Five Points, ranked as top crash site, won’t get pedestrian fix this year after all
Long-sought pedestrian improvements in Columbia’s Five Points won’t come this year after all.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation had planned to begin work in April to reduce the number of vehicle lanes in favor of bike lanes and crosswalks in the busy shopping, restaurant and bar district. Now, that work won’t begin until 2024, according to a department spokesperson.
The nearly $5 million project has been on the city and state’s radar for at least half a decade, Rick Reiff, a traffic engineer consulting on the project with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, told Columbia City Council members in January.
Beginning in 2019, Reiff and others began an audit of traffic safety in Columbia by collecting crash data from previous years. The analysis found that between 2013 and 2018, there were 232 crashes on the half-mile stretch of Harden Street running through Five Points, 27 of which caused an injury.
The stretch of Harden Street in question ranked as “the number one worst crash problem (area) for pedestrians and bicyclists in the whole state,” Reiff previously said.
Part of the goal of the project is to give space back to pedestrians, he added.
The scope and budget for the work haven’t changed, said Kelly Moore, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation.
“This project included a great deal of coordination and communication with community stakeholders including municipal partners, business associations, neighborhood associations, and elected officials. The schedule has changed as we have continued to receive input and refine the project,” she said via email.
Construction is now set to begin in early 2024, and the project should be finished by the end of that year, Moore said.
State Rep. Seth Rose, D-Columbia, whose district includes part of Five Points, said he has secured $800,000 from the state plus the project has gotten a $4 million federal grant. He added if the schedule has changed, construction would begin in January at the latest.
The project will reduce Devine Street from four lanes to three between Saluda and Harden streets, and Harden Street will go from four lanes to two between Devine and Blossom streets.
Crosswalks will be added halfway up the block on the 600, 700 and 800 blocks of Harden Street. A pedestrian crossing from Groucho’s to Bar None, for example, would be able to cross in the middle of the block instead of going to an intersection.
Pedestrian signals also will be improved, with new yield signs and new audio components at intersections.
This story was originally published June 14, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
CORRECTION: This story previously misstated the amount of state money going toward the project. The error has been corrected.
