By Martine Wolfe-Miller, PIO

MOUNT PLEASANT, SC (October 10, 2007) – Coleman Boulevard, traditionally considered the Main Street of Mount Pleasant, is receiving a facelift from Town planners, developers, and school officials. The revitalization of the boulevard is regarded by Town Council as an important project that will preserve and promote the natural, historical, commercial and cultural assets of this unique artery.

“In less than a month, the Town of Mount Pleasant will complete the installation of two mast arms at the Patriots Point and Houston Northcutt intersections, as part of a mitigation package for the new Arthur Ravenel Bridge,” said Mount Pleasant Mayor Harry M. Hallman, Jr. “The Town has also identified local, state and federal funding for decorative mast arms that will be erected at Lansing, Pelzer, Mill, Whilden, and Simmons as part of the revitalization of Coleman Boulevard. The Town is working to identify further funding for intersections at Fairmount, Ben Sawyer and Rifle Range.”

“The decorative mast arms, under grounding of utilities, and attractive streetscapes and crosswalks will facilitate outdoor dining and pedestrian activity. We envision Coleman Boulevard to become a vibrant and safe downtown corridor where residents live and work, and where visitors come to recreate. The mast arms provide one the first esthetic elements of such revitalization,” added Mayor Hallman.

“Mast arms are here to stay,” said Town Administrator Mac Burdette. “A little more than a year ago, Town Council adopted an ordinance mandating that new or replacement traffic signals be mast arms. We currently have 44 traffic signals in Mount Pleasant and 10 of those are mast arms. Within the next five to seven years, we expect to install ten additional mast arms on Coleman, five on the main line of Johnnie Dodds Boulevard, and one on Bowman Road. By then, nearly half of all the traffic signals in Mount Pleasant will be mast arms.”

“With an average cost of a $160,000, a mast arm signal is about twice that of a span wire signal, but the aesthetic value is undeniable,” added Transportation Engineer Brad Morrison. “Mast arms are designed to withstand Category 3 hurricane wind speeds.”

According to the US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, safety benefits associated with using mast arms include increase signal visibility, providing heavy vehicles more time to stop, and decreasing angle collisions and fatal/injury collisions.

For more information on the revitalization of Coleman Boulevard, visit us online at www.townofmountpleasant.com.