CHARLESTON — School is starting soon, and that means traffic in both the morning and afternoon will ramp up, too.
Charleston County schools will be back in session August 12, leaving district officials, law enforcement and municipalities strategizing how to alleviate the inevitable congestion with parents driving to drop off and pick up their kids.
While data from the state Department of Transportation in 2024 indicated there were more cars on busy state owned roads in the Charleston area during summer months than August and September, when school started back up — such as Interstate 526 from Paul Cantrell Blvd to Leeds Ave and U.S. Highway 17 from W. Oak Forest Drive to Wesley Drive — the town of Mount Pleasant has numbers that say differently.
James Aton, the town’s deputy director of capital projects and transportation, said Mount Pleasant sees a 15 to 25 percent increase in traffic volumes during peak hours — 7:00-8:00 a.m., 12:00-1:00 p.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m. — throughout the school year via hourly volumes from the town’s traffic signals.
He added the town as a whole feels the traffic impacts because the schools are speckled throughout Mount Pleasant.
“There isn’t a road that isn’t impacted by this,” Aton said.
The Charleston County School District works with local law enforcement to help ensure traffic flows smoothly around the schools, CCSD Chief Operating Officer Jeff Borowy said. The police can change traffic light cycles if it would help alleviate traffic at an intersection, add crossing guards and enforce speed limits and stop signs, he said.
Aton said Mount Pleasant has similar signal timing plans during the morning and afternoon peak hours to help shift travel patterns and alleviate traffic as best they can when school starts.
The school district will also be opening its newest elementary school on Johns Island, as well as a new roundabout on River Road and turn lanes at the intersection of River Road and Brownswood Road. Borowy said the roundabout and turn lanes opened to the public last week and has given the public a chance to adjust to the changes.
While he’s confident traffic flow will be smooth on River Road, Borowy said he can’t make any guarantees because the drop-off and pick-up process hasn’t been put into practice. He said they’ll make any adjustments as needed during the first week of school.
Charleston Police spokesman Sgt. Chris Stinson said while there’s no specific plan for monitoring the traffic around Johns Island Elementary School, there will be patrol officers in the area to help with the drop-off and pick-up process.
The school district will pay closer attention to some schools like Johns Island Elementary School, but Borowy said they also monitor some that are in highly trafficked areas like Camp Road Middle School, which is right off the busy Folly Road on James Island.
Aton encouraged carpooling and alternate modes of transportation, like taking a school bus, to keep more cars off the road. While there may be a brief pause when a school bus stops to pick up or drop off students, he said it’s so quick it doesn’t hold up any traffic.
Drivers are mandated by state law to stop for a school bus when its lights are flashing or has its stop sign extended, indicating the driver is picking up or dropping off. Stinson said Charleston police plans on prioritizing school bus safety by enforcing the penalties if anyone passes a school bus when it’s stopped, which is a $500 fine or up to 30 days in jail for a first time offender.
Stinson said above all else, people should plan ahead so they’re not blindsided by the traffic early in the morning.
“Don’t try and make up for that lost time on the road by driving aggressively,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
