From The Blog

KICA Improves Pedestrian Safety With Island-wide Upgrades in 2024

KICA’s common property leisure trails are your pathways to adventure on the island. In the 2023 member survey, 96% of respondents reported using Kiawah’s leisure trails frequently or sometimes, making them one of KICA’s most popular amenities.

This level of use means that KICA is consistently looking to improve the member experience on these critical pathways. In 2024, some exciting projects will make leisure trail use safer and more pleasurable when you hit the trail.

Easier Transitions

A KICA contractor will be on the island during February, addressing leisure trail transitions that can make for a bumpy ride. The new transitions will mean a seamless shift onto roadway crossings, making the trails more accessible for all users. The current work will address the area with the largest variance between the trail and the transition. Other areas will be addressed in future work.

Striping on Most-Used Trail Segments

The association will add trail striping on the leisure trail alongside the Kiawah Island Parkway from the Main Gate to Vanderhorst Gate and along Governor’s Drive down Flyway Drive to the Allee of Oaks trail. The new centerline striping will help keep pedestrian and bicycle traffic flowing safely in either direction on the most frequently used section of KICA leisure trail. During this work, segments of the trail will be closed. More information will be provided before work gets underway.

Updates to Crosswalks

Two crosswalks that are located in difficult spots will be reconfigured in the first half of the year to make them more safe. The crosswalk at Kiawah Beach Drive and Kiawah Island Parkway will include a crosswalk and flashing signals. These signals will help remind motorists to be attentive to crossing in the area. 

Plans to relocate the crosswalk on Governors Drive just past the V-Gate from the busy intersection are awaiting approval. The move will ensure motorists have pedestrians and cyclists clearly in their field of vision longer and can slow or stop as appropriate. (Remember that South Carolina law requires motorists to yield the right-of-way when people are in the crosswalk.)

Additional Roadway Markings (Sharrows and Crosswalks)

Some portions of Flyway Drive with no adjacent leisure trail are being updated to include roadside sharrows. The sharrows are street markings that direct drivers to share the road with bicyclists traveling on this portion of Flyway Drive. Please ensure that you comply with Flyway’s lower speed limit (20 mph) and safely share the road.

A crosswalk (above) has been added at the intersection of Flyway, Bufflehead and Glen Abbey. This crosswalk will make your walk to the beach and KICA’s most-used boardwalk (32) easier. 

In the Preserve, a crosswalk (above) now connects neighborhood trails to the main leisure trail system adjacent to Governors Drive, providing safer island access for those visiting KICA facilities (including Cinder Creek Pavillion and Kayak Launch, Blue Heron Pond View Tower and the Eagle Point Boat Launch) as well as owners who live in the area.

Trail System Ratings

While the projects above will make a big difference in the usability of the trail system, KICA also conducts an annual engineering assessment of all trails, similar to the assessment done on island roadways, in order to ensure all trails are meeting Kiawah’s maintenance standards, as directed by the KICA board of directors. The 2024 trail survey is underway now, and the results of the survey will help determine future leisure trail projects.