‘Dangerous but also necessary’: Nonprofit addresses safety concerns on Wappoo Bridge

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - For some Lowcountry residents, getting from point A to point B isn’t as easy as it sounds. Crossing a bridge could be life-threatening.

The nonprofit Charleston Moves says the Wappoo Cut Bridge leading from West Ashley to James Island is downright “unsafe,” and that’s why they’re now looking to address safety concerns along the bridge.

Officials with Charleston Moves say the sidewalk isn’t even a real sidewalk.

“If you’re on that maintenance path, you will feel sideview mirrors brushing your arm and your shoulder. It’s guaranteed,” Charleston Moves Executive Director Katie Zimmerman says.

“It is so narrow, and motorists are going too fast and can’t help but be too close to you,” Zimmerman says.

The non-profit says they are putting together an application for technical assistance from the National Parks Service. They say this isn’t federal assistance in the form of money but rather gathering “the people who need to be in the room,” address safety concerns and also look at potential solutions, Zimmerman says.

Charleston Moves has also started a petition, gathering signatures to send to local leaders and attach to their assistance application.

“Right now, if we can get a lot of petition signatures, that will help bolster our technical assistance application,” Zimmerman says.

Zimmerman also says that this bridge is just one of multiple safety concerns along Folly Road. The ‘Rethink Folly Road’ plan is one of the efforts to address these concerns.

Zimmerman says this application for technical assistance is just the beginning of potentially making pedestrian traffic safer across the entire Lowcountry.

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