‘Sick and tired of sitting in traffic’: State reps. seek residents’ concerns in town hall

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) — State representatives held a joint town hall to hear from residents on their concerns about infrastructure and what they want to see done at the state level.

Key concerns talked about included the expansion of S.C. Highway 41, the Laurel Hill and Phillips communities and how taxpayer dollars are being used for infrastructure projects.

The town hall started at 5:30 p.m. and ended around 8 p.m. State representatives leading the conversation said there was no time limit because they wanted everyone to have their voices heard, leaving with at least one idea they all can agree on.

“We’re all sick and tired of sitting in traffic,” Rep. Mark Smith, District 99, said.

The town hall was led by state representatives Mark Smith, Kathy Landing and Joe Bustos, with two team members from the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

Smith said the problem of traffic didn’t happen overnight, but over time, and now they’re playing catch-up to make up for what he said was a lack of prioritizing the infrastructure.

“This dates back of 20 plus years of not prioritizing our infrastructure and putting our dollars where they should be and getting these infrastructure projects on track and permitted,” Smith said.

Smith also addressed the impact of development on traffic.

“With the significant amount of growth that we’re having, with the amount of significant overdevelopment that has happened in many of these communities, that’s exacerbating these critical infrastructure projects because it’s only making traffic worse, the nightmare that we sit in twice a day commuting to and from work,” Smith said.

One community member, George Freeman, brought up his own experiences with growth and how that impacts certain populations in Black communities.

“This room represents the community of Mount Pleasant. The ratio right now with the African American community, I think we’re like 5 percent in Mount Pleasant,” Freeman said.

Because there is what feels like a lack of Black representation in local governments, Freeman said it’s even more important to speak out for the Phillips and Laurel Hill neighborhoods.

“It’s not so much that we have growth, it’s that we have poor transportation planning…but any, almost any, other road that’s been built goes through one of our neighborhoods,” Freeman said.

It was repeated several times just how complex the process for transportation projects is. State representatives said the new SCDOT modification bill could help hurry it along if passed.

“What people are really mad about is that they’re sitting in traffic, and we have to figure out how to deal with that,” Allen Hutto, SCDOT chief of staff, said.

As they look to local governments for help, another concern mentioned was the involvement of Charleston County, or lack thereof from the community’s perspective. Many residents voiced concerns about not feeling heard by county council members when it comes to the former sales tax projects, like S.C. Highway 41. No one from the county was at the town hall. A county spokesperson said they were not made aware of the town hall.

Charleston County is currently seeking public feedback regarding the proposed 2026 Transportation Sales Tax program. The online survey, which has already received tens of thousands of individual comments, closes Friday at 11:59 p.m. You can find the link here.