Columbia, South Carolina – Columbia residents will have another chance to help shape the city’s road safety future as the Sharing the Road project moves into its next public phase.
The City of Columbia will host a second round of Sharing the Road public open houses on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, giving community members an opportunity to review draft program, policy and project recommendations designed to make local roadways safer for everyone who uses them.
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The meetings will be held in a drop-in format from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Virginia Bedford Community Center at Earlewood Park, located at 1113 Recreation Drive, Columbia, SC 29203. Residents will be able to speak directly with the project team, look over the recommendations and share local insight about streets, intersections and corridors where safety remains a concern.
The draft recommendations did not come from one source alone. They were developed using feedback gathered during October and November meetings, responses from an online survey and interactive map, best practices, and findings driven by crash data. The city will also share a High Injury Network map, which identifies areas where serious crashes have been more concentrated.
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Along with broader safety strategies, the project team will present conceptual ideas for possible improvements at specific roadway segments and intersections within the High Injury Network. These concepts are still part of the planning process and do not currently have funding allocated. However, the city says public input can help strengthen the recommendations and better position Columbia and its partner agencies for future funding requests.
Among the intersections scheduled for discussion are Beltline Boulevard at Two Notch Road, Covenant Road at North Beltline Boulevard and Pine Belt Road, Elmwood Avenue at Main Street, Laurel Street at Huger Street, and River Drive at Sunset Drive.
The roadway segments include Academy and West Beltline from I-277 to Two Notch, Elmwood Avenue from I-126 to Bull Street, Farrow Road from Beltline Boulevard to Chappelle, Huger Street and Whaley Street from I-126 to Wayne, and Two Notch Road from Taylor and Forest to Cushman and Pine Belt.
The city noted that several partner agencies are already working on safety concerns along some key corridors. For this stage, the team focused on locations not otherwise being addressed but still showing pressing safety concerns and design complexity.
Residents can learn more through the project website at https://planninganddevelopment.columbiasc.gov/safe-streets/ and sign up for email updates at https://forms.columbiasc.gov/243375701335858. A project survey is also expected to be released after the May 12 meetings and remain available through June 9, 2026.
The Sharing the Road planning effort is partially funded by and aligned with the USDOT Safe Streets and Roads for All program. Its final plan is expected to support Columbia’s public commitment to reduce roadway deaths and serious injuries while identifying future safety priorities for pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, drivers, commercial operators and all other road users.
