It’d be no small feat, but once completed, it’d be a fantastic lure for water lovers – locals or tourists; imagine being able to walk down to Shem Creek and stroll the waterway from one side to the other, without having to walk near the traffic up on Coleman Blvd!

At the Coleman Street bridge, stairs could go up on either side of the creek so you could cross over it. A lot of it is already in place. Just look at the latest Shem Creek proposal; about the only part of the walkway missing is the end of Church Street where it runs into the creek (the space between RB’s and Red’s), but if somebody was to put in a low enough bid, perhaps Town Council would take a look at it. After all, way back in Feb. ’09, they mentioned it too.

Gary Collins stated they have looked at the opportunity to connect the entire length of the waterfront. –
Town of Mt. Pleasant

Even if it was just crazy talk, the space at the end of Church St. could still be better utilized than it is now; it could be additional dock space to go along with all the other remodeling getting ready to start.

What do you think? Would completing an end-to-end walkway around Shem Creek be worth the expense of building it, the additional insurance coverage it may require, etc. or is it just wasting money that could be better spent elsewhere? It seems that if all the effort is being put into a new walkway across the marsh for our new Shem Creek Park, why not go all in and provide a walkway around the edge of Shem Creek itself for everyone?

From the Shem Creek blog.

An end-to-end Shem Creek walkway

Just email them to admin @ shemcreeksc.com, and they’ll be uploaded in no time!

Thanks!

From the Shem Creek blog.

Shem Creek Photos

In it, we see deep-sea creatures glowing in the dark in all their spectacular glory.

Not all bioluminescent sea creatures are deep-sea though – she shows some dolphins swimming through the glowing water of the harbor’s surface, cool stuff!

From the Shem Creek blog.

Bioluminescence in Shem Creek

NO, it’s not an April Fool’s joke in the middle of May, but thanks to PlanetInAction, this amazing FREE Ship Simulator game lets you take the helm of several kinds of ships, including:

1. an airship,
2. a fuel ship,
3. a container ship, and
4. the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship!

What’s really amazing is the realism and visual & sound effects, which are based on Google Earth’s new visualization platform. It looks like the Charleston cruise ship business we’re hearing may come is now one step closer.

Here’s a short video of it in action:

Thanks to Google’s latest Earth API release, it all runs in your browser via a geplugin.exe – which is currently using 23852K of RAM on my system – if you have the goods, it sure is cool!

UPDATE: Celebrity Cruises has announced new sailings to the Caribbean from the Port of Charleston, just as the S.C. State Ports Authority bids adieu to its largest cruise customer, Norwegian Majesty. This fall, Celebrity Cruises marks its return to Charleston, kicking off a series of port calls that will continue through early next year and resume next fall. Norwegian Majesty made its last stop in Charleston on Friday. /via

From the Shem Creek blog.

Cruise ship pulling into Shem Creek

As if any more reason was necessary, this is a great chance to see local artists do their thing in what I humbly call Charleston’s best scenery.

From the Shem Creek blog.

COPA paints up Shem Creek this Saturday

The basic idea behind the EPA’s new Watershed Central website is to assist us develop and implement effective watershed management programs. The site includes guidance, tools, case studies, and data sets to help share information, analyze data, and identify opportunities to initiate or strengthen our watershed efforts.

On the site, you can look at any body of water across the country and see some interesting facts that everyday citizens probably aren’t familiar with: pulling up S.C. data shows that
61% of impaired coastal S.C. water is because of fecal coliform

Checking to see whether or not Shem Creek has fecal coliform shows:
Waterbody Name: SHEM CK AT BRDG ON US 17.

So from the Watershed Central website, now I’ve learned something I really would rather have not known – thanks EPA!

Last week, somebody asked if dolphins swim in Shem Creek – besides the high diesel content, now they have fecal matter to worry about too!

UPDATE: Shem Creek is clean according to the EPA.

From the Shem Creek blog.

What’s in Shem Creek’s water

The MPOSF is continuing their mission of “enhancing the quality of life for all East Cooper residents through education and preservation of open space by promoting protection, acquisition and stewardship” – resulting in the return of some green spaces to East Cooper.

Here’s the actual property: No, it’s not anywhere near the often visited shrimp boats or seafood restaurants, it’s the ditch at the other end of Shem Creek – you’ll recognize it if you take the Mark Clark back onto the by-pass everyday after work, because at one point or another, you’ll be sitting in traffic right there waiting to get in a lane.

Of course, any green space we can get is a good thing, and with groups like the MPOSF on our side, it’s always a little easier to fight against the unyielding development and traffic it inevitably brings (although most building is arguably on the outskirts of town nowadays).

“The East Bay Company has shown wonderful foresight and provides another great example of true community leadership by taking the steps necessary to preserve this land in perpetuity.” John Girault, MPOSF Exec. Dir.

On the topic of development, this video on the urban growth page here shows how municipalities could plan for population growth before time and money is wasted on construction and traffic down the road.

From the Shem Creek blog.

3.4 acres of Shem Creek preserved

The Landing on Shem Creek is now known as Lighthouse on the Creek.

Shem Creek at night
Credit: Lighthouse on the Creek

From the Shem Creek blog.

Lighthouse on the Creek

From the Shem Creek blog.

Shem Creek, SC – coming to a bookstore near you