Every day at the intersection of Moultrie Street and Rutledge Avenue, parents, neighbors, and tourists - along with students from James Simons Montessori, The Citadel, and Burke High School—play a dangerous game of "near misses" with speeding traffic.

​Despite being a designated school route and a gateway to pedestrian-friendly Hampton Park, drivers regularly treat Rutledge Avenue as a high-speed thoroughfare, ignoring pedestrians and making aggressive turns.

​We aren't asking for new money the money is already allocated to fix this issue through Charleston County Transportation Sales Tax (TST) funds. However, administrative delays are putting our community at risk.

A Timeline of Inaction:

​2018: Curb extensions for Rutledge and Moultrie were officially included in the City Transportation Plan approved by the City Council.
​2022: Safety improvements and curb extensions were again highlighted and approved for redesign as a high-priority safety need.
​2024: The project entered the standard TST funding cycle for design.
​August 2025: Correspondence confirmed the project was stalled in technical review.
​November 2025: The County finally selected a design consultant seven full years after the project was first approved for the city's master plan.
​May 2026: We have now been informed by Charleston City officials that Charleston County does not expect to finish the design phase until the end of 2026.

​It has been eight years since these measures were planned, four years since approval and two years since officials publicly acknowledged the dangers of this intersection following a tragic accident. In that time, the risk has grown. There have been at least 4 pedestrian or bike-related accidents at this intersection since 2024.

​With the opening of Odd Duck Market on this corner, foot traffic is projected to increase by 30%. We now have a high-density "Main Street" environment relying on inadequate, decades-old infrastructure. This is a recipe for a tragedy that is entirely preventable.

A Demand for Accountability
​Charleston County’s guiding principles for the TST program explicitly state a mandate to "Finish What Was Promised". This project was promised in 2018. Every day of delay is a violation of that promise.

​As the County prepares a $4.25 billion Transportation Sales Tax referendum for the November 2026 ballot, our community is watching. It is difficult to support a new 25-year tax when the County cannot complete a small, life saving project that was approved four years ago.

​On May 8, 2026, Mayor Cogswell joined the James Simons Montessori "Bike Bus." He rode with our children and saw their vulnerability firsthand. We are asking him to use his executive influence to break this bottleneck.

​We, the undersigned, demand that Charleston County and the City of Charleston take immediate action:

​To Charleston County: Fast-track the Moultrie/Rutledge TST project. Finalizing blueprints at the end of 2026 is an unacceptable timeline for a known safety hazard.

​To the City of Charleston: Install Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacons (pedestrian-activated lights) and "Quick-Build" rubber curb extensions or bollards before the 2026-2027 school year begins to protect your constituents and community from a pubic safety hazard while the County's permanent construction remains stalled.

Charleston leaders, please don't wait for another deadly accident. The funds are there, and the danger is known. Fix it now!

Please sign this petition and share it with five other Charleston families today. Let’s turn our collective concern into the concrete safety measures our kids deserve.