A good day. A project I’ve been working on for some time received front page coverage in the Charleston Post & Courier. There’s much more to be done, but public recognition like this lifts the spirits, and hopefully will make a difference to the good — for the future. Read the text-only version of the article here:
“Cooks Crossroads Could Become a Gateway to Summerville Area’s
History”
by Brenda Rindge, The Post & Courier – December 11, 2018
A barren intersection on the oldest road in the state could one day become a gateway that draws residents and tourists alike. At the juncture of S.C. Highway and historic Ashley River Road, also known as S.C. Highway 61, Cooks Crossroads represents “the last true rural crossroad in the greater Summerville area,” according to Dorchester County officials.
And it eventually could become a place where visitors shop or dine, learn about history or even live, under a recent award-winning design plan.
The plan calls for building shops, restaurants and houses while preserving and protecting the cultural landscape along both roads; focusing on low-impact strategies; organizing buildings around shared spaces; using recognizable Lowcountry building types; and designing the landscape to fit the character of the area.
“Cooks Crossroads is a gateway to Summerville and scenic Highway 61,” said Dorchester County Council Chairman Jay Byars. “We have been working to ensure the design standards for future development at this strategic gateway reflect the character of Dorchester County.”
The bustling crossing is part of the 23,828-acre Ashley River Historic District corridor, which was created in 2007 to encourage responsible development by limiting residential density and commercial development. The district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and represents more than 300 years of cultural and ecological significance, officials said.
“The intersection was a strategic crossing during the Revolutionary War that saw the likes of Francis Marion and Benjamin Banastre Tarleton,” said George McDaniel, chairman of the Ashley Scenic River Advisory Council.
To the west are historic Summerville and Colonial Dorchester State Park. To the south, running for miles, is a stretch of Highway 61 that was authorized by an Act of the General Assembly in 1691, although it wasn’t finished until 1721.
Now likely the oldest road in South Carolina still in use, it was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in and declared a National Scenic Byway in 1999.
The two-lane road passes by several historic plantations and churches.
Despite its long history, Cooks Crossroads currently sits in a landscape rapidly changing from rural to suburban. Residents from growing residential areas like Legend Oaks and Summers Corner pass through the area daily on their way to work, school or shopping.
In 2017, an average of 21,200 vehicles traveled daily on Bacons Bridge Road (S.C. Highway 165) between Dorchester Road and Highway 61, according to the state Department of Transportation. The connector road from Bacons Bridge to Highway 61 saw 4,100 cars per day, and about 9000 approached the intersection on Highway 61 from the north.
“I love that it’s a historic area, and maybe they should put up a historical marker, but now, there is so much development, and so much traffic, that I think it’s more important to plan for that,” said Carole Pieper, who lives in nearby Legend Oaks. “In the few years we’ve lived here, traffic has gotten awful, and it’s only going to get worse as more people move in.”
“Development will come to the intersection eventually,” McDaniel said. “It’s better to be prepared now than to try to react when it does.”
“If we don’t do something right at Cooks Crossroads, there’s no fallback,” he said. “We can’t move down the road and start again or go up to Dorchester Road.”
Years ago, some in the county wanted the intersection of Bacons Bridge and Dorchester Roads to be a gateway to the historic area, but their plan couldn’t get enough support. Today, that area has convenience stores on two corners and a drug store on another.
“We can look at this intersection and know what we don’t want,” McDaniel said.
Currently, one corner of Cooks Crossroads is occupied by Rosebrock Park, a passive park with a trail that winds through about 70 acres of bottomland forest and wetlands, but the other three are raw land.
Across the river is Ashley River Park, which currently has the Howard Bridgman River Access at Bacons Bridge, and will one day have a fishing pond, fire pit, amphitheater and other features around the existing gazebo, pond and walking trails.
“At the moment, unfortunately, Cooks Crossroads is not very welcoming for pedestrians or bicyclists,” McDaniel said.
Several agencies worked together on a plan called “Standing at the Crossroads — Designing a Gateway for the Future.” It’s a collaborative effort between Dorchester County’s planning and zoning department, its planning commission, the Dorchester Trust Foundation, the S.C. National Heritage Corridor, Urban Design Associates and several private groups.
The plan won the American Planning Association South Carolina Chapter’s Outstanding Planning Project of the Year for Large Urban Jurisdiction.
The document is “a community-supported road map to assist in the creation of a gateway destination that is truly sympathetic to and respectful of Lowcountry heritage,” according to county leaders.
“The task now is to find a developer with the vision and resources to shape the district’s future as a whole, rather than piecemeal, and to implement its designs that create a unique sense of place,” McDaniel said.
Interested in learning more? Check these out:
At the Intersection of Cooks Crossroads and Quality of Life
A frequent writer, speaker, and facilitator about such issues, he can be reached at gmcdaniel4444@gmail.com or through his website at www.mcdanielconsulting.net.
Header Image: Vehicles drive through Cooks Crossroads in Dorchester County. Photo Credit: Lauren Petracca, Post & Courier .
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