Oak remains at center of roundabout opposition – Coastal Observer

Oak remains at center of roundabout opposition – Coastal Observer

Pawleys Island can get an improvement to the misaligned intersection of Waverly Road and Petigru Drive, or it can keep the landmark oak tree at the corner. Engineers with the S.C. Department of Transportation say it can’t have both. If the community doesn’t want a roundabout, the agency won’t build one. “A potential option is we do nothing,” said Brett McCutchan, project manager with DOT. “Unfortunately some of the trees are going to have to be removed. They’re in the way of the improvement.” The oak on the corner, which serves as a community landmark, would be in the middle of the roundabout, according to plans presented at a drop-in meeting held by DOT last week.  Adding right of way for the project would take in four other oaks. Two across from the landmark have trunks of 72 and 50 inches in diameter.  It’s been nearly a decade since the roundabout project was first proposed for funding. The project is currently in its preliminary design phase. The engineering work will cost $400,000. If the project moves forward with community support, DOT will acquire the 0.4-acre  of  right of way for $450,000 in the spring. Construction, totaling $2.35 million, would begin during the summer of 2028. The north and south portions of Petigru Drive are offset where they cross Waverly Road. That alignment  interrupts traffic flow and creates unsafe conditions, officials said. The misalignment impairs the view of drivers, McCutchan said. “It makes it difficult and challenging for motorists to know when to go left, right or through the intersection. So that produces crashes,” McCutchan said. A majority of people who attended the meeting to learn about DOT’s plans for the intersection  disagreed. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” said Tom Fox of Litchfield. DOT hired the engineering firm Kimley-Horn to complete a traffic study at the intersection in March.  There are about 6,700 trips per day on Waverly Road and about 4,000 on Petigru Drive. The peak delay occurs at midday for vehicles traveling south on Petigru: 25.1 seconds. That earns it a D for level of service. At other peak times, Petigru is a level C for service. Waverly is level A. The study shows Waverly will continue to function with minimal delays over the next 24 years. Petigru is expected to see delays increase. By 2050, the wait for southbound traffic at the intersection is projected to be over four and a half minutes. The roundabout would improve service in all directions. In 2050, that southbound traffic on Petigru would only wait 10 seconds, according to the study. “There’s more than enough traffic on that road right at that particular intersection,” said a woman who only gave her first name, Connie. She suggested a traffic signal or a four-way stop. According to the study there is not enough traffic through the intersection to warrant a signal. An alternative design proposes adding left-turn lanes to all the approaches to the intersection. That would be more expensive to build, require more right of way and impact two homes, officials said. Although community members liked the sound of it, officials said the alternative still wouldn’t protect the landmark oak. It would be in the center of the reconfigured intersection. Both plans would add sidewalks at the intersection. Connie said she expects the project to receive a lot of opposition from the community due to concern for the oak. “I don’t care what they have to do to preserve it, but it needs to stay where it’s at,” she said. “I think there’s other options than that roundabout.” Officials at the public meeting cited crash data from Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2024 that showed that of the 13 recorded crashes, eight occurred in 2024 alone. There were six crashes that involved injuries. None were fatal. Five were “angle crashes” that typically involve more injuries. Five were rear-end collisions. One involved a vehicle that was backing up. Officials expect injury crashes to decrease by 88 percent with a roundabout. A four-legged intersection has 32 points of conflict – opportunities to get into a crash – compared to a roundabout’s eight points, McCutchan said.  “That’s when you usually have issues,” he said. It reduces fatality, injury and right-angle crashes because all the vehicles are essentially turning right, McCutchan said. Paula Hero, a Heritage Plantation resident, disagreed. She said that she uses intersection about three to four times a week. She was raised in New Jersey where there were plenty of roundabouts, or “traffic circles” as they are know locally. “You’ve just grown up knowing how to do it,” she said. In an area with very little roundabouts, that may become an issue, Hero said. “It’s going to cause more accidents,” she said. “Any time a new traffic pattern is introduced, it takes a little bit of time to get adjusted to what you’re supposed to do,” McCutchan said. “People do get adjusted fairly quickly to it.” McCutchan said a majority of concerns he has heard from the community revolve around saving the landmark oak tree and others around the intersection. That was the same concern that existed in 2017 when the roundabout was first proposed. “We’re very aware. And again, our job as engineers is to design the safest intersection,” he said. For the amount of traffic at that intersection, McCutchan said the roundabout is the best option. It would cost less  and have the least impact on the surrounding area.  A main goal is to reduce the number of crashes and delays at the intersection. “It actually checks all the boxes,” he said. “Operation-wise, it is better overall.” Vincent Davis, president of the Pawleys Island Civic Club, said it will be imporant for DOT to listen to the community. The club wrote a letter in 2024 saying it supported the roundabout, but only if the tree can be saved. DOT will take public comment through Oct. 15 at scdot.gov. Navigate to the “programs and projects” window.