CHARLESTON — Parking will be available along the Lowcountry Lowline, a pedestrian and bike path planned along the peninsula’s spine, before work begins on the trail.
On July 15, City Council approved a nearly $400,000 addition to the $1.1 million contract that was already backed for the first phase of the project.
The first phase will run from Mount Pleasant Street to Line Street following an old railroad bed under Interstate 26. Plans call for two paths, a 12-foot-wide bike trail and a 10-foot-wide walkway, separated by a landscaped median and a new passive park along the route. Eventually, the path will extend all the way to Marion Square.
The additional money will go toward improving three gravel parking lots on Sheppard and Huger streets that will provide access to the path, according to Josh Martin, who is heading the project for the city.
No parking signs were recently installed in the lots on either side of Huger Street, which served as free parking for those living in nearby apartments or visiting businesses adjacent to the planned path. One of those businesses was Palmetto Brewing, which closed before the signs went up.
Martin said the city has support from the remaining businesses along Huger, and is working with Dominion Energy to install lighting. Plans call for the lots to come online in eight weeks.
The city projected that the three lots, which total about 120 spaces, will bring in about $1 million annually. That revenue will cover the upkeep of the entire linear park and the lots themselves. Martin couldn’t say how much the city will charging to park there. He’s planning to prepare a bid for a company to help manage the parking and set the hourly rate.
In this year’s budget, the city increased fees for both on-street and garage parking from $1 per 30 minutes to $1 every 20 minutes. Parking fees are expected to generate more than $45 million for the city’s 2025 budget, the third highest revenue earner for the city behind property taxes, at about $120 million, and business licenses, at $52 million.
The city had set aside $1 million for the Sheppard Street lot in this year’s budget, but Martin was able to get it and the Huger Street lots added the Lowline construction contract for a third of the price tag.
At a Traffic and Transportation committee meeting, council also approved a request to take over portions of Romney, Cypress and Huger streets between Meeting and King streets from the S.C. Department of Transportation.
This would allow the city to build mid-block crosswalks where the pedestrian and bike paths cross the roadways.
Designs for the first phase of the Lowline are complete, Martin said, adding that he expects a groundbreaking in the fall.
The city and contractor Edifice Construction are planning a clean-up along the future path on July 18 from 8 to 11 a.m. For more details and to volunteer, visit the Eventbrite link or the city’s website at https://tinyurl.com/y23mcuyf.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
