Charleston County News Release

MEDIA CONTACT

Name:   Jennie Davis, Charleston County Public Information Officer

Phone:  843.958.4012

Email:   jdavis@charlestoncounty.org

Release Number: 2797

Date: May 24, 2007

See new sign and map of pick-up points: http://www.charlestoncounty.org/NewsImages/pickuppoints.htm

75 Evacuation Pick-up Points Designated for Residents Without Transportation

            New blue signs will be placed at 75 locations where Charleston County residents can get transportation to a shelter in the event of a mandatory evacuation.

Charleston County and municipal officials announced the designation of 75 Evacuation Pick-up Points for residents who don't have transportation in the event of a mandatory evacuation. The plan was announced during a press conference held at the pick-up point located in the Piggly Wiggly shopping center on Johns Island today.

New blue signs that state "Hurricane Evacuation Bus Stop" were unveiled during the event, and will be used to mark all the pick-up points. The signs will be posted throughout the county beginning this week, at all 75 pick-up point locations.

For years, Charleston County's Emergency Preparedness Division has had an evacuation transportation plan in place to take residents from various pick-up points to the nearest available Red Cross shelter during a mandatory evacuation.

Because the community has grown dramatically, new pick-up points have been added to the list, and some previous pick-up locations have been changed.

"The goal is for residents who don't have transportation to identify these pick-up points prior to an emergency and to know where they should go if they need a ride to a shelter," said Cathy Haynes, Charleston County's Emergency Preparedness Division Director.

The evacuation pick-up points are in locations that are well-known to citizens who live near them. They are located at churches, grocery stores and schools, and many of them are co-located with CARTA bus stop locations.

The pick-up points were chosen for their ability to provide a safe location for people to congregate away from traffic and for having a parking lot or area for buses to pull off the road and safely load passengers without blocking evacuation traffic routes.

The evacuation pick-up point signs are being posted in a coordinated effort between Charleston County and the City of Charleston.

Tom O'Brien, Director of the City of Charleston's Emergency Management Division, initiated the use of permanent signs for pick-up points after seeing similar signs in Miami-Dade County, Fla. O'Brien noticed that their signs included a message in both English and Spanish, and he realized that using both languages and making permanent signs would be a good idea locally. He then worked with the city's Traffic and Transportation Department to reproduce the signs to be used in Charleston County.

Charleston County is also using a grass roots effort to get the word out about the evacuation pick-up points. This week, the new pick-up point list was sent to over 1,000 Charleston County non-profit organizations, such as senior centers and soup kitchens; government agencies, such as Social Services and the local Social Security Administration office; places of worship and neighborhood associations.

In the letter, Charleston County asked these groups to make copies of the list and emergency contact information to post in their lobbies and to distribute to their clients and patrons.

"It is vital for residents in our community who don't have transportation to know where their nearest pick-up point is before the next hurricane approaches our coast," Haynes said. "It takes all of us working together to make sure our citizens and neighbors are prepared and safe."

The pick-up point at the Piggly Wiggly on Johns Island was chosen as the announcement location today because Johns Island is a prime example of an area where citizens live who need transportation to Red Cross shelters.

Because Johns Island is in a major flood zone, the Red Cross cannot place any evacuation shelters on the island. All of the Red Cross shelters in Charleston County are located in North Charleston, which is the only location high enough to keep citizens safely away from storm surge and flooding.

"Because the evacuation shelters are a good distance away from many of the county's residents, especially those in rural areas, we will provide a way for our citizens to get to the shelters if they don't have transportation," Haynes said.

The pick-up points are as follows, and are listed by area within Charleston County:

North Charleston #1 (Lower North Charleston)

Charlestown Academy - 5841 Rivers Avenue

Chelsey Point Center (Ship Watch) - 3655 Rivers Avenue

Military Magnet Academy - 2950 Carner Avenue

School of the Arts - 1600 Saranac Street

Horizon House - 5055 Lackawanna Boulevard

Chicora Elementary School - 1912 Success Street

Mt. Olive Baptist Church - 2416 Meeting Street (Union Heights)

North Charleston #2 (Upper North Charleston)

Ladson Elementary School - 3321 Ladson Road (Ladson)

Charleston Korean United Methodist Church - 2745 Shadow Drive (Deer Park)

Kmart Super Center - 8571 Rivers Avenue (Otranto)

Wal-Mart - 7400 Rivers Avenue Unit A

Aviation Square Shopping Center (formerly Sam's Wholesale) - 6185 Rivers Avenue

North Charleston #3 (Dorchester Road Corridor)

Goodwin Elementary School - 5501 Dorchester Road

Lambs Elementary School - 6800 Dorchester Road

Food Lion - 7550 Dorchester Road

Mount Pleasant #1 (Arthur Ravenel Bridge to the Isle of Palms Connector)

Sweet Grass Shopping Center - 1909 Highway 17 North

Bi-Lo - 1440 Ben Sawyer Boulevard

Public Library - 1133 Mathis Ferry Road

Moultrie Middle School (rear side) - 645 Coleman Boulevard

Town Center (Belk) - 1600 Palmetto Grande Drive

Mount Pleasant #2 (North of the Isle of Palms Connector)

Guy C. Lee - 2985 Highway 17 North

Laing Middle School - 2213 Highway 17 North

Jennie Moore Elementary School - 1256 Hamlin Road

Belle Hall Elementary School - 385 Egypt Road

Old Wando High School - 1560 Mathis Ferry Road

Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island

Isle of Palms Recreation Center - 24 28th Avenue (Isle of Palms)

Isle of Palms City Hall - 1207 Palm Boulevard (Isle of Palms)

Sullivan's Island Elementary School - 2015 I'on Street (Sullivan's Island)

Awendaw and McClellanville

South Santee Community Center - 710 S. Santee Road off Rutledge Road (South Santee)

McClellanville Middle School - 711 Pinckney Street (McClellanville)

St. James-Santee Elementary School - 8900 Highway 17 North (McClellanville)

Manigault's Store - 7395 Highway 17 North (Awendaw)

Awendaw Grocery - 6435 Highway 17 North at Doar Road (Awendaw)

Seewee Outpost - 4853 Highway 17 North (Awendaw)

Berkeley Co-op - 3745 Highway 17 North and Lieben Road - (Awendaw)

Downtown Charleston

Charleston Progressive School - 382 Meeting Street

Sanders-Clyde Elementary School - 220 Nassau Street

Burke High School - 244 President Street

Joseph Floyd Manor - 2106 Mt. Pleasant Street

Gaillard Municipal Auditorium - 77 Calhoun Street

West Ashley

Bi-Lo - 2863 Bees Ferry Road

West Ashley Middle School (Old Middleton High School) - 1776 Kennerty Drive

Springfield Elementary School - 2741 Clover Street

St. Andrews Middle School (Old St. Andrews High School) - 721 Wappoo Road

Kmart - 1535 Savannah Highway (Highway 17)

Citadel Mall - 2070 Sam Rittenberg Boulevard

Publix Grocery Store - 1401 Sam Rittenberg Boulevard, Charleston

First Assembly of God - 2957 Savannah Highway (Highway 17)

James Island

Earth Fare - 74 Folly Road (South Windermere Shopping Center)

Fast Point Food Store - 1029 Harbor View Road (Harbor View Road at Quail Drive)

Camp Center - 1238 Camp Road (Dills Bluff Road at Camp Road)

Folly Beach Shopping Center - 1301 Folly Road (Camp Road and Folly Road)

Folly Beach

Marsh Winds Condominiums - 2393 Folly Road

Johns Island

Charleston Executive Airport - 2700 Fort Trenholm Road (off River Road)

Mount Zion Elementary School - 3464 River Road

Charleston Collegiate (Sea Island Academy) - 2024 Academy Drive

Stono Market - 3690 Bohicket Road # 3A

Piggy Wiggly - 3575 Maybank Highway (Main Road and Maybank Highway)

St. John's High School - 1518 Main Road

Wadmalaw Island

Frierson Elementary School - 6133 Maybank Highway

New Jerusalem A.M.E. Church - 6179 Bears Bluff Road

Kiawah Island and Seabrook Island

Newton Farm - 149 Village Green Lane (Kiawah Island)

Adam's Run

Adam's Run Civic Center - 5166 Highway 174

LJ's Barber shop and Convenience Store (B&G Groceries) - 5213 Highway 174

Shilo Baptist Church - 5629 Parkers Ferry Road

Edisto Island

E-Z Stop - 2410 Highway 174

Jane Edwards Elementary School - 1960 Jane Edwards Road

True Value hardware store - 487 Highway 174

Hollywood,  Ravenel and Yonges Island

Rantowles Baptist Church - 4590 Highway 162 (Hollywood)

Baptist Hill High School - 5117 Baptist Hill Road (Hollywood)

Allen AME Church (Meggett) - 6940 Ethel Post Office Road (Hollywood)

Minnie Hughes Elementary School - 8548 Willtown Road (Hollywood)

Mt. Horr A.M.E. Church - 4360 Highway 174 (Hollywood)

Ravenel Town Hall - 5962 Highway 165, Suite 100 (Ravenel)

CC Blaney Elementary School - 7184 Highway 162 (Yonges Island)

NOTE:

If you have an animal to evacuate with you and you do not have transportation: Contact the Charleston County Emergency Public Information Line at (843) 202-7100, and a vehicle will be dispatched to transport you and your pet(s) to the evacuation animal shelter. Remember to bring all supplies needed for your pet (i.e. crate, collar, leash, food, identification, veterinarian/immunization records, etc.)

If you are disabled and cannot get to the nearest evacuation pick-up point: Contact the Charleston County Emergency Public Information Line at (843) 202-7100, and a vehicle will be dispatched to transport you to the nearest available shelter.

If you need transportation to the nearest shelter during a voluntary evacuation: Contact the Charleston County Emergency Public Information Line at (843) 202-7100 for assistance. Buses will not be picking up residents at the pick-up points during a voluntary evacuation.

In addition to the Evacuation Pick-Up Points, citizens can go online and download other important emergency preparedness information found in the 2007 Charleston County Hurricane Guide at: http://www.charlestoncounty.org/pages/pdfs/CharlestonCountyHurricaneGuide2007.pdf, and the 2007 Disabilities Emergency Guide at: http://www.charlestoncounty.org/pages/pdfs/Emergency_Preparedness_Disabilites.pdf.