Crestwood Drive on City's To-Do List

Earlier this month Mauldin Patch wrote a story about the traffic concerns of . In the last several years, the residents have seen a marked increase in traffic on their suburban street. The boost in traffic is tied to the hundreds of homes that have been built west of Ashmore Bridge Road. The residents have requested that something be done by the City of Mauldin to either slow or limit the traffic, or, at the very least, to make the road safer.

Given that the streets that parallel Crestwood have speed humps, the Crestwood Drive residents hoped for the same. The street is used by city services vehicles and being that some of those vehicles could be ambulances, the likelihood of speed humps — which would slow vehicles down — seems improbable.* That being the case, the residents hope that maybe the road could become more pedestrian-friendly, either through widening or through the installation of sidewalks.

The good news for the Crestwood Drive residents is that the city is aware of the issue. The installation of sidewalks is part of the city’s comprehensive plan, which was created in 2009 (see attached pdf file).

The bad news is that those sidewalks are not as high on the priority list as some other projects. According to John Gardner, who is the City Planner, other projects merit more immediate consideration.

“We want to get the Route 276 project started,” he said.

by the state earlier this month.

The city is also working with the state to . In addition to being lower down on the priority ladder, there is the matter of what work on Crestwood Drive would cost. The price tag for putting in sidewalks on Crestwood Drive is estimated to be at least $250,000.

Gardner has spoken with the citizens concerned about traffic at Crestwood Drive and has recommended they pursue the city’s traffic calming mechanism.

* - As a clarification, this sentence originally indicated that ambulances used Crestwood Drive to perform emergency services. That is not necessarily the case and no member of the city council or city staff said that the street is used for that purpose.