Karen,

I will address the issues of crime and safety costs relative to the bike trails on Kiawah.

Relative to crime, I have been the Security Director for six years and there has yet to be a crime reported on the trails. Also, there is no evidence that the trails are used as a means of access to locations where other crimes could be committed.

We do patrol the trails on a mechanized small four wheel drive vehicle in an attempt to assure that reckless use of the trails by youth is minimized. This activity is engaged in for about four hours per day during our peak season. We do attempt to provide guests and members with information relative to bicycle safety i.e., walk your bikes across streets, ride single file, etc.

Our major issues deal with overhanging branches and line of sight at road crossings. Our Landscape Department deals with these issues and I am sure Dave will be able to address staffing needs relative to these problems. We average about three accidents per year where people fall off their bicycles on trails. Thankfully, we have had no serious incidents to report.

One suggestion I would make from a safety perspective is to make the paths wide enough in order for two lanes to be established with a marking line down the middle so users do not occupy the whole trail going in one direction.

Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions.

Joe Croughwell
Director of Security and Safety
Kiawah Island Community Association, Inc.
Administrative Department
23 Beachwalker Drive, Kiawah Island, SC 29455
Toll free (866)226-1770 ext 204 or local (843)768-9194

Good Morning,

I was forwarded your email, and I hope that I may be of assistance.

Here at Kiawah we have 33 miles of hard (asphalt) trails and 5 miles of soft (sand or gravel) trails.

We maintain a data base of our assets and, as part of that, assign a “useful life” in years to each of these assets. The numbers we assign to each asset comes from all available data, including engineering reports, input from contractors and manufacturers, and our own experiences.

For our asphalt trails, we assigned a useful life of 15 years.

Now, having said that let me clarify that we don’t just let them sit out there for 15 years and then resurface them. I wish! We actually perform thorough inspections of the trail surfaces twice each year and get random reports from maintenance staff observances as they go about their daily business.

Due to the very nature of the location of the trails, we experience problems with root intrusion from nearby trees. Some of this we can take care of in house, cutting the roots and using cold patch on the damage. Unfortunately, we have areas that experience a lot of damage and therefore get resurfaced more frequently. We are currently investigating ways that we may prohibit the roots from getting to the trails. I would suggest that you do something along these lines when you install your trails particularly in forested areas or where trees are close to the trail. The cost should be much less than having to retrofit something and would save you substantially in the long run on maintenance costs.

Otherwise, the only other problem we run into is that the soil on the sides of the trails becomes compacted over time from maintenance traffic and we side dress the bad areas each year to keep folks from getting hurt stepping off an edge.

We experience annual costs of approximately $20,000 to $150,000 for maintenance. This of course varies by the amount and type of work needed. We currently estimate replacement cost at $10 per square yard (includes the recent increase in asphalt costs). This includes 1 ½” overlay with intrusive root removal and side dressing with top soil.

I know that it is hard to sell some folks on the benefits of a leisure trail. We even have people that buy property here next to a trail and then want us to remove it! Fortunately, those folks are few and far between. In the end, the benefits of being able to enjoy your surroundings, whether by bicycle, roller skates, or foot without dealing with vehicular traffic is enormous. A well maintained trail allows your members and visitors a carefree experience that will set your community apart from the others.

I hope this information is helpful. If I can be of any further service, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. Good Luck with your project!!

Connie Samford
Director of Major repairs
Kiawah Island Community Association, Inc.
Administrative Department
23 Beachwalker Drive, Kiawah Island, SC 29455
Toll free (866)226-1770 ext 204 or local (843)768-9194