City Oks 2-Lane Bellview, Dedicates Fire New Trucks
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Anderson City Council on Monday voted unanimously to move ahead with a plan to convert Bellview Road into a two-lane road with bike lanes on each side.
Though council some members expressed concerns about speeding vehicles on the road and lack of a crossing point to the park, in the end the consensus was that the plan made sense for the road and was a step in the right direction.
Bellview Road Ronnie Whitfield resident told council he is worried the move could make things worse for residents in the area. Whitfield asked council to table the resolution until there were more opportunities to receive feedback from his neighbors.
A state road, Bellview was on the South Carolina Department of Transportation list for repaving and their engineers recommended the changes in the road to the City of Anderson. Ultimately, the state has the authority to move ahead with the plan with or without the support of city council.
The goal of repositioning the road is “traffic calming,” which aims for greater safety and the slowing down traffic with the redesign.
Traffic calming is a set of physical changes made to roads to encourage drivers to slow down. These changes are intended to make roads safer for all road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists.
Bellview, which was built with a capacity of 25,000 vehicles per day, currently averages 5,700 vehicles per day (with one percent being large truck traffic). For comparison, Reed Road averages 9,200 (2 percent truck traffic) and Concord Road 12,200.
City Councilman Jeff Roberts, Seat 3, added to the resolution a “Your Speed” sign on the road, while Councilman Greg Steele, Seat 6, added the additional adjustment of some sort of marked crossing of the road to allow safer passage to the park.
The newly configured Bellview would provide 12-foot lanes in each direction, a 12-foot center lane, and six-foot bicycle lanes on each side. The road, which is rescheduled for paving this year, has been identified as a place for opportunities that improve mobility and connectivity for bicycle and pedestrian activity. The road is part of the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, due to its location, length, residential character and nearby park.
The four-lane road, constructed in the 1960s, stretches from Concord Avenue to S.C. 81, and originally marked the northeast edge of the city.
Earlier on Monday, council dedicated two new fire trucks at Fire Station One downtown. The new trucks replace a pair of fire trucks which were nearly 20 years old. A committee from the City of Anderson Fire Department traveled to Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton, Wisconsin to inspect the trucks before delivery and to customize the trucks for local use. City of Anderson Fire Chief Charlie King said the new trucks will provide better service to the community and will be safer and more efficient for firefighters.
