Are Hilton Head crosswalks safe enough? Residents don’t think so. Here’s what they want
Horrified by the death of an 11-year-old girl killed while crossing U.S. 278 last month, residents of a nearby community are demanding safety improvements at the intersection where she died.
Several residents of Yacht Cove — a community nestled between Long Cove Club and Shelter Cove — asked Hilton Head’s Town Council on Tuesday to make changes to the Yacht Cove Drive intersection where Charli Jorden Bobinchuck was struck and killed by a car June 21.
“I knew Charli; I watched her grow,” said resident Joe Izzo. “I’m saddened, like everyone in this room is. But I was here two and a half years ago, and I was here about the same problem: Our intersection.”
Izzo said a traffic signal is needed so pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers can safely navigate it.
Resident Linda Prosser said lighting might be a solution.
“I think all crosswalks on 278 need some kind of lighting because you can’t see them until you’re up on them,” she said. “We need something to be done. Human life is a huge cost, so we need to do something.”
Before residents spoke, Town Council and Town Manager Steve Riley addressed the issue.
Riley said town staff is working to find a solution, but pointed out the intersection is along a state highway and subject to the South Carolina Department of Transportation’s rules and regulations.
He noted that adding a traffic signal would be a “significant cost” and would be difficult because of the way a gas station across the street is configured.
Riley also discussed lighting.
“There’s no single solution,” Riley said. “Lighting has been an issue that has always bogged down this community. There are folks who like the dark skies and are concerned about excessive lighting ... .”
Riley said staff members are looking to improve the safety of several other locations on the island. Contacted Thursday, Riley declined to talk about those other locations or what solutions are being considered. He said the issue is still being researched. He also said no town staff members could speak to a reporter about it.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor David Bennett said “we’ve simply got people driving too fast through that corridor.”
The speed limit on U.S. 278 near the Yacht Cove intersection is 45 mph.
Bennett suggested that more lighting, flashing signals that activate when people enter a crosswalk or petitioning the SCDOT to change the speed limit might be solutions.
On Thursday, Bennett said he has concerns about speed and safety for all the U.S. 278 corridor, from the foot of the bridge to Sea Pines Circle.
Bennett has two locations of particular concern: the intersection with Shelter Cove Lane by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, and the length of Marshland Road. On Marshland, one must cross the street to remain on the bike path, he said.
He said it would be best to implement changes on a “trial and error” basis. One location should be modified and studied before making changes elsewhere, he said.
Josh Johnson, SCDOT district traffic engineer, said it’s “fairly” common for residents or municipalities to ask for speed limits to be changed. He said his office, which oversees six counties, receives several such requests in any given week.
Once a request is submitted in writing, SCDOT conducts a speed study, he said. That study looks at crash history, pedestrian and bicyclist activity, common speeds and the number of intersections along the road, he said. The results determine whether the speed limit will change.
Eleven bicyclists and pedestrians were killed in Beaufort County in 2016, an increase from the annual average of four fatalities from 2006 through 2015.
In 2017, a pedestrian was struck and killed in a crosswalk near Palmetto Parkway on Hilton Head . Another was struck and killed while walking her bicycle across the street near Shelter Cove Towne Centre.
Town Council member David Ames, who represents the Yacht Cove area, said Tuesday he was “encouraged” that the town is seeking to improve the intersection.
“The Yacht Cove intersection is dangerous,” Ames said. “We don’t need to debate that. What we need to do is recognize that SCDOT’s criteria for traffic signals are statewide standards that are not protecting drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists here. We need to solve this dangerous situation locally.”
This story was originally published July 19, 2018 at 4:03 PM.