Calhoun Street Safety SMART Grant

In March 2024, the City of Charleston was awarded $914,550 in federal funding  to address significant road safety and traffic issues on Calhoun Street.

The Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) program was established to provide grants to eligible public sector agencies to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart community technologies and systems in order to improve transportation efficiency and safety.

Click here to learn more about the USDOT SMART Grants Program.

About the Project:

With $914,550 in funding, the City will address the current bicycle and pedestrian safety problems associated with the Calhoun Street corridor of downtown Charleston, which is the highest pedestrian and bicycle crash roadway segment in the state of South Carolina. The City will implement a connected vehicle and traffic responsive (TR) signal system on Calhoun Street and deploy a cutting-edge, end-to-end pedestrian and bicycle safety platform to prevent crashes and near-misses with pedestrians and cyclists.

SMART
SMARTicons

Grant Updates from the Project Team:

October 2023: The City applied for the SMART Stage 1 Grant.

March 14, 2024: The City was awarded $914,550 in federal funds via the SMART Grant.

July 10-11, 2024: Traffic & Transportation (T&T) staff attended the SMART Grant Summit at the Volpe Center in Cambridge, MA to discuss project delivery with other recipients.

July 16, 2024: The City's SMART initiative was deemed a non-infrastructure project by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and is excluded from Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act requirements.

July 25, 2024: The SMART initiative received a NEPA Categorical Exclusion from FHWA.

September 12, 2024: The grant agreement was signed and fully executed.

November 6, 2024: The Request for Proposal to install SMART equipment was advertised to vendors.

February 13, 2025: The City selected a vendor and provided the notice to proceed.

June 2025: The system began collecting data.

Next steps: Configure the system with the traffic cabinets, launch the Smartphone App, implement signal timing plans based on system collected data.








Charleston's SMART Grant is in the News:

Grant Targets Pedestrian Safety on Charleston's Calhoun Street

Post & Courier    September 2024

charlestonmedical

SMART Grant Implementation Would Help Make Calhoun Street Intersections Safer

ABC 4 News WCIV   June 2024

meetingcalhoun

Proposed $900k Pilot Program Could Make Dangerous Charleston Corridor Safer

Live 5 WCSC    May 2024

calhounlockwood