Shocking Bus News

Not only shocking, but cutting edge.

A 2006 DaimlerChrysler mock up of the diesel hybrid system.

Just for illustration: please don't kick the bus:)

The Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority (PDRTA to those in the know) have just landed a $3.2 million grant to purchase low-floor diesel-electric hybrid buses, and to improve PDRTA’s maintenance facility in support of their operation.

What does this mean, you ask?

Not only does it mean cleaner air for the area (we are close to EPA standards for ozone) but it also means better options for riders and PDRTA drivers. According to Janice Baroody, Executive Director of PDRTA, there are many riders that use wheelchairs. This low-floor bus kneels and deploys a ramp to greet wheelchair patrons. Ms. Baroody goes on the say that drivers won't need to deploy the ramp themselves, thus saving time on the routes.

What looks to be a GM hybrid diesel with a ramp.

What's left to do? PDRTA still needs to go through the public comment period for adding these funds to budgets, offer the project to bidding companies, then taking delivery. All in all, it will take another year or two before Florence is the only transit system with hybrid buses.

And one last note: two PDRTA riders, Casey and Ethan, make an appearance on http://wall.publictransportation.org/ telling their story of why they like transit.

Check it out. Report back. Let us know how we are doing.

New FLATSPress available

The Florence Area Transportation Study has released the February 2010 newsletter.

See the newsletter here:

From Newletters

This issue includes articles about air quality, the 2035 transportation plan, enhancement grants and the comprehensive plan.

Please send us your feedback and offer new topics for us to address in the next issue.

Hybrid Rebates Anyone?

The $500 hybrid rebate offer continues until 06/30/10. This rebate was approved for a second year by County Council to encourage "greener choices". Florence County continues to lead the way in improving our air quality and with your help we can make it happen!

Last fiscal year we issued eight rebates to Florence County residents. Six residents were from Florence, one from Scranton and one from Olanta. They were the proud owners of the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, or the GMC Yukon. These are only a few of the hybrids that qualify for the rebate.

Our first recipient this year is Peggy Brown from Florence. Ms. Brown purchased a Toyota Prius and states that she "LOVES" her car.

If you are in need of a vehicle, we hope that you will consider a new hybrid. The fuel reduction creates significant savings that you will realize over a period of time. This in addition to the reduction of harmful emissions makes the hybrid purchase a wise choice for anyone.

Please visit http://www.florenceco.org/ for more information and the application. A $500 rebate may be awaiting you!

A Week of Public Hearings in Florence

A busy week for the informed public...

Tonight:

6:30PM (City County Complex, Room 803) - the Planning Commission meets with an agenda including an amendment to the Administrative Procedures of the Comprehensive Plan. In essence, this document directs how the Comprehensive Plan is utilized and updated. Tonight's update proposes to amend the Procedures so a Comp Plan amendment and a zoning or re-zoning request can go ahead at the same time.

6:30PM (SiMT, Florence-Darlington Tech, 1951 Pisgah Road) - the State's DHEC holds a Q&A and a public hearing about an air quality permit requested by Johnson Controls, who is slated to build a battery recycling plant on Paper Mill Road.

Thursday:

5:00PM (Timmonsville High School) - the SCDOT holds a public hearing about the widening of 76 from I-95 west to Timmonsville. This is the second public hearing and may show an update to the Main Street intersection.

Let me know if you have any questions.

TPAC is on a roll!

Tuesday we had our second TPAC, Transportation Plan Advisory Committee, meeting for the Long Range Transportation Plan. We had a great turn out of members who knew the problem areas and were anxious to express their ideas since the previous meeting.

It seems that the concensus of the (LRTP) questionnaire was that we needed to work on connectivity, bike and pedestrian friendly streets, and trying to make things more appealing to the eye. The combination of these ideas will make getting from point"A" to point "B" less stressful, maybe even enjoyable!

The previously mentioned round-a-bout for five/six points will not work because of the the large footprint that would be required. Another alternative may be to make one of the intersecting streets inbound only. Then there are those that say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"! What do you think?

All agreed that the East Palmetto corridor coming from the airport to the hospital is a definite eyesore and needs to be cleaned up. This is one of the gateways to our City and requires much attention.

South Irby Street is highly traveled and begs for help. Safety is the biggest issue whether it is for motorist, pedestrians, or bicyclist. They all use Irby Street (maybe in fear). Proper turn lanes, controlling curb cuts, plantable medians, and pedestrian elements were some of the suggestions that need to be incorporated.

TPAC thinks it's all about raising the level of service and the more bang for your buck!

What do you think?

Attention All Paddlers!

Anyone out there familiar with The Scenic Rivers Program, established by the SC Scenic Rivers Act 1989? I wasn't until I was fortunate enough to be asked to join the Lynches Scenic River Advisory Committee. The upper section of the Lynches River was designated a State Scenic River on March 24, 1994, while the lower section was designated on June 11, 2008.

Thanks to the efforts of SC Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism and SC Department of Natural Resources a grant was received from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and a Lynches Scenic River Water Trail Guide has been created. The guidebook contains information on the portion which flows roughly 111 miles from U.S. Highway 15 Bridge in Lee County to its confluence with the Great Pee Dee River, which by the way, is another SC State Scenic River.

The guidebook is waterproof, however there are specific instructions on how to dry the sheets if the book gets wet. These instructions can be found on the DNR website under Managed Lands and Secenic Rivers. A pdf of the guidebook is also available at this site.

You can pick up a copy of the booklet (FREE!) at any of these locations:
- Florence DNR office;
- Florence County Planning Department;
- Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation Library;
(carded copies will also be available here and at each of the Florence County libraries)
- Naturally Outdoors;
- Two outfitters on the Lynches River (River Ratz & Swamp Fox);
- Lynches River County Park;
- Woods Bay State Park;
- Lee State Park; and
- The Cotton Museum in Bishopville.

Poster size signs with specific information will be placed at the following landings:
- Highway 15, Lee County;
- Highway 76, Sumter County;
- Highway 401, outside of Olanta;
- Half Moon Landing, above Johnsonville;
- Highway 41/51, Odell Venters Landing;
- Lynches River County Park @ canoe landing and @ Highway 52 landing.

Small blue "South Carolina Scenic River" tree signs will be posted visible by water or land at other landings available to the public. No signs will be posted on private landings.

The date, time and location of the Dedication has yet to be determined. I'll keep you posted.

I can't begin to elaborate on all of the great information this guidebook contains. So, run out and pick one up soon (limited supply of FREE books) and take it with you on your next outting on the Lynches River. I've got mine and my outting is in the works. See you on the river!

About a Coalition

I was recently invited to a meeting of a particular area in Florence County where stakeholders (landowners, businesses, etc.) met to discuss ways to preserve natural resources and their rural heritage.

The group is at a stage where there are tons of strong ideas floating about, but nothing on paper. As the group shapes its objectives, they are finding that they first need a geographic focus.

The recent meeting included a presentation by Noel Thorn, a real estate developer, turned farmer, turned negotiator - in essence, someone who knows the importance of protecting natural resources while providing affordable housing, education and jobs.

Mr. Thorn may have given the group a good direction to begin organizing the way they want their community to look. First thing's first: establish your boundary, establish your stakeholders, establish your goals that include the future economic viability of sustaining their commmunity.

I am very excited about working with this group. For a County planner, this affords an opportunity to work close and share potential regulatory tools to help residents realize their objectives while working with planners  across jurisdictional boundaries.

What about your community? Do you have everything you need and want in your neighborhood? If not, talk with your neighbor and invite me to a meeting so we can get your sustainable neighborhood started!

Earth Day - County's frugal plan

Did you walk to work or school today? It is a perfect day for a walk or bicycle ride anywhere around town. Need to go to lunch at the mall? - take the bus. PDRTA has a route that passes through the area (did you know they added yet another route for the southern part of the City of Florence).

All of these questions lead me to wish you a happy Earth Day and give you a perspective on how the County wants to save money by being frugal.

As you know, we are working on the Comprehensive (thinking BIG) Plan. The plan outlines where we are now and where we see ourselves in the next 30 years. I told you it was big. 

The element we are currently working on is the Future Land Use - how and where the County will grow over this long period of time. This is the quintescential plan of plans! I know many people don't know (or don't care?) and haven't read their County's Comprehensive Plan (and ours has pretty pictures, too!), but let me share what is drafted so far in the opening paragraph:

The Future Land Use Element represents a culmination of many elements of the Florence County Comprehensive Plan. Information from the Population, Community Facilities, Economic Development and Natural Resources elements are utilized to create the foundation for directing responsible future growth in the County. The Future Land Use element incorporates the analysis and future strategy of these elements and emphasizes sustainability and prudence as the priority objective for growth. The overarching goal is to create efficiency in utilizing our manufactured and natural infrastructure.

Feel free to send me any feedback.

I recently read some interesting material comparing the effectiveness of frugality and efficiency in a sort of 'chicken or the egg' discussion. Except, this time the benefit is clear to be frugal before being efficient; whereas, the opposite holds little confidence of arriving at both. 

For example, limiting the exent to grow beyond municipal boundaries (frugality) may lead to more efficient housing opportunities within the boundary. A example in the contrary - high density residential zoning allowed anywhere in reference to municiapal services creates sprawl, much like what is found on Alligator Road. This second example, although efficient this example highlights an antithesis to frugality.

All these ideas tie into sustainability and minimizing our ecological footprint. How are you reducing your footprint this Earth Day?

Oh, and one more thing - ozone forcast for today and the past few days have been green! Good Job!

Hitting the Presses

Florence County had some great Saturday coverage this past weekend. 

First, the front page article was covering the County $500 rebate on hybrid vehicles. To find the application and procedures to apply, clicking here takes you to a pdf document on the Florence County homepage. Also, if you would like a list of qualifying vehicles, send me an e-mail.

Then, the editorial board gave Florence County a thumbs up for the future land use public meetings occurring this and next Thursday. We have been garnering some great conversations and hope even more residents come out to review and comment on the proposed future land uses. You may look at the maps ahead of time at the County Planning website. Scroll to 'Future Land Use maps."

In other news this week, we will be initiating the FLATS (our local transportation planning responsibility for the urban area) Long-Range Transportation Plan. This plan, like the Future Land Use Plan is a long-range look to anticiapate future transportation needs in the area. And, of course, there will be many opportunities for the public to get involved with the process. We'll keep you posted on its status.

Sustainability in Florence County

I am very excited about the next County Council meeting this Thursday at 9:00AM. Aside from the Community Facilities Element of the Comprehensive Plan being introduced, so are some very cool hybrid vehicle and 'greening your home' incentive programs for County residents.

That's right - the County will help you to 'green' your lifestyle! 

This link will open up the agenda - look on page 3, it's the first resolution. More specifically, the entire resolution can be found from this link on pages 20 and 21.

The County jumped on air quality initiatives at the first sign of potentially missing the new ozone standards. The Planning Department has been following our air quality very closely (see our August 2008 blog) and also presented a list of options to the Council on October 16, 2008. This incentive program was on the list together with an anti-idling policy for all employees.

The anti-idling policy is in the process of being incorporated into our Personnel Policy Manual!

Watch the Council meeting live.

Let us know what else we need to focus on to make our community better. Click on the this article's title to leave a comment.

Who's New?

Lisa Jackson, that's who.

She's the new EPA Administrator-designee and she is already listing her goals for her tenure at this federal regulatory agency:

• reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• improving air quality
• managing chemical risks
• cleaning up hazardous waste sites
• protecting water resources

Check out her memorandum to employees posted on the EPA website.

Luckily, Florence County planning is following similar thinking as the EPA. Starting last year with our close 'run-in' with air quality exceeding the EPA's ozone standard. Now, we are focusing on the Future Land Use element (at a public meeting near you) which will include protections for our rivers and stream while improving our governments' ability to provide services to residents.

Are you new too? ...to your neighborhood? ...to planning? ...to comprehensive plans?

Hit The Trails!

Have you been on any of the Florence trails? If not, you don't know what you're missing. They are REALLY NICE!

In 2004, a consultant was brought in by the FLATS committee to develop a Florence Area Bikeway Master Plan. Thanks to the City of Florence's efforts and the grants through FLATS, we now have many trails to enjoy and more in the works.

I'll let you know when we get this Master Plan and the current Trails information in online to view. Look for it in January!

Local hotels and other community organizations have brochures on the Trails system. There has been so much interest from both residents and tourists that we are in the process of having more brochures printed for display.

Anyone out there interested in promoting new bicycle/pedestrian trails or lanes?

Well then you need to join our growing group of volunteers on the Florence Trails Committee. We meet quarterly on the 3rd Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. at the Florence County Planning Department located at 518 S. Irby Street. Call the County Planning Department at 843-676-8600 to have your name added to the e-mail notification list.

We had a great trails meeting last week. The City of Florence updated the committee on the newest trail on Jefferies Creek off National Cemetery Road. It's called the "SWIM" project (Storm Water Improvement - which is important stuff!) This trail should be ready in the spring of 2009.

Happy Trails!

The Week Unfolds

It's only Tuesday, but the Planning team has worked hard enough to believe it's Friday.

The FLATS (Florence Area Transportation Study) Policy committee met yesterday morning to discuss penny sales tax projects, regional road improvements and the long-range transportation plan for the urban Florence area. The Policy Committee gave the go ahead to negotiate with the point-leading consultant, Kimley-Horn, to help with the plan.

Also, the Committee requested more information to make their decision on adding new members to their Committee and the FLATS Study Team (technical team). For the next meeting, we will provide maps of the areas that currently may be better represented with these additional stakeholders.

Last night, the Planning Section visited a full house (about 30 people) Town Hall meeting in Scranton. [I still think it's one of nicest little towns in Florence.] We described the comprehensive plan update and presented their Future Land Use map. Some people were at the Schoolhouse BBQ Town Supper meeting when the townspeople first saw the map.

Interestingly, the one similar comment was made last night: we need a place for kids to hang out after school. One suggestion that was brought up was to utilize school facilities for after-school activities. Try to drum up some volunteers to monitor the schools library and/or gym for community usage. In Scranton, their school is within walking distance from most neighborhoods and is an existing facility!

Sounds good to me.

What else...

...more Comprehensive Plan (scroll down the linked page to see all elements)...

On Thursday, the Planning Commission will be at a working lunch presentation at the Founder's Room of the Library to solicit feedback and affirmation of our direction on the drafted Community Facilities element. We hope to post this element to our website within a couple of weeks, send it to the County Planning Commission agenda in December, and present it to County Council for public hearings starting in early 2009.

...and I would be remiss if I failed to mention air quality opportunities!

DHEC has recently released a request for proposals for a nearly $250K grant to reduce diesel emissions. It just so happens that we presented the County Council with a list of air quality increasing options on October 16th. Two qualifying projects were included in that list: diesel engine upgrades to the County fleet and a truck stop electrification system at Exit 169. This technology allows the truck engines to stop (as opposed to idling all day and night) and hook up to a power outlet and A/C vent, decreasing diesel emissions. Another point: this truck stop is within two miles from the ozone monitor!

Are we busy? Yes.

Want to help review a Comprehensive Plan element, write a grant, gather community support, or share an air quality idea?

Leave us a comment, and we'll be right with you.

Information, Generation, Imagination

The EPA released news last Thursday that tracking power plant emissions is "just a few clicks of a mouse" away. The release explains Power Profiler and EGRID

I did some clicking of my own at their referenced sites: http://www.epa.gov/powerprofiler and http://www.epa.gov/egrid to see what they had to offer.

Power Profiler offers interesting insight into what our area's fuel mix for generating our power. You won't find any 'green' sources; but remember, this data is from 2005 - a little old for such an interactive tool. Also, the information is most specifically based on a national subregion scale. Further, the data only shows the rates for Progress Energy and it's uncertain if that includes Santee Cooper and SCE&G generation plants (if there are any).

It's interesting information, but I feel there should be more specific details available.

Thankfully, EGRID includes 2007 data and is more for the in-depth user who likes to work with spreadsheets. You may download the latest version (17MB) to your hard drive and work on excel files and view summary pdf files. The excel spreadsheets have a nice layout, but have drawbacks in cryptic abbreviated references such as state ID numbers, the 'prime mover type' and 'generator fuel' in the generation file.

Click on the graphic below to view a local selection from the generation table:

It's interesting to see that the Stone Container Florence Mill generates electricity by using a mixture of fuels: coal (23.7%), oil (9.3%), and gas (0.3%) with the majority ascertained from biomass (66.7%). It's also interesting to see that the majority of the plant is owned by CBS Corp. and General Electric.

So, these tools are quite useful if you have some time to dive into it and have some specific generation questions. But, be prepared to use your imagination to find answers.

Planning This Week | September 22, 2008

FLATS - Transportation issues are taking center stage this week. The Florence Area Transportation Study (FLATS, yes, I know you already know that acronym) will be finalizing our recommendation for a contractor to help with the long-range transportation plan and transportation element of the County's comprehensive plan. Three submittals have been reviewed and the final tallies will be completed today.

The next stops: Study Team (a technical group) meeting next month to get the okay to recommend a contractor to the Policy Committee (decision-making body) - also to be scheduled for next month.

October will be busy for transportation planners!

Comprehensive Plan - We are heading to Scranton this Wednesday to discuss our drafted future land use plan with the Town's administration. We should also be able to get a public hearing date to show the plan off to the public.

The Community Facilities element continues to take shape and should be ready as a workshop for the Planning Commission (yes, you guessed it!) next month!

October may be busy for long-range planners!

Air Quality - So many things happening on this front... unfortunately, two meetings have already occurred: The Water and Energy Stakeholder's meeting at Francis Marion University held last Tuesday night and the County Council meeting last Thursday where County Planning presented the status of our air quality.

The Water and Energy meeting was fantastic. The goal was to act as a public forum for a State Senate subcommittee whom are seeking comments about water and energy programs... and they got a lot of comments!

The County Council presentation resulted in the Council requesting a list of potential programs that will be result in cleaner air. So far, this year, we are in attainment - but the next two years will be tough! Send me your ideas to be incorporated into the list to the County Council.

October busy for air quality planners? - oh yeah!

New FLATS Newsletter

As we continue to strive to increase our outreach initiatives, we have just released our 2008 newsletter for the Florence Area Transportation Study (FLATS). Look on the right side of this page for the scrolling pageviews of the new publication.

Click on the pictures to view a bigger image to read.

We will be distributing copies of the newsletter to area-wide stakeholders for the public to access. We will be distributing to the main library, Economic Development, the Florence Chamber and really, anywhere that will increase public awareness.

Please tell us how we are doing - feedback is key!

Commuter Continuum

Welcome to the Commuter Continuum!

What kind of Commute Day is it? Is it a perfect ten? ...or are we stuck in the car?
If we were in an ideal world - we would love our job (as I do!), we would have every transportation option available, we would have the perfect weather everyday (72 degrees, 30% humidity, light breeze from the north, partly cloudy) and we would be able to walk to work in five minutes.

This brings me to thinking about a continuum that would score a particular day with a particular commuting tool or mode. I would rate the above scenario as a perfect ten. However, we don't all live in a ideal world.

Some of us commute to school, others work in Darlington. Some have kids to drop off and errands to run during the day. Still others are retired and only go out to get the paper - but go out later to pick up a few things. It's a mixed-up set of circumstances, but this continuum can still work for you.

1. First, take stock in the types of transportation, or modes, you own (or will own in the near future). For me, it's feet (distance to work allows it), a three year old mountain bike and a five-ear old car. You may also have a skateboard, scooter or motorcycle or a nearby bus stop at your disposal. [Please don't use a riding lawnmower! -see a recent post]
   
   
2. Next, line up your modes on a scale from one to ten, with ten being 'perfect'. Now the meaning of perfect to me is arriving to work under my own power and little or no time constraint: walking is ideal. If I am in a hurry, then a bicycle. As a last resort, or when my score for the day is low, then the car is the option. Unfortunately, a bus stop is not near my house.
   

It's personal - in essence, I want to get to work without using petroleum. It saves on insurance and at the pump... plus I like Florence BBQ, but I want to keep my weight in check!

So my continuum, so far, looks like this:
3. Now, let's add all the mode specific elements that would lean to one side of the spectrum or the other. I am considering time, how long is the commute (Google it), traffic, temperature, humidity, rain in forecast, available shower (my office has one, but do you work close to a gym?), errands to run at lunch?

Now my continuum looks like this:

For me, rain (and illness) is the only factor keeping me in a car for the commute since my distance to work is walkable and bike-able. Likewise, some factors won't spoil the entire score. Today was definitely 100% humidity (the photo above shows the fog!), but I still rode the bike in.

Of course, this continuum may work also for all sorts of travels: small list grocery shopping, visiting neighbors, dropping mail, visiting the gym, going to the library - the list is endless depending on where you live.

A fun exercise is to draw a half-mile line from your house (Google Earth!) to see what is within walking distance, about three to five miles would be biking distance.

Now, if we can just get more sidewalks and bicycle lanes!

So, what's your score and mode? For me, today is a 7 on a bike!

Air Quality Improvements | boats to mowers

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to tighten standards affecting air quality. In March, the EPA lowered allowable ozone levels from 84ppb to 75ppb; now its tackling some of most significant mobile sources that make ozone.

New gas-powered lawn equipment and boat engines including mowers, trimmers, inboard and outboard engines, will all need to comply with the new EPA standard by 2010 and 2011.

Garden equipment under 25 horsepower must meet the standard by 2011 while the full range of watercraft engines must be up to specifications by 2010.

EPA states that about 600,000 tons of hydrocarbons, 130,000 tons of nitrous oxides (NOx) and 5,500 tons of particulate matter will be thwarted from emissions while saving about 190 million gallons of gasoline each year.

These numbers are significant for Florence County - more so for the lawn equipment then the watercraft engines. Lawn mowers, blowers and trimmers pollute 25% more emissions than our automobiles. This improvement on these emissions will help with the County's ozone problem.

So, are these new regulations a good thing? You tell me!

Planning This Week | September 4, 2008

FLATS - The Selection Committee has received qualifications for consultants interested in completing the long range transportation plan and transportation element of the County's comprehensive plan. By the end of next week, our reviews of submitted qualifications should be mostly completed with a recommendation to the Study Team and Policy Committee for a contractor.

Also, staff is almost ready to return a Title VI compliance review as requested by SCDOT. Title VI federal code language focuses on ensuring non-discrimination and is based on the 1964 Civil Rights Act. FLATS already has a complaint process as described in the Public Participation Process (pdf, p.13-14). However, FLATS staff may need additional training which SCDOT may offer after reviewing all of the surveys.


If you have any questions or comments about Title VI or have noticed any discrimination on transportation projects in Florence, please contact us. You may also reach us by phone: 843 676-8600 - ask for 'transportation study'.

And lastly, we are working up our first newsletter. In this age of e-mail, blogging and websites, who needs a newsletter? Well, it's just another way to communicate with those who like to read in print. The newsletter will highlight air quality, land use and the long range plan. [and we'll distribute it via e-mail and post it on the web]


Comprehensive Plan - The future land use element is moving right along. We are getting a lot of help, too. The Town of Olanta will be holding their public meeting on October 9th. The Town of Quinby may hold theirs in November as they continue the planning discussion from the last Tuesday into their October meeting. I hope all the residents will get out to the respective town council meetings to take action on the plan.

We are looking for a lot of answers. "Where would you take your family when they come to visit?" "Where do you avoid taking friends when they come to town?"

Questions like these provide insight into where the heart of a community is located as well as where portions of the community need some help.

Of course, we want your questions, too. We'll try to answer them truthfully based on our knowledge about sustainable neighborhoods.



Air Quality - We are golden! Our air quality has not spiked since July 17th. And my predictions were wrong, I admit... but there is one day that the ozone wasn't recorded, which I am checking.

If we keep our air quality in check for the remainder of this year, our design value to beat next year would be 79ppb (as opposed to this year at 77ppb).

Unfortunately, today our upstate neighbors are feeling depressed air quality.

Our awarded SC Urban and Community Forestry grant is being tapped for staff training next week. Three members will be attending the Carolina Arborist Workshop in Columbia on Thursday. It's an all-day seminar that presents standard tree maintenance practices for safety and nursery stock.

The forestry grant will also be utilized for membership, study material and certification into the Southern Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. We are also anticipating on attending a parking lot seminar in Charleston and the annual conference in Greenville, both at the end of October. The certification test will be offered in February.

As we have blogged before, the push for this grant was in response to the area's decreasing air quality coupled with less-than-sustainable development practices. Low impact development improves water and air quality as well as development costs. Contact us if you want to know when our next sustainable development presentation will be held.

Planning This Week | August 18, 2008

FLATS - Data, data and more data. We are compiling even more data into a map in order for SCDOT to run a congestion model. In essence, facts such as population, dwelling units, employment, school enrollment and locations of new building permits are compiling onto a map and then a program looks at all those pieces of information to determine where the most traffic will be in the future. It's cool!

But, one thing - everyone that I have talked to about trying to model traffic say it's like herding cats!

It's a chaos model because each of us is, well, unpredictable. So, since we are so unpredictable, we rely on models that give us a clue of traffic based on things we know - like how many people are enrolled at Francis Marion University over the past two seasons.

It's an interesting exercise - and with the long range plan ready to be redone, this congestion model will give our consultant some more information to use.

Also - our Request for Qualitifications for a consultant to help on our long range plan and Tranportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan has just closed and we currently have a few submissions. A selection committee will review these documents over the next week and recommend a consultant to the FLATS Policy Committee no later than October.

Comprehensive Plan - In addition to the news above, we are heavy into Land Use and Community Facility elements of the Comp Plan. Last Friday, we met with the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem of Olanta to review a draft of the Future Land Use map. With only a few changes, Mayor Sims scheduled a public hearing so residents of Olanta and their neighbors may review and comment on the map. The meeting will be October 7th 6:30 PM at the Olanta City Hall.

Air Quality - Thank goodness, it's been good! All of this rain makes for good air quality. And with Tropical Storm Fay, this trend should continue all week. E-mail me if you want regular air quality notifications.

I am still curious about some predictions that should prove (or disprove) themselves this week. Of course, school is now back in session, so all those idling cars and old buses (25% are 19 years or older) may take their toll on our air quality record.

We are still working on tree preservation code language and will be scheduling a public 'roll out' hopefully in the next month. The basic protections we are proposing include a minimum 15 trees/ acre and preservation of certain sized species. Furthermore, we are proposing development buffers along roadways and minimum planting requirements in parking lots.

Why are we doing this?

The importance of healthy trees and tree canopy can never be underestimated. At last week's LID presentation, a couple stats about a full grown tree include displacement of 1500 gallons of water and decreasing surface temperatures by 10 degrees. These stats translate directly to stormwater management and energy conservation. Other benefits include increasing air quality, which has challenged us for the past four months.