Charleston Mayor William Cogswell’s recommended 2027 budget includes $1 million for pedestrian safety projects across the city, the city announced Nov. 5.
The money would come from the city’s own budget rather than a state or federal grant, and Cogswell intends to keep the line item in future budgets, according to the city. Projects will be picked using crash data, the city’s Safety Action Plan and safety needs near schools.
“Many of the streets our children cross every day aren’t owned by the City, but that will never be a reason for them to wait,” Cogswell said, according to ABC News 4. He said the city would keep working with state and county partners until every family can walk to school without worrying, Live 5 News reported.
The $1 million would add to the transportation sales tax Charleston County voters approved Nov. 3. That tax is expected to bring the city $22 million over its lifetime for bike and pedestrian improvements, according to the city.
The city has already made one change near two schools. At King and Grove streets, near James Simons Montessori and the Charter School for Math and Science, it widened crosswalks and removed on-street parking to improve visibility, the city said. Permanent designs, coordinated with the S.C. Department of Transportation, are expected by mid-December.
Charleston police had reported six fatal traffic collisions involving pedestrians in the city this year through Oct. 22, ABC News 4 reported. From 2018 through 2023, more than 100 fatal crashes and 450 serious-injury crashes happened within city limits, and about 30% of them involved people outside vehicles, such as pedestrians and cyclists, according to the Safety Action Plan, as cited by the station.
A citizen group started by mothers petitioned in April for a $1 million budget line for street safety, the Charleston City Paper reported at the time. A city spokesperson said then that Cogswell already planned to include the money in his budget request and that his support was not related to the petition.
The recommended budget goes to City Council on Nov. 17, with first reading Dec. 1 and second reading Dec. 15, according to the city.
