Sam Rittenberg Boulevard Redesign

PROJECT NARRATIVE 

 The Sam Rittenberg Boulevard Redesign is an opportunity to create an attractive, functional, multi-modal main street in West Ashley that supports vibrant neighborhoods and mixed use redevelopment opportunities.  It is currently designed to accommodate automotive movement first and foremost. Sam Rittenberg Boulevard bisects the other main corridors traversing the length of West Ashley and was originally designed as a way to connect the burgeoning suburban community to the naval yard for employment. In a span of sixty years it evolved into the suburban commercial corridor with wide multilane travel adjoining large surface parking fields.  At first, this contributed to the growth of West Ashley into the bedroom community for peninsular Charleston and North Charleston. We now have the opportunity to recreate this corridor for the same reasons. Sam Rittenberg Boulevard presents excellent development opportunities for existing businesses, new businesses, housing, and community services; it also presents opportunities for improved connectivity, a more walkable multi-modal design, and beautification.

The corridor has been studied by the City’s Design Division (2014) and Plan West Ashley (2017). Both identified opportunities to improve not only the look and function of the street but encourage revitalization of surrounding properties. Since those efforts, there has been some commercial redevelopment along the corridor, however these changes did not include right-of-way improvements or substantially enhanced the character of the community.  The Sam Rittenberg Boulevard Redesign will produce a set of documents which will prioritize the closing of excessive drive cuts, extend the multi-use trail from the Old Towne District section of the corridor, where and how to install traffic control medians and planted medians. 

EXISTING CONDITIONS

Sam Rittenberg Boulevard/SC 7 is primarily six travel lanes with dedicated left turns; it runs from Savannah Highway/US 17 to the south and connects to North Charleston via a bridge over the Ashley River. The corridor consists of suburban retail land uses with large parking lots and numerous driveways. Residential neighborhoods with street grid systems are adjacent to the northern portion of the corridor. Portions of the right-of-way south of Ashley River Road include continuous sidewalks with little separation from travel lanes and pedestrian crossings are limited to the traffic signal controlled intersections. There are other substantial sections of Sam Rittenberg Boulevard where there are no sidewalks and obsolete drainage infrastructure. An asphalt shared use path east of Sam Rittenberg provides bicycle and pedestrian connection to north of Poston Road to Northbridge Park (south of the Ashley River).   

Although Sam Rittenberg Boulevard is considered the main commercial street for West Ashley, the annual average daily trips by automobiles is one of the lower counts in the area. The majority of corridor typically handles about 26,000 to 29,500 ADT.  Some sections that merge into other primary commuter routes, such as the section between Orange Grove Road and Cosgrove Road, carry approximately 47,800 ADT (based on data from SCDOT traffic data web map).

The corridor extends along some of the higher areas of land within the City of Charleston. The City’s comprehensive plan (City Plan), identifies future land uses in this high area as  City Center and Neighborhood Edge. City Center is intended to steer high levels of investment and development to areas of the city that have the infrastructure and elevation to support it.   Neighborhood edge reflects how these areas can support neighborhood services and should be connected by multiple means into the surrounding areas. 

PROJECT MISSION

This redesign will transform Sam Rittenberg Boulevard into a place people want to go to rather than a place they simply travel through. It will prioritize the movement and safety of people, maintaining vehicular mobility while creating vibrant, reliable, and resilient corridor for all. 

TIMELINE 

RFP posted December 2024

RFP closed January 2025

Selection March 2025

Contract signed May 2025

Conceptual Meeting December 2025

30% Design Documents for Phase 1&2 Summer 2026

PROJECT ANALYSIS AND CONCEPTUAL DESIGN

Click on the image to access interactive map 

Click here to access :  Analysis report.

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