Bike path to link Folly through Isle of Palms gets a price tag (Update: Gaining momentum)

Image by Teaser image by Flickr user perctheory A video introduction to the project.

Updates are at the bottom.

Back in early 2010 an effort got underway to link the 24 miles from Isle of Palms through downtown Charleston to Folly Beach with an environment safe enough for experienced riders and youths alike.

Now the Battery2Beach project has a price tag: $20 million.

That's the number The Post and Courier reports that Citadel engineering students came up for a path that would widen roads, add paths, and improve sidewalks.

Take a read of the paper's report here

For comparison, as Bike Charleston once pointed out, a single mile of a four-lane highway can cost in the $20-40 million range. 

If you'd like to support the project, you can help sponsor sections of the route in $100 range.

Update February 1: Charleston Moves has sent out a newsletter alerting cycling proponents that the Battery 2 Beach Initiative recently received some pushes toward making the bike route from Isle of Palms to Folly Beach a reality.

Here's the update:

Already gathering momentum because of the efforts of the Intergovernmental Task Force, the B2B project has received a pledge of $100,000 to be applied to signage along the route. The funds are from an enthusiastic bicyclist who is eager to see progress. Payments of up to $25,000 will be made on a quarterly basis to government entities approving sign placement.

Additional good news comes from the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce in the form of a newly released study. One of the key findings in the report which was commissioned to seek out new directions for business growth in the next few years, is that Charleston has already become too car-dependent and should move toward alternative forms of transportation. Bicycling, walking and mass-transit all are high recommendations. But the only project chosen for support by the Chamber is the Battery2Beach Route.

Charleston Moves' director Tom Bradford recently spoke before the Folly Beach City Council and came away from that meeting with confidence that Folly Beach could be the first municipality to erect B2B signs. The city's zoning administrator Aaron Pope told the Council he hoped the B2B route would bring a new type of visitor to the city.