JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - A new traffic light on Johns Island has caused a stir for people who live and drive through the area.

The light, located at Maybank Highway and Fenwick Hall Allee, was installed Tuesday. After just one day, officials with the City of Charleston have received calls from people who drive through the area frustrated that traffic on Maybank Highway has gotten even worse.

“They’ve been steady coming from us. As well, they’ve been going to the DOT, and Charleston County as well,” Robert Somerville, director of the City of Charleston’s department of traffic and transportation said. “We are aware and we’re working on it. We just ask for your patience and we will get it figured out.”

This signal was part of the Northern Pitchfork project. Somerville said with concerns about safety involving drivers exiting out of Fenwick Hall Allee they decided to install a temporary signal before the mast arms were ready to be completed.

Since activating the signal Tuesday, Somerville said they found there is a problem within the corridor that affects the timing from Headquarters Plantation to River Road. They’ve had technicians from the city and DOT at the location to try to get the issue figured out.

“This is a safety project,” Somerville said. “We’ve had numerous accidents at that intersection so I believe this signal will be the best thing for Maybank Highway and Fenwick Allee in the long run.”

For Dan Kinne, who lives near the traffic light, the new signal is allowing him to breathe a little easier.

“You used to take your life in your hands when you were coming out of there and turning left onto Maybank or coming home on Maybank turning left onto Fenwick Hall,” Kinne said. “I’m lucky we never got hit.”

People have taken to social media to complain about an increase in traffic on Maybank Highway.

Katelyn Robinson commutes to Johns Island every day to take her daughter to school. She said it takes her 10 minutes to take her daughter to school, but an hour to get home.

“It’s affecting everybody’s sanity and their drive to work in the morning,” Robinson said. “They have a livelihood they have to keep up, they have jobs they have to get to, kids they have to drop off, things they have to do in the morning.”

Somerville said the permanent signal will be ready to be installed in about a year. For now, he is asking for patience.

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JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Charleston City leaders provided some insight on a flood-prone neighborhood on James Island that saw an excess of water after Hurricane Ian.

News 2 first introduced viewers to Michael Miller and his wife on Friday when Hurricane Ian flooded their home and others on Shoreham Road.

According to Miller, it took about five to six hours for the water to drain on the street and about three hours for it to recede inside his home.

“We just started getting as much of the water and as much of the dirt out as we could. Putting up fans, scrubbing down everything. Trying to assess the damage,” said Miller.

According to Charleston City leaders, Shoreham Road is known to flood because it sits in a low-lying area.

“It’s a neighborhood where when that water falls on the streets and on the roofs and on the properties it’s hard to move it out very quickly especially if we get higher tides,” explained Matthew Fountain, the Director of Stormwater Management for the City of Charleston.

There are a few projects in the works to help prevent flooding in the neighborhood. Fountain said one includes a rain garden that is set to be built at the site of a former flood-prone home the city acquired through federal grants.

He said the other small project consists of constructing a drainage swale system to help store more water in the neighborhood. While these projects can help with a typical thunderstorm/rain event, Fountain said it will take more to prevent flooding in a major storm like Ian.

“That neighborhood is going to experience flooding. That’s part of the reason we’ve looked at home acquisitions and demolition in that location giving people the opportunity if they have a heavily flooded home to have the city work with the federal government and eventually buy their homes,” explained Fountain.

Meanwhile, drainage projects on other parts of James Island seem to be showing signs of improvement. News 2 met with Charleston County Councilwoman Jenny Costa Honeycutt at the Charleston Municipal Golf Course where drainage improvements are underway.

She said Hurricane Ian was one of the first big storms to hit the area since rolling out the projects. Because of the work that was done over the last few years, Honeycutt said the water in the system was able to drain within one tide cycle, as opposed to sitting for days as it has in the past.

“One of the parts of the improvements that really helped was cleaning out the Stono River outfall and then back up the ditch system to the entire watershed, so that water could drain out faster. In conjunction, we also enhanced these ponds you see on the golf course to allow more water to stay in the system as the tides change,” explained Honeycutt.

According to city leaders, they monitor streets like Shoreham Road ahead of big storms, making sure the pipes aren’t clogged.

Two fake stop signs have been found in one James Island neighborhood, which the mayor says has caused confusion and controversy between town officials and local

Published: Mon Oct 31 2022

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Two fake stop signs have been found in one James Island neighborhood, which the mayor says has caused confusion and controversy between town officials and locals.

A neighbor’s security camera captured the Town of James Island’s public works department removing the illegal stop signs from the corner of Clearview Drive and Tennant Street on Oct. 21.

“You cannot put your own stop signs out. You can always come to the town and make a request, and it will always be merited,” Mayor Bill Woolsey said. “We won’t often be able to put them up, but you can’t put them up yourself, and how we respond is we immediately contact SCDOT. We would have been very surprised if they put a stop sign out there without telling us beforehand.”

A worker could be seen wiggling one of the signs a couple of times before lifting it out of the ground and placing it in the back of a truck.

Not only were the signs put in illegally, according to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, but the ground next to the street was painted with white stop bars, as well.

“It’s the first I’ve ever heard about it, and I hope it doesn’t spread,” Woolsey said. “[I’m surprised] someone would come and paint a line in the road and buy some online stop signs and install them themselves in the middle of the night or early in the morning.”

Deputies said they were patrolling the area the night before and didn’t see any new signs, but when they went back the next day, they said the signs, which were apparently purchased online, had been put in overnight.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation has also confirmed they have not installed any stop signs at the intersection.

Neighbors initially thought the stop signs were put in by DOT to help with speeders and said the fake signs hurts their ability to address the issue.

“I guess somebody duped us, and they were putting in fake stop signs,” neighbor Jim Boyd said. “They looked to all of us legitimate and 100% real. We are just in favor of anything and everything that we can get people to slow down. Yes, we understand first responders need to get here quickly as well, but we want everything and anything.”

However, Woolsey said he believes the signs did not pop up at random.

“If we find out who did it, they will be charged, and we believe that, most likely, it was someone who lives close by,” he said.

Woolsey also said there was a recent incident where an illegal speed bump was found and removed near the intersection. He said the speed bump had black and yellow stripes and was similar to one found in parking lots across the Lowcountry.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

As the two-time defending Class AAAA state champion, the James Island girls soccer team fully expects to be a contender for a third straight championship.

But, as coach Kimberly Cohn and her 2023 team is finding out, the road to a three-peat is not an easy trek.

Beset with several key injuries, and losing a player for part of the season to international competition, Cohn is forced to change formations of her starting lineup while trying to remain competitive.

The Trojans remain a viable state title contender with a 6-3-2 record as the season enters the final month of regular season play. The losses have come to formidable opponents (Wando, Oceanside Collegiate and Bluffton).

“The girls have shown some serious grit this season, and with some key players coming back from injury after spring break, I think that we should be able to make a strong run to a third straight state championship,” Cohn says.

Getting through the regular season will not be easy as Region 7-AAAA is very difficult.

“Region & is, in my opinion, the hardest region in AAAA,” Cohn says. “Last year, three out of the four teams that made it into playoffs, made it to the Lower State semi-finals. We are fortunate to be able to face some really great competition throughout the season, and this really prepares us for when we get into playoffs.”

Cohn says she puts a different lineup on the field in virtually every game.

Regular starters Olyvia Briggs (senior captain), Hayden Rape and Ellie Davis, all outside backs, are currently on the sidelines with injuries. All three were key performers in last year’s title run. Rape, a senior and an Appalachian State commit, has missed the entire season but is hopeful to return after spring break.

Junior Marley Walker, a key defender, is missing games as she participates with the Trinidad and Tobago national team in the upcoming CONCACAF Cup. She should be back in the States in time for the state playoff run.

Juniors Alexis Spivey (six goals, six assists) and Gabby Redman (six goals, four assists) continue to set the pace offensively.

OCA, Pinewood in national rankings

Two Charleston-area high school soccer programs are receiving national attention by MaxPreps.com.

The Oceanside Collegiate boys team, currently undefeated, was ranked as No. 1 team in the country in the website’s most recent national rankings.

The MaxPreps rankings are based strictly on results. The more a team wins, the higher the ranking. The system also takes into account quality wins against other highly ranked opponents as well as strength of schedule.

The Landsharks took over the No. 1 spot in the rankings after last week’s No. 1, Chapin High, dropped a 2-1 decision at River Bluff last Saturday. Chapin (10-2) plays in Class AAAAA.

In addition to holding down the No. 1 spot in the MaxPreps rankings, the Landsharks currently sit at No. 22 in the nation according to the United Soccer Coaches poll. That poll has Oceanside ranked third among state schools with Ashley Ridge sitting in the No. 2 spot with an 13-0 record. Ashley Ridge is ranked fifth nationally by MaxPreps.

In girls soccer, Pinewood Prep is ranked No. 6 nationally and No. 1 in South Carolina by MaxPreps. Pinewood Prep is 12-0 this season, outscoring its opponents, 78-4, as the team seeks a third straight SCISA state championship.

Stratford’s McNeil steps down

Stratford girls basketball coach Kelly McNeil stepped down from her position earlier this week.

McNeil guided the Knights to their best season in school history, reaching the Class AAAAA state finals before losing to Mauldin. The Knights finished with a 25-5 record.

McNeil orchestrated one of the more impressive turnarounds in the state over the last several seasons. From 2017-18 through the 2020-21 season, McNeil and the Knights won just nine of 70 games. However, the last two seasons produced a 44-14 record and the school’s first Lower State championship.

A reason for her resignation was not immediately known.

A Charleston-based sushi restaurant and sports bar with two Lowcountry locations will add a third site by the spring in a former bar and grill on James Island.

Locals Sushi & Sports Pub plans to open after buying the lease for the space at 792 Folly Road where The Roost Bar N’ Grille operated until Jan. 31 according to Jim Moring with Restaurantbrokers.info, who handled the transaction for the property owner and tenant.

Locals owner Shawn Sherman said he’s planning some cosmetic changes, and the 4,500-square-foot venue should be open in a couple of months. He also plans to add a patio bar in the future.

Sherman took over the remainder of the existing lease term of about a year with the option to renew for two five-year terms.

The site once housed Charleston Sports Pub before it moved to Maybank Highway in 2021.

Locals has other restaurants in Mount Pleasant and West Ashley. The Roost has another location in Avondale in West Ashley.

Opening soon

A new restaurant from the couple who brought Community Table and Kiki & Rye to Mount Pleasant is ready for its debut in downtown Charleston.

Southbound, part of Free Reign Restaurants, will open at 4 p.m. Feb. 10 at 72 Cannon St.

Southbound’s menu will include appetizers as well as main dishes such as steaks, pork chops and seasonal fish along with vegetarian options.

The main level of the 2,000-square-foot space features a 10-foot open hearth with seating around it and about 45 seats outside on a wrap-around porch and terrace. The upstairs includes a bar and dining area. It will be open for dinner 4-10 p.m. daily.

Free Reign is owned by Ryan and Kelleanne Jones.

Now serving

An Italian eatery recently opened at Citadel Mall. Bella Roma can be found in the food court. It’s owned by Fabio and Barbara Spadaro.

Stepping in

A women’s shoe shop is coming to Mount Pleasant.

Dear Lucy plans to open tentatively by March 1 at 1421 Shucker Circle in the Oyster Park development off Ben Sawyer Boulevard.

The owner of the 1,500-square-foot space is Melissa Desautels. The Mount Pleasant resident operates another store in Burlington, Vt.

Flying in

Charleston International Airport recently welcomed new vendors to its retail lineup.

Hudson Nonstop and Sunglass Hut are now open beyond the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.

Hudson Nonstop sells food, beverages and travel amenities. The CHS shop features Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology, allowing customers to enter by swiping a credit card or holding their palm over an Amazon One device. It also offers a contactless way to pay, charging shoppers for goods they take off the shelves as they exit.

“It’s the ultimate convenience and self-serve option for fliers on the go,” Charleston airport CEO Elliott Summey said.

Nearby, Sunglass Hut offers a range of styles from Ray-Ban, Oakley and other brands.

Supply side

Tractor Supply Co. is out to plow new ground in the Charleston area.

The chain plans to build a 22,000-square-foot store on 7.25 acres on Dorchester Road between Shady Lane and Stack’s Nursery.

The store will be the Tennessee-based company’s fifth in the Lowcountry. Others are in Awendaw, Moncks Corner, Ravenel and near Nexton in Berkeley County.

An affiliate of developer Farmer & Associates of Aiken paid $1.19 million for the Dorchester County site, according to buyer’s representative Will Sherrod of the commercial real estate firm NAI Charleston.

The land was previously owned by Old Fort Baptist Church and Oakbrook Community Church.

The new store will include a garden center and outdoor display area. Completion is targeted by the end of the year, Sherrod said.

The Aiken buyer will develop and lease the site to Tractor Supply. About two acres of outparcel space will be set aside for future purchase.

Doug Richardson with Carolina One Real Estate and Michele Costanzo with eXp Realty represented the sellers.

Shoe shine

An East Cooper footwear store is undergoing a makeover.

Rack Room Shoes in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre will be closed until late March for a total renovation, according to shopping center spokeswoman Kathi Herrmann. The 9,108-square-foot store closed in early February.

A grand reopening is planned for March 25.

Staying fit

The Planet Fitness gym site at 2070 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. in Citadel Mall reopened Feb. 6 after undergoing renovations since November.

The remodel included the gym’s Black Card Spa and locker rooms. Also, overhead televisions were added to the cardio theater.

Diversifying

A North Carolina-based supermarket chain with 19 locations in the Lowcountry hopes to improve its diversity of product suppliers.

Harris Teeter, an affiliate of The Kroger Co., will accept applications through Feb. 10 for its virtual Supplier Diversity Summit set for March 28-30.

The grocer will work to identify and increase sourcing for retail-ready products typically found in a supermarket from suppliers that are at least 51 percent-owned, -operated and -managed by people who are disadvantaged, disabled, LGBTQ+, military veterans, minorities and/or women.

Harris Teeter is partnering with RangeMe, an Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing company, to manage submissions. To apply, go to tinyurl.com/2zwt6e2c.