Harden Street should resemble a typical SC roadway —not a Thunder Valley drag strip
Admit it.
When you drive through a certain section of Harden Street that runs through Five Points — or even worse, walk or ride a bike there — hasn’t this thought occasionally crossed your mind:
“Is it me, or does it feel really unsafe driving/walking/riding around here?”
Well, it turns out that you haven’t been the only one with that concern.
And it also turns out that you’ve had every reason to feel so uneasy.
According to new findings from the S.C. Department of Transportation, the three-block section of Harden Street that runs from Blossom to Gervais streets is the most dangerous stretch of road in South Carolina to walk or bike.
Let that sink in.
If you’re a pedestrian or a bicyclist, there isn’t a worst place in our entire state for you to travel than a half-mile-long stretch of Harden Street.
It’s a reality that is endangering our citizens and embarrassing our city.
That’s why it’s encouraging that the Five Points Association and two of our area lawmakers — state Sen. Dick Harpootlian and state Rep. Seth Rose — are pushing for Harden Street to be narrowed from four to two lanes.
It’s time for Harden Street to become the manageable urban village roadway that it should be rather than the perilous Thunder Valley raceway that it too often resembles
Troubling statistics
The statistics about Harden Street’s dangerous three blocks — which are being collected as part of a statewide Road Safety Audit by the state transportation department — are undeniably troubling.
Here are just two of those stats:
▪ From 2013 through 2017, there were 12 crashes involving vehicles with pedestrians or bicyclists.
▪ If the three-block Harden corridor was a mile long — instead of its actual 0.44-mile length — it would average a whopping 27 crashes involving some combination of vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists.
It’s obvious that a warped road culture has taken root in that section of Harden Street — one that has empowered Five Points motorists to view the roadway as their own while regarding pedestrians and bicyclists as annoying obstacles rather than fellow travelers.
That culture must be radically changed.
But the truth is that change will only happen by streamlining Harden Street — and by actively requiring motorists to travel it with the increased sense of caution demanded on narrower roadways.
The Five Points business community, Harpootlian, Rose and others are on the right road in advocating for a slimmer Harden Street — and the state should support that effort: it should be ready to commit proper funding to help transform Harden after the Road Safety Audit is completed sometime next month.
No, you haven’t been wrong..
And no, it hasn’t been a figment of your imagination: there is a section of Harden Street that really is as dangerous as you’ve always suspected it to be.
Now’s the time for a safer Harden Street to become reality, too.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 10:41 AM.