But traveling from the island to any of those places these days requires sitting in traffic on Folly Road. Other thoroughfares, such as Harbor View Road, are becoming increasingly crowded, as well, but none compares to Folly.
Like Mount Pleasant's Johnnie Dodds Boulevard, West Ashley's Savannah Highway, or North Main Street in Summerville, Folly Road has become the congested main thoroughfare of James Island.
The reason is simple. According to the latest U.S. Census, James Island's population grew 13 percent from 1990 to 2000 -- from roughly 30,000 to 34,000 -- one of the largest percentage increases in Charleston County.
The island population plus another 15,800 drivers daily travel Folly Road between Central Park and Camp roads, according the state Department of Transportation.
Folly Road commuters should breathe a sigh of relief to learn several projects are aimed at moving vehicles more quickly down the busier portions of the road.
Changes are in the works for the following intersections:
Battery Island Drive and Folly Road: A left turn lane and a right turn lane will be added to Folly Road so that drivers heading to, or from, Folly Beach will have designated turn lanes to access Battery Island Drive. With a 50 mph speed limit, which means drivers often go 60 or 65 mph, it was a dangerous intersection, said state Rep. Wallace Scarborough, whose district includes James Island and Folly Beach.
Since taking office three years ago, Scarborough has been listening to residents complain about the speed of Folly Road and the difficulty accessing Battery Island Drive. More than 15,000 cars travel through the intersection daily, with new subdivisions like Ocean Neighbors bringing in more traffic to the two-lane road.
The project will be put out for bid in November.
Timing all signaled intersections from the base of the James Island connector to Fort Johnson Road:
Lights from the James Island connector to Eugene Gibbs Street are synchronized, meaning they operate on the same timer. The city of Charleston owns and operates them. The city will add three lights, starting from Camp and Folly roads to Fort Johnson and Folly roads, to its timing system. When complete, all traffic lights from the the connector to Fort Johnson Road will be on the same timing system. Synchronizing those lights will relieve traffic on the road, said Hernan Pena, director of the city's traffic and transportation department.
"Will it solve the traffic problem south of the (James Island) connector? No," Pena said. "The signal system will not solve that. But during the morning and other off-peak hours, it will eliminate congestion."
Funding for the project has been approved by the Charleston County Transportation Committee. Pena said the lights will be synchronized with the existing lights on Folly Road when the money becomes available.
Drainage project at Camp and Folly roads: In short, the pipes are old and too thin to hold and move all the water. The intersection is almost guaranteed to flood on a rainy day.
Jim Armstrong, construction contracts manager with the Charleston County Public Works Department, said the department has completed preliminary designs to rework the pipes at the intersection.
In a few weeks, the plans will be given to the state DOT. That agency will decide whether to bring the drainage systems up to today's standards.
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