Vote hard
Friends, if you are not sure of your choice to lead Beaufort city into what will be a critical period in its life as the anchor of this amazing Lowcountry, then I urge you to meet with, talk to and consider Mike Sutton. Mike has worked so hard for the City and the area’s well being in the past, and I know Mike is the kind of leader we need to fill Stephen Murray’s shoes and beyond.
The biggest issue Beaufort faces is how to manage progress, do we remove all the barriers to development or do we work with the other local governments and create a unified plan to manage development and control sprawl? Mike understands Beaufort. Mike has worked for this City on every level from as a public servant, as an independent businessman, as a leader on Council and as a concerned citizen.
Northern Beaufort County is at a critical point, where Preserving and Progress clash; it will take a Tough Diplomat to set our course into the future. Having an honest vision of an obtainable future is essential. Beaufort will never be what it was decades ago, but a true leader can shape our future Beaufort into one that we recognize and respect, one where Bay Street is just as essential as Boundary, where Ribaut is a ROAD that brings us together, keeps us healthy and gets us home after work and a future where our rivers, open land and social places are for everyone.
Mike is MY CHOICE, He should be yours. Vote hard, this hard.
– Tim Newman, Beaufort
They ‘drive’ among us
It was nearly 9 a.m. as I lined up a right turn onto Sam’s Point Road from Sea Island Pkwy. (U.S. 21).
Right turn signal on, check. Close to the curb, check. And then, a horn blast from an amazingly self’-unaware “driver” coming from the opposite direction! Illegal left turn in process, check. Failure to signal, check. Wide swing aiming for me and my car in the curb lane, check.
Construction of Harris Teeter continues apace on this corner, to join Publix and Food Lion supermarkets in the same square block area. Soon it will render a frozen blender of traffic. (Thanks, Jimmy).
Of course, similar activity regularly occurs at the other end of Lady’s Island Drive in front of Advance Auto at Ribaut Road. Even with six (six!) lanes available, backups often reach the Naval Hospital and Heritage Park, and well beyond Alvin Ord’s in the other direction. Hmm, what to do? How about durable, painted turn lines (found elsewhere in Beaufort), but augmented by those yellow “Wake Up!” reflective bumps? How about “enhanced enforcement” of S.C. law for making safe, legal and efficient left and right turns?
Once more: Left turn signal on, roll into the CENTER of the intersection on a green or yellow light (two or three “awake” drivers may follow). When oncoming traffic makes space, complete your left turn into the nearest (CENTER) lane. Right turns also require a turn signal. Stop on red or continue to turn on green, staying close to the curb (no swinging wide). Remember: all turns and lane changes require a turn signal.
Finally, a related contributing factor to this problem (illegal and dangerous left and right turns) has been observed. Making proper and legal turns requires an appropriate turning radius, which is hard to achieve when your right hand (and brain) are otherwise occupied. A steering wheel pull (left turn) or push (right turn) is physically insufficient, yielding an illegal, wide and dangerous lane-crossing turn (can’t do a “shuffle” or overhand turn with one hand)! Let the traffic flow, Beaufort!
– Ed Trottier, Lady’s Island
