Goose Creek awarded $6 million to improve pedestrian safety along St. James Avenue

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCBD)- The City of Goose Creek has secured several millions in federal funding to help improve pedestrian safety along a dangerous stretch of highway.

The city was awarded $6 million for improvements in the St. James Avenue corridor through the Transporation Department’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program.

Federal transportation officials said the funding will be used to address lacking pedestrian infrastructure, including inadequate lighting and unsafe crossings, along US-176.

Data from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) shows that roughly 6% of Goose Creek residents walk as their primary mode of transportation to work.

The St. James Avenue corridor plan is one project intended to make travel safer for those commuters.

The proposed project includes the construction of a 3.28-mile shared-use path with better crosswalks and signalized intersections, which federal officials said will help reduce the overall risk of traffic collisions and enhance public safety by separating walkers and bicyclists from vehicular traffic.

According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, there were 2,420 total collisions on US-176 between 2018 and 2023, resulting in more than 1,100 injuries and five deaths.

The Goose Creek grant is part of a larger $33 million in funding awarded to more than a dozen South Carolina communities to improve roadway safety in an effort to reduce traffic fatalities.

“Through new funding programs like Safe Streets and Roads for All, the Biden-Harris Administration is helping communities of all sizes make their roadways safer for everyone who uses them,” U.S. Transporation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates for the first six months of 2024 show traffic fatalities declined for the ninth consecutive quarter, falling about 3.2 percent compared to 2023.

“We should be energized by the fact that together we’ve reduced traffic fatalities for more than two years in a row now — but so much work remains to fully address the crisis on our roads.”

South Carolina also received an additional $3 million for safety planning projects in ten communities, including North Charleston, Moncks Corner, and Summerville.

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