Lady’s Island column omitted information
Why did the Island News edition of March 16-23 cut short Bill Rauch’s article: “Time to get out front of the pathways?”
Was it because of space constraints, or did the city of Beaufort edit and shorten his article?
Several important topics on costs were omitted which require our attention:
• The projected cost of building the pathways and bike ways due to the high cost of right-of-way acquisition (tell Walmart to give up their road frontage). Also the cost of a stoplight at the recycling center for safe vehicle access. Or the weight and size restrictions of vehicles on the new Harbor Island bridge.
• The ongoing cost of additional county sheriff patrols as the traffic continues to increase and pedestrian and bike usage increases.
• The additional cost and increased manpower of first responders for the distressed bike riders and pedestrians, as well as frantic Walmart shoppers.
These and other additional costs will fall to the county, since the city of Beaufort can’t even provide enforcement of the Woods Memorial Bridge restriction of “NO vehicles three axles or more,” or the speed on Carteret Street or the drivers who don’t move to the right lane at Craven Street to go straight.
I guess the meters at the only “Pay to Read Library” in the county, and the parking meters along Carteret Street must be generating enough revenue that other enforcement is no longer needed.
I am sure Mr. Rauch would have also included discussion as to why, with a larger population than the city of Beaufort, Lady’s Island has no medical facilities, no public library, no public parks, no adequate public schools, no post office, etc.
He also would point out that Lady’s Island has inadequate and unreliable electrical power, no natural gas service, limited potable water supply, and yet someone on the other side of the river has approval authority of all new housing developments and permitting. (Think infrastructure first)!
Last but not least, with all the traffic studies, surveys, proposed fixes, new roads, etc., to ease traffic problems, no one will man up and face the $50 million elephant (problem): the two-lane approach to a two-lane swing bridge that is failing and should be replaced with a four-lane road to a four-lane draw bridge with hourly openings only.
Maybe in future issues you will publish Mr. Rauch’s priority list of projects, their projected cost as well as estimated completion time frames so that he and Mayor Keyserling can safely ride their bicycles to Walmart and home again with all their purchases without incident.
Walter Quackenbush
Lady’s Island
