Town presents Mount Pleasant Long Range Transportation Plan Overview to the public

By Martine M. Wolfe, PIO

MOUNT PLEASANT, SC (June 29, 2006) – The Town of Mount Pleasant is inviting residents to attend informational meetings addressing the Mount Pleasant Long Range Transportation Plan Overview. Two meetings, similar in scope and catering to residents living in the south and north areas of Town, will take place on Monday, July 10 at Town Hall Municipal Complex, Council Chambers, between 5:30 and 8:00 p.m. and on Tuesday, July 11 at Cario Middle School Cafeteria, 3500 Thomas Cario Boulevard, between 5:30 and 8:00 p.m. The overview will cover the following topics:

What is the Long Range Transportation Plan about?
Mobility is essential to the quality of life of Mount Pleasant residents. The long range transportation plan seeks to maintain and improve the quality of life of residents by allowing them to traverse the Town efficiently during their daily activities. The plan provides an opportunity to look out over a 25 year horizon and assess the current and future needs of the multimodal transportation system. Transportation projects are complicated with many taking years to properly design, fund and construct. The long range transportation plan reviews the current program activities, evaluates land use development and anticipated transportation demands from new residents and employers in the Town. The results are a recommended program of improvements that will continue to insure transportation mobility and accessibility for the community.

What is the timeframe?
The Town of Mount Pleasant Long Range Transportation Plan will cover a 25 year horizon to 2030. The Plan has used a travel demand model to project transportation demands and to evaluate the operating conditions of roads. The model’s results have been used in assessing transportation needs and testing potential improvements.

What is the scope of the Long Range Transportation Plan?
The Long Range Transportation Plan considers all modes of transportation – roadways, transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The roadways have been analyzed to identify where there are problems with congestion, safety, access and connectivity. Plan recommendations have been evaluated to assure that they are feasible and fundable.

What are the recommendations?
The Plan’s recommendations span all modes – roadways, transit, bicycle and pedestrian improvements. The recommendations have been organized into short / medium and long range timeframes. The types of recommendations focus on projects that will work best together, emphasizing multimodal connectivity and increasing the efficiency of the existing system. Projects have been evaluated to gauge their impact on reducing congestion and improving mobility.

When will this Plan be final?
The Plan is a final draft at this time. Once the public has had an opportunity to comment, the Plan will be finalized and considered by the Town’s Council for adoption. Long Range transportation plans are updated every five years – the aim of the planning process is to monitor the transportation system continuously as a way to insure that the transportation network continues to work as expected, providing the community with mobility.

For additional information on the Mount Pleasant Long Range Transportation Plan Overview, contact Brad Morrison at (843) 884-1229 or visit us on line at www.townofmountpleasant.com.