IslandVibesIOP.com 7 After several years of weighing the benefit of an island traffic study, Isle of Palms City Council members agreed at their July 22 meeting to move forward with plans over the next year, by first sending the proposal back to its Public Safety Committee for more discussion. Though no vote was taken to approve or reject the study, all members favored granting more time toward developing a better proposal, and several favored both public input and partnering with surrounding communities as vital parts of any future action. The original intention was to consider employing Stantec Consulting Services Inc. to conduct an evaluation of vehicular traffic conditions and recommend potential improvements related to peak beach traffic, which usually occurs on Memorial Day weekend and the week of July Fourth. But Councilwoman Jan Anderson, who has long supported an island-wide traffic study, pointed out that because these times have passed, “that window of opportunity is gone for this year.” IOP traffic study to seek input from residents, neighboring communities By L. C. Leach III IOP sets example as hate crime bill stalls at state level SC not among 48 states with hate crime laws By L. C. Leach III NEWS “So I’m proposing that we send out a request for a proposal to a number of engineering firms and get more than one set of ideas of how we can improve traffic on the island,” Anderson said. “There’s also been an expressed interest from one of the council people over in Mount Pleasant to possibly do a joint study with them.” Mayor Phillip Pounds added his approval, saying, “I think Mount Pleasant, Sullivan’s (Island) and the county would all be good partners to have at the table.” IOP tourism, while always healthy in summer, has become popular yearround, with upward of 60,000 visitors per day in peak season, spread across 4.44 square miles of land. "The amount of regional growth we've experienced in the past five to 10 years has had a significant impact on the number of day visitors to the island," said Kathryn Basha, planning director with Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments in 2023. "And this is an issue that city leaders are already grappling with in terms of parking and traffic." Along with new parking arrangements and Palm Boulevard improvements, the traffic study would be the next initiative to help manage IOP’s anticipated growth in visitors. Councilman Jimmy Ward favored city leaders hosting one or two workshops this fall at the recreation center to “open up the idea for discussion among the residents.” Councilmembers Katie Miars and Rusty Streetman said more time and discussion is the best possible next step toward a workable plan. “I have been pushing for a traffic study for three-and-a-half years now,” Anderson said. “And it’s finally on the agenda.” In an effort to further discourage area crime and criminal intent, the Isle of Palms recently became the 21st South Carolina municipality to enact hate crime legislation. The new measure took effect July 22 after the IOP City Council unanimously approved an ordinance pertaining to more than 10 kinds of crime based on personal bias that violate public peace. “We passed a resolution a couple of years ago to ask the state to pass a state-level hate crime bill,” said IOP Mayor Phillip Pounds. “Since they haven’t taken any action yet, we felt the need to join other municipalities and pass a local hate crime bill.” Per the new ordinance, offenses involve crimes motivated by bias or hate towards any person or persons, in whole or in part, because of actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability or national origin. “Our principal intention is to send a message to residents and visitors that those types of crimes aren’t going to be tolerated here,” Pounds said. Penalties for committing these crimes include: • Fines of not more than $500 and/or imprisonment for not more than 30 days. • Community service or participation in an educational program, as set forth by the court. • Restitution up to the limits of the court’s jurisdiction for damages sustained by victims, which may include compensation for medical bills, counseling or therapy or damage to property. A person cannot be found guilty of hate intimidation unless first convicted under the underlying crime; hate intimidation may not be used as a stand-alone crime. As of August 2025, South Carolina and Wyoming are the only states not to have passed any statewide hate crime laws. Of the other 48 states, only 14 have laws against all hate crimes, but each state can include additional types of hate crimes. Other Lowcountry municipalities to enact hate crime legislation are the City of Charleston, Town of Mount Pleasant, City of Myrtle Beach, City of North Charleston and the Town of Summerville. While hate crimes are more public now than in the past, the U.S. Congress passed the first federal hate crime statutes in 1968: one prohibiting violent interference with housing rights and another prohibiting violent interference with several enumerated rights, including voting and employment activities. Other measures have included the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 and the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act in 2022. “So far, we have had very little past problems with this issue,” Pounds said. “But we passed this ordinance because we are trying to be proactive.”
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