Take part in redesigning Lady’s Island — a positive vision

Positive change is coming to Lady’s Island, and, believe it or not, we might just have Wal-Mart to thank.

The Sea Island Corridor Coalition and the Coastal Conservation League are hosting a citizen-based land-planning forum at Lady’s Island Elementary School at 6 p.m. on Feb. 23. We invite residents, government officials — in fact all interested parties — to join us.

Lady’s Island has been at a crossroads for some time.

It all started in 2008 when Wal-Mart applied to build a supercenter on Sea Island Parkway. After massive public opposition, the city of Beaufort denied the application, but Wal-Mart sued. Wal-Mart won. With construction now underway, old wounds are reopened, and Lady’s Island residents are asking what they can do to better plan their community.

Wal-Mart of course is just one symptom of poor planning.

Lady’s Island already suffers traffic snarls at Sea Island Parkway and Sam’s Point Road. Residents complain of lengthy commutes, unsafe interchanges and dead-end streets.

Furthermore, sidewalks and bike lanes, which are essential to mobility and public safety, are almost nonexistent on the island.

Complicating these problems is the island’s patchwork of city and county parcels, making public services such as garbage collection and police protection inefficient and costly.

Beaufort County is the state’s fifth fastest growing county. With such rapid growth, big box retailers, fast food chains and cookie-cutter developers will continue to have eyes on Beaufort County.

The city’s recently released traffic study shows that if we make no improvements to the island’s street network, the severity of these backups will quickly increase and become unmanageable.

The good news is that traffic congestion, new development — and, yes, the Wal-Mart — made residents sit up and take notice. Lady’s Island residents are engaged in the planning process in ways they never have been before.

But what to do with this new energy and awareness? What is needed is a vision and plan for the future of Lady’s Island.

“Designing a Future for Lady’s Island” is the first step toward establishing a resident-driven, unified vision.

The forum will be an opportunity for citizens to work with renowned community planner Victor Dover of Dover Kohl & Associates. Dover will help residents identify the opportunities and explore the potential to transform Lady’s Island into a more sustainable and vibrant community.

The forum is designed to be hands-on and will include interactive map work, questions and time to exchange ideas. It is an opportunity to learn from other communities, to speak up, and be heard.

Please join us on Thursday, Feb. 23.

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Take part in redesigning Lady’s Island — a positive vision."