MY TURN: We’ve had a week of infrastructure woes 

Editor’s Note:  State Senate candidate Ed Sutton of Charleston wrote this piece Dec. 24 for the Charleston City Paper.  We republish it here to illustrate infrastructure woes in Charleston, which many local governments across the state also face. 

By Ed Sutton, Dec. 24, 2023  |  A  Nor’easter slammed our region last Sunday (Dec. 17) setting a new tidal record in Charleston. 

The outlook doesn’t look rosy as weather experts predict these types of storms are expected to increase in frequency while the sea level continues to rise. 

To state the obvious, we are far behind on flood prevention and we’re falling further behind the curve due to unnecessary political squabbling.

In 2023, there was no shortage of election-year politics surrounding the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ proposed seawall, including an attempted referendum designed to kill the project entirely. 

Going into 2024, these games must end. The Dec. 17 storm  was a stark reminder that we do not have time to waste. The seawall project must be led by experts, not political egos and I firmly believe the Army Corp of Engineers can deliver a project that protects us from flooding and is aesthetically pleasing. 

We must also realize a sea wall is one of many solutions we must pursue to protect ourselves from increased flooding events. Some others include marsh restoration, backflow drainage valves and buying back properties that repeatedly find themselves under water. There is no silver bullet to this problem, and we must pursue a well-rounded approach. 

If downtown ceases to function as the center of commerce due to flooding, we lose our economic engine that provides the tax revenue to pay for the above-mentioned projects downtown and beyond. The downtown versus suburbs divide will always persist but in terms of flooding, we are all in the same boat. 

That does not mean the concerns in West Ashley and James Island regarding flood water displacement due to the sea wall should be ignored. There is a real fear the sea wall will push the flooding problem to the other side of the Ashley River. The Army Corp of Engineers has ensured the public displacement will not impact West Ashley and James Island and the Corp/City would be wise to step up their public outreach on the sea wall to an audience outside of the peninsula. 

Other problems

Another pedestrian was struck in recent days by a vehicle on King Street. We keep hearing this story over and over, yet little is done to make King Street safer for pedestrians. The latest victim is a mother of four whose body traveled more than 80 feet after the collision. She was last listed in critical condition. 

Just a few blocks away at Meeting and Cypress streets, the city and Charleston Moves designed a modern intersection around pedestrian and cyclist safety. Yet the location of Saturday’s collision on King by the Crosstown overpass remains a frequent site of vehicle and pedestrian collisions. 

We can learn from the success of Meeting and Cypress and apply several low-hanging fruit measures to make King Street safer near the Crosstown, such as narrowing the lanes, lowering the speed limit and adding a lighted pedestrian crossing.

This is a problem we have solved before and there is no shortage of community nonprofits, such as Charleston Moves, that have given us the roadmap to safer streets.

As we grapple with a week marked by debilitating infrastructure challenges, it is abundantly clear that our region stands at a critical juncture. We can continue with business as usual or get serious about playing catch up on our infrastructure woes. 

No one wants a future where flooding constantly forces us out of our homes and businesses. Nor should we accept roads with unsafe designs that repeatedly lead to pedestrian collisions. These are daunting tasks, but they are not unsolvable problems.  

Let us not be paralyzed by indecision and political wrangling. The time for action is now. Our collective future depends on the choices we make today.

Ed Sutton, a commercial Realtor and Air Force Reserve pilot, is on the Board of Directors of CARTA and a candidate for state Senate District 20.