Billy Keyserling

Events in and around Beaufort


 From time to time I receive what I consider to be interesting information that I share through this newsletter. When it is a link I check it out before sharing.

 

Unfortunately, because it came from friend who is a reliable source, I did not check out the "do not call" list notice which appears to be a hoax.  

 

I am not sure that it can interfere with your computer as I did it before posting and found nothing unusual.  That said, I wanted to warn those who have not yet opened yesterday's newsletter that it is not what it appears to be and will not accomplish what it promises.

 

Sorry.

 

Have a wonderful weekend.

 

best

 

billyk

 

  

Exhibit Associated with the National Endowment/USCB Teachers Institute on Reconstruction.  The Public is invited to see the exhibit and meet institute participants who may be there.

 

Beaufort's Jim Gibson Cooks Whole Hog on Cooking Channel. 


 

In January The Cooking Channel asked Beaufort attorney Jim Gibson to cook whole hog BBQ for a segment of a cooking show called Man,Food and Fire. The Segment was taped in March and be aired on the 


 

Cooking Channel on July 28 at 8:00 pm as part of season 4 of Man ,Food and Fire "Low Country Cooking". 


 

It will be shown again at midnight that same day and then again on Aug. 2.

 






 

 

TRAFFIC NOTICE:

SC Highway 170 Lane Restrictions

SC Highway 170 Widening Project


 

According to a news release from Cleland Site Prep, both the northbound and southbound lanes on SC Highway 170 will have lane restrictions between the intersection of SC Highway 170/US Highway 278 to the SC Highway 46 traffic circle, Sunday, July 26, 2015 to Friday, July 31, 2015, from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m.  These lane restrictions are necessary for the Contractor to place the final asphalt surface course.

 

Drivers traveling near the project's construction zone are asked to be aware of equipment and crews working in the area at all times. The public is also asked to notice traffic control signs, reductions in speed limit, and message board information.  All road work is dependent on the weather.  The traveling public should expect delays.


 

Please direct questions regarding these restrictions to Cleland Site Prep at 843-987-0500. 



 


 

New Beaufort fire station 

on schedule, on budget


 

Beaufort's new Ribaut Road fire station is on schedule for completion by December and is within budget at the halfway point, city leaders said.


 
As of mid-July, the heavy steel framing is complete, the electrical and plumbing rough-in installations are underway, site drainage and the site sewer system are about 90 percent done and the water system connections are about 75 percent complete.


 

 "Even with our almost daily thunderstorms and occasional heavy rain, the crews have done a great job to keep this project moving forward," Beaufort City Manager Bill Prokop said. "It's a much-needed project and we are looking forward to making it operational."

 

In coming weeks, roof sheeting will be installed and brickwork will begin. An access road will be rough-graded. The site is geographically positioned between Port Royal's main station and Beaufort's current Fire Headquarters near the intersection of Ribaut and Boundary Street.

 

The total cost of the project, including land, furnishings and technology, is $3,299,837. Costs include stormwater improvements for the immediate area.

 

The Beaufort City Council in January agreed to move forward with construction of the new Beaufort Fire Station at 1120 Ribaut Road. The new facility will replace the outdated one beside Beaufort Middle School and across from Mossy Oaks Elementary on residential Mossy Oaks Road. City Council hasn't decided what to do with that property after the new facility opens.


 

 "The location of this new fire station will provide seamless coverage between the main Beaufort station and our main fire station in Port Royal," Port Royal Town Manager Van Willis said. "It's good to see the project rising up so fast."


 

 When the new station is completed, firefighting equipment will be moved from the Mossy Oaks Road. Fraser Construction is leading the work on the new facility.

 "Fire protection is such an important service for the residents of Beaufort and Port Royal, and building this new station is essential to the Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department. So far we are very pleased with the progress," said David Coleman, senior projects manager for Beaufort.


 

 In the time since the city bought the original property at 1120 Ribaut Road property in September 2013, it also acquired a smaller parcel adjacent the Love House Ministries' bowling alley. The additional land addresses road access, stormwater management and other site conditions. The fire station will be accessible from Bowling Alley Lane, a street to the rear of the property.


 

 Beaufort Fire Chief Sammy Negron said the new Ribaut Road location offers:

  •        Direct access to the main artery between Beaufort and Port Royal
  •        Easy and efficient travel times to the entire coverage area for this fire                         station 
  •         Excellent geographical positioning to reinforce and enhance the ISO 2 rating                that helps reduce commercial fire insurance premiums
  •        Limited impact on neighborhoods
  •        Greater distance from large schools than the current Mossy Oaks station
  •        Smooth traffic flow for fire vehicles, including direct access to the rear of the               facility (eliminating fire trucks having to back into the bays).

We are not a big city and some is not relevant, but it is an interesting read

 

How and Why Cities Are Catering To Bicyclists

in Community Development


 

Extracted from Efficient Gov

 

A growing number of cities across the country are not only building bicycle-friendly infrastructure to meet growing demand, but also experimenting with new technologies to make cycling and alternative transit more appealing.

The goals of these efforts include:

 

Strengthening bicyclist and pedestrian safety

 

Increasing use of alternative/active transportation

 

Reducing traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions

 

Boosting public health, wellness and quality of life

 

According to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, state and federal investment in bicycle facilities between 1999 and 2011 has exceeded $7 billion. To ensure this money is used efficiently, cities are searching for bicycle-friendly best practices.

 

Where To Start?

Municipalities of all sizes should understand the needs of local residents who opt to get around via bicycles rather than personal cars. As more people become less car-dependent, the makeup of the community shifts to favor cyclists and pedestrians not cars. Therefore, the responsibility to protect these populations falls on city planners.

Wendell, for example, recently received a $32,000 Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. One of 10 cities statewide awarded the financing, Wendell will use the grant to plan much-needed sidewalk improvements and expand local pedestrian opportunities, News Observer reported.

 

The city will leverage the funding to:

Examine the existing pedestrian system throughout the entire jurisdiction

Identify any gaps or obstacles standing in the way of improvement

Lay out future extensions and projects to support a growing pedestrian population

Create a strategy to ensure future grants are acquired to keep the projects moving forward

 

The goal of the state grant program is to provide funding for a variety of pedestrian and bicyclist focus strategies that include facility upgrades/construction, safety services and regulations, and public awareness programs, News Oberserver reported.

 

What To Consider?

To encourage more residents to bicycle around the community - or provide the necessary amenities for an already robust cyclist population - cities must promote strong bicycle networks that make alternative transit easy, safe and efficient.

According to a recent study conducted by the University of Minnesota, two factors are key in predicting bicycling commuting success: connectivity and directness. While previous research found correlations between quantity of bicycle infrastructure and community ridership numbers, little was understood as to how the quality of a bicycle network directly impacts riders.

 

To determine how quality affects ridership, the researchers evaluated existing bicycle networks in 74 municipalities and tested the relationships between network analysis and the number of cycling commuters in the city. The goal was to see if detours and gaps in a bicycle network that require riding through uncomfortable conditions would impact ridership.

 

The study found a city's bicycling commuting rate is associated with a number of bike network quality measures including:

Network density

Connectivity

Fragmentation

Directness

 

Density had the greatest impact on the level of bicycle commuting. Therefore, cities should consider increasing the density of a bicycle network to maximize its impact on ridership before expanding its breadth. Planners should also be conscientious of excessive small fragments of bike facilities that can damage ridership volumes.

Furthermore, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration has created a Separated Bike Lane Planning and Design Guide to provide insight on how to build bicycle infrastructure and what key missteps to avoid.

 

What's New?

For cities already full of bicyclists and infrastructure to support them, the next best thing is adding new technology to further drive safety and efficiency.  In New York City, for example, the Citi Bike bike-sharing initiative is working on a new smartphone app that will provide riders with new information and capabilities.

The revamped app will allow riders to access detailed fitness stats while they are using the bicycles, such as how many calories they have burned or miles traveled on their trip. The app can also be used to report a variety of issues regarding the bike-share program including flat tires, broken seats or other complaints.

In Boston, the city's Transportation Department, Department of Information Technology and its New Urban Mechanics group are analyzing citizen-reported data from Waze, a crowdsourced traffic app. The goal of the data mining effort is to find streets where double-parked and illegally-standing cars are most prevalent throughout the city, GCN reported.

 

Once the city has identified the problem areas, bike-riding parking enforcement officers are deployed to get the cars moved and out of the way. Because double-parked cars create traffic congestion, they also increase public safety concerns for both pedestrians and cyclists on the road.

 

Likewise, Houston Ghost Bike has promised the city's police department with a free device used to monitor the distance between cyclists and passing cars. Placed on the handlebars of police bicycles, the devices utilizes lasers to determine whether cars leaving at least 3 feet of space between them and bicyclists - as is required by city ordinance. The goal is to make local police more aware of dangerous driving habits that can lead to increased bicycle crashes, injuries and fatalities, Houston Press reported.

 


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