Oconee to look at policies for US 123 traffic safety

Improving traffic safety on U-S 123, especially with deceleration lanes and improved access points, must be addressed as the corridor between Seneca and Clemson continues to be one of the county’s hottest areas for new development, according to county officials. The SC DOT has already indicated that any policies the county adopts will be strongly considered as the state makes its own future changes in the highway. After a short joint work session of the Oconee County Council and the County Planning Commission on Tuesday, Council members asked the Commission to go forward with developing policies in three areas:

1) The first would develop a method of assessing the impact of future development along that stretch of SC 123 with an eye toward determining where deceleration and turning lanes should be required as a condition of future development;
2) The second set of policies will look at requiring or encouraging through incentives the consolidation and sharing of driveways and minimizing future curb cuts along the highway;
3) The third set of policies will determine the preferred or maximum number of access points for future development or redevelopment of property along 123.

County officials gave no estimate of the timeline for developing the policies.