A massive, 840-home subdivision in Lake Wylie will mean a huge increase in traffic
A massive new Lake Wylie subdivision will put more than 7,100 vehicle trips per day on its surrounding roads, while overall traffic in coming years projects even higher.
The planning commission in York County will get a look next week at a revised traffic study for the Westport subdivision in Lake Wylie. Westport is a long-awaited neighborhood off Campbell Road, between S.C. 49 and S.C. 274 south of Daimler Boulevard. Westport will add 842 homes.
York County approved zoning for Westport in 2008. The county approved preliminary plats for the project in 2017. Property owners then asked for extensions for their build timeline. Current property owner D.R. Horton advertises Westport now as a community coming in early 2024 with a clubhouse, pool and a variety of amenities.
Given how long plans have been in process for Westport, an update to its original traffic study came in 2016 and another is needed now. Large projects require traffic studies to show what road improvements a developer will be required to fully or partially fund for its contribution to area traffic.
The new study projects an addition of 7,165 new daily vehicle trips in the area just from Westport development. For comparison, the only South Carolina Department of Transportation traffic count site on Campbell Road is between Charlotte Highway and Paraham Road, just west of the project area. It registers 1,200 daily vehicle trips. A site just east of the project area on Concord Road registers 2,700 daily trips.
The much larger Charlotte Highway, or S.C. 49, still only moves 7,500 vehicles per day on the west side of Westport, at the nearest traffic count spot. The nearest Hands Mill Highway spot on the east side of Westport is higher at 13,800 daily trips.
The amount of traffic Westport will add is roughly comparable to the daily traffic now on India Hook Road in Rock Hill, between Mt. Gallant and Celanese roads.
More Lake Wylie traffic
The traffic study projects even more congestion than just what new Westport homes will create. The study projects an annual 3% increase out to 2030 from expected area growth. Then, there are other known development projects.
As of the publishing of the traffic study, only about 33% of the 442 homes and 55 townhomes were built on a Hands Mill project along West Liberty Hill Road and Pinnacle Way. A Concord Road peninsula plan for 160 homes hasn’t started. Only about 44% of the first seven phases of Paddlers Cove are done, with 480 homes and 97 townhomes in all. Another 170-home Paddlers Cove project is about three quarters complete, but another with 200 homes hasn’t started.
New homes and more traffic aren’t new concerns in Lake Wylie. On the same Oct. 9 planning commission agenda as the traffic study, are two Lake Wylie subdivision plans and another proposed zoning change. The two subdivisions would add 194 combined homes.
New road work
There is some work ongoing to address traffic in the area. A two-way intersection at South Paraham and Campbell roads is now being converted to a roundabout.
The Westport traffic study outlines several road improvements its developer will need to complete. One involves a traffic signal at Hands Mill Highway and Allison Creek Road, with the cost shared between Westport and the developer of Lakeside Glen.
At S.C. 49 and the northern access point to Westport, southbound left and right turn lanes will be needed as will a northbound two-way left turn lane. Eastbound and westbound approaches to the entrance will be three lanes.
At S.C. 49 and the southern entrance to Westport, northbound and southbound left turn lanes will be added. So will single-lane eastbound and westbound approaches.
A lane in and a leftbound lane out onto Campbell Road will be needed at the third entrance point, along Campbell.
The traffic study projects about half of the new traffic will utilize the northern part of the property near the Charlotte Highway and Bethelfield Terrace intersection. Traffic on the southern end will be split fairly evenly among Charlotte Highway, Campbell Road, Paraham Road, and Hands Mill Highway.
This story was originally published October 6, 2023 at 11:28 AM with the headline "A massive, 840-home subdivision in Lake Wylie will mean a huge increase in traffic."
