If you are driving on I-95 through South Carolina, you will drive under a pedestrian bridge. It seems to be in the middle of nowhere.
This is the Juanita M. White Crosswalk. If you are looking for it, it is between exits 18 and 21 going over I-95. The coordinates are 32°27’33.5″N 80°58’59.5″W, 32.459299, -80.983193.
This is in Jasper County, the very last county as you drive through South Carolina before you are in Georgia. It is the most southern county in South Carolina, bordering Beaufort County to the East, where Hilton Head Island is. This is the Lowcountry region.
I have posted before about the Daniel Heyward Plantation, also called the Old House Plantation. It is in Jasper County.
Who is Juanita M. White?
Juanita Mitchell White served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1980 to 1995. She lived in Jasper County, in Hardeeville. Hardeeville is north of where the crosswalk is. She died 2011.
Why is a crosswalk named after her?
It doesn’t look like she built it or anything. It seems that when she was going to retire from the House, they named an already existing crosswalk to honor her. It was a Concurrent Resolution, that is a “resolution adopted by both houses of a legislative assembly that does not require the signature of the chief executive and that does not have the force of law.”
The crosswalk was named for her in 1994.
South Carolina General Assembly
110th Session, 1993-1994Subject: Juanita M. White Crosswalk
Date Bill Passed both Bodies: 19940512A Concurrent Resolution
REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO DESIGNATE AND NAME THE CROSSWALK AT SECONDARY ROAD S-428 OVER INTERSTATE HIGHWAY I-95 IN RIDGELAND, JASPER COUNTY, AS THE “JUANITA M. WHITE CROSSWALK” AND TO INSTALL APPROPRIATE MARKERS OR SIGNS.
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, requests the Department of Highways and Public Transportation to designate and name the crosswalk at Secondary Road S-428 over Interstate Highway I-95 in Ridgeland, Jasper County, as the “Juanita M. White Crosswalk” and to install appropriate markers or signs at or adjacent to the crosswalk, as the department considers advisable containing the words “Juanita M. White Crosswalk”.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of Highways and Public Transportation.
Why is there a crosswalk there?
Evidently it has been there since before 1994. I have run those roads since they were built and I don’t remember when it showed up. It is the only one I know of, but if you Google “pedestrian bridge over interstate” you will find a lot of them. And a lot of them are named after politicians.
There is more around it when you zoom out on Google. People live all around there.
And you certainly wouldn’t want them to be jumping the fence and trying to make it across the interstate.
Google Street View shows a bicyclist crossing.
Photo-Radar Assisted Speed Enforcement
When I was trying to find out more about the pedestrian bridge, all I kept finding was about people getting tickets in a speed trap on I-95 in Jasper County.
If you ever see a sign that says “Photo-Radar Assisted Speed Enforcement” or something similar, be very careful to go the speed limit. If you are going over whatever speed they have it set for, a camera takes your picture and you get a ticket in the mail.
Speed Cameras
Speed camera systems use a variety of detectors to determine the speed of vehicles. Then, the camera records images of speeding vehicles, along with the date, time, location, and other details of the offense. Citations are delivered to the registered owner of the vehicle by mail.
21st Century Traffic Calming Guide Part IV: Digital & Interactive Technologies
Photo Enforcement Cameras, Pedestrian Activated Signs and Driver Feedback Signs
It seems that the camera was set up somewhere near the Juanita M. White Crosswalk.
In South Carolina it is not legal to ticket based only on these cameras. Ridgeland got around this by having a police officer stationed with the camera.
One point of contention regarding the use of speed enforcement cameras is the belief that government agencies implement these programs more as a source of revenue, than a safety mechanism. After the city of Ridgeland, S.C. was labeled a speed trap for its camera enforcement program on I-95, the state passed legislation banning the technology.
21st Century Traffic Calming Guide Part IV: Digital & Interactive Technologies
Photo Enforcement Cameras, Pedestrian Activated Signs and Driver Feedback Signs
South Carolina changed the law to make this illegal, too. You can’t issue a ticket based on a camera photo and mail a ticket to every person over the limit, even if you have a police officer with the camera.
Section 56-5 -70 of the 1976 Code is amended to read…
A person who receives a citation for violating traffic laws relating to speeding or disregarding traffic control devices based solely on photographic evidence must be served in person with notice of the violation within one hour of the occurrence of the violation.”
South Carolina General Assembly 118th Session, 2009-2010, Ratified the 7th day of June, 2010
Lawyers websites say that they can help drivers who paid these fines get their money back.
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