DO THAT.
IT'S, IT'S PROVEN TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
WE HAVE, UH, RELATIVELY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE EXCLUDING, UH, MYSELF OF COURSE.
UM, BUT WE HAVE RELATIVELY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE THAT ARE LOOKING AT THIS.
WE HAVE A FANTASTIC CONSULTING FIRM WHO UNDERSTANDS THE ISSUES.
UM, LET'S RISE ABOVE IT PLEASE AND LET'S LOOK AT THESE THINGS, UM, IN ITS ENTIRETY AND NOT EXCLUDE THINGS.
AND THAT'S SORT OF WHAT I WANTED TO LEAVE YOU WITH.
[5. Adjournment]
YOU EVERYBODY FOR THEIR TIME AND THEIR COMMENTS TODAY.