Could $1M Fix Charleston's Worst Streets

Charleston’s latest street-safety fight is over one budget line: Mayor William Cogswell says he supports adding $1 million for pedestrian projects citywide. (charlestoncitypaper.com) Cogswell’s support came about a week after residents launched a petition demanding dedicated pedestrian-safety money in the city budget. Advocates told local outlets the current budget sets aside $0 specifically for pedestrian safety. (charlestoncitypaper.com) (abcnews4.com) The immediate catalyst was the March 26 death of 78-year-old Annelise Simmons, who police said was struck in a marked crosswalk at King Street and Broad Street. The driver later was charged with failure to yield, according to ABC News 4. (charleston-sc.gov) (abcnews4.com) Charleston already has a formal roadmap for this. The city used a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant awarded in December 2023 to create a Safety Action Plan focused on places with the highest injury rates, especially where they overlap with disadvantaged communities. (charleston-sc.gov) City leaders adopted that broader safety framework in late 2025, pairing the plan with a Target Zero resolution that sets a goal of cutting traffic deaths and serious injuries 20% by 2035 and substantially eliminating them by 2050. (counton2.com) (charleston-sc.gov) The scale of the problem is large. Charleston’s Target Zero resolution says 37,333 crashes were reported inside the city’s jurisdiction from January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2023, including 115 fatal crashes, with injuries in 22% of crashes. (charleston-sc.gov) City officials and advocates are talking about fixes that can be installed faster than full street rebuilds. Recent reporting says Charleston is weighing pedestrian scrambles at busy intersections, AI-enabled traffic enforcement cameras, redesigned streets, and corridor-specific changes on King Street and Calhoun Street. (abcnews4.com 1) (abcnews4.com 2) Advocates at Charleston Moves and the petition organizers are asking the city to turn its adopted plan into a recurring funding commitment, not a one-time response to a fatal crash. Cogswell’s endorsement does not itself appropriate the money; it puts the proposal into Charleston’s budget debate. (charlestoncitypaper.com) (abcnews4.com) So the question in Charleston is no longer whether the city has crash data or a safety plan. It is whether City Hall will attach $1 million to it before the next budget is finalized. (charlestoncitypaper.com) (charleston-sc.gov)