Copyright Live 5 News WCSC
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - City leaders are discussing a possible large bus regulation for roads along the peninsula. The City of Charleston’s Traffic and Transportation Committee is considering new regulations that will determine where large buses can operate south of Broad Street. The target of the regulation is oversized vehicles that are 40 feet or longer including motor coaches. District 8 City Council member and chair of the Traffic and Transportation Committee Mike Seekings says the discussion has been needed for the last few years. Seekings says recent incidents of large vehicles traveling along the smaller South of Broad neighborhood streets have caused safety issues from vehicles hitting trees. “If you hit a large branch on an Oak tree and knock it off and there are people on a bike, in a car, walking on a sidewalk, that’s a safety issue,” Seekings says. “It’s a convenience issue and it just doesn’t fit the common sense test.” CLC Worldwide CEO Joe Reinhardt has been in the transportation industry for the last 17 years. Reinhardt offers bus services to downtown areas, including the College of Charleston and the South Carolina Stingrays. Reinhardt says the industry already has a set of regulations to follow when traveling on downtown roads. “We’re also required, even though we’re a local company, we’re required to buy a permit for every day we’re down on the peninsula,” Reinhardt says. The city’s map of motorcoach touring approved streets shows that many roads South of Broad Street are not authorized for travel. Reinhard says trees are not an issue for authorized roads. He admits that safety issues from buses may stem from non-local sources. “Now, do buses from out of town sometimes go down the wrong streets? Yes, that does happen,” Reinhardt says. “So my gut feeling is that there was a bus that did not know the proper routes but this is already heavily regulated.” Seekings says the plan is to simplify the already in-place regulations for drivers. He also says the aim is to make regulations easier to enforce. The potential regulation will return to the Traffic and Transportation Committee table one more time for discussion before going to council leaders.
