The Town of Hilton Head Island is Preparing for the Future by Reimagining It’s Public Roadway Corridors

Explore how the Major Thoroughfares Corridor Plan and related efforts will prioritize complete streets along Hilton Head’s roadways, enhancing mobility while preserving the natural beauty and coastal character of the community.

Hilton Head Island is renowned as a world-class oceanfront community, celebrated for its pristine white sand beaches, verdant maritime forests, and wildlife-rich marshes and wetlands. For over half a century, the Island's natural beauty has attracted both residents and visitors alike. The original public roadway corridors, designed as a network of scenic, multimodal parkways with lush, vegetated buffers and pathways, were envisioned to harmoniously integrate infrastructure into the Island’s natural landscape. However, the Island is now facing pressure from rising traffic demands driven by regional population growth, growing influxes of seasonal tourists, and increased land development. Additionally, a proposed $400 million Island gateway infrastructure project has magnified the need to holistically revisit the Island’s infrastructure network to address changing evolving traffic strains, but also to address pedestrian safety, and environmental sensitivity across the Island. Town leadership has recognized the need for a full review of its corridor planning to ensure the Island is equipped to responsibly support future growth while maintaining its defining natural character and appeal.

Analyzing current trends and conditions revealed where major concentrations of residents and employees are located on the Island and pinpointed critical infrastructure gaps that required attention.

A principal driver of the MTCP is to improve public safety along the Island’s Major Thoroughfares. Existing crash data was utilized to reinforce the importance of the effort and to support decision making throughout the development of the plan.

MCTP Purpose + Framework

Working closely with a multi-disciplinary design team, including, Kimley Horn, Toole Design Group and Town of Hilton Head Island Staff, MKSK led the development of the Major Thoroughfares Corridor Plan (MTCP). The Plan brings intentional focus to understanding the current conditions of and ultimately to direct improvements to the critical corridors within the Town of Hilton Head Island. The guiding philosophy behind the MTCP emphasizes safety, accessibility, connectivity, creativity, and sustainability in shaping recommendations for Hilton Head Island. This approach advocates for safer, complete streets that serve all users, ensuring equitable access to destinations and resources for people of all ages and abilities. It also seeks to strengthen multimodal connections to amenities, create visually appealing, context-sensitive environments that enhance the Island’s unique character, and promote sustainable practices aligned with the community’s values and long-term goals.

Key pillars driving decision making of the MTCP:

The MTCP Framework organizes the study into three main chapters:

Systems

Corridor Systems encompass the various elements that create a safe, accessible, efficient, and visually appealing environment for all users, regardless of their mode of transportation. When these features are thoughtfully designed and seamlessly integrated into a corridor’s layout, the result is a vibrant, inviting space that reflects the Island’s unique charm and aesthetic. Detailed analysis and recommendations on the components that define a corridor’s character are organized into six sections of the plan, including: Landscape & Aesthetics, Pathways, Intersections, Roadways, Transit, Wayfinding, Signage, Branding, and Art.

Segments

The Segments section of the MTCP utilizes the guidance provided in the Systems portion of this document to describe specific physical locations and corridor “typologies” (areas of distinguishing characteristics) within the 30 miles of the Town of Hilton Head Island’s arterial roadways. The consultant team has classified the study area into three overall regions composed of 14 segments, each speaking to a particular site’s character and needs. While the Systems section identifies features required to build a high-quality street, the Segments section separates those corridors into categories based on traffic demands, roadway design, characteristics, and adjacent land uses. Segments deepen the understanding of the requirements and recommendations needed at various points along a corridor based on current and future needs.

Elements shaping corridor character—such as natural features, adjacent development, and available right-of-way—help differentiate the Island’s corridors into three distinct regions or typologies: the William Hilton Parkway segments, South Island segments, and Cross Island Parkway segments. The MTCP provides recommendations for each of these regions as a baseline launching point for design intervention. All of the recommendations depicted in the conceptual renderings below reconsider the interface between vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, and pathways to provide safer conditions for all users in each region.

Proposed Conditions for William Hilton Parkway Segments

Proposed Conditions for South Island Segments

While the regional recommendations for the William Hilton Parkway, South Island, and Cross Island segments establish an overall vision for corridor character across the Island, the segment-specific recommendations for each of the 14 areas provide a more detailed analysis of their unique geographic nuances, guiding the Town toward targeted improvements. The enthusiasm and implications generated by these segment-specific recommendations has already accelerated some segments into preliminary engineering or additional study including William Hilton Parkway 2 & Main Street shown below.

Based upon the recommendations provided in the MTCP, the Town of Hilton Head requested additional advancement of the segment design including conceptual renderings to better help the public understand the proposed changes.

Additional Island Projects: Sea Pine Circle

Sea Pines Circle is the quintessential heart of Hilton Head Island, serving as the key linkage point in the roadway and pathway system. Increasing congestion at this location has created a hot spot for significant delays and traffic collisions, particularly rear-end collisions. The MTCP studied multiple options to create a viable, safe, long-term solution for this important Island feature. Ultimately, additional visualizations and study were conducted to advance the conversation and elicit public feedback.

Sea Pines Circle above, is the subject of continued study and exploration based upon initial analysis conducted in the MTCP.

Additional Island Projects: William Hilton Parkway Gateway Corridor + Parks

The scale of involvement on the island is not limited to the 14 corridor segments described above. MKSK and it’s consultant team have also been crucial in the in the study, visualization and storytelling of a the WHP Gateway Corridor Project, a proposed island gateway infrastructure project which aims to rebuild the main bridges coming onto the island as well as improve mobility, safety and congestion in the areas adjacent.

The scale of involvement on the island is not limited to the 14 corridor segments described above. MKSK and it’s consultant team have also been crucial in the in the study, visualization and storytelling of a the WHP Gateway Corridor Project , a proposed island gateway infrastructure project which aims to rebuild the main bridges coming onto the island as well as improve mobility, safety and congestion in the areas adjacent.

Visualizations showing existing and proposed conditions in the Stoney Community near the bridge landings. New pathways, landscaping, and art highlight a few of the improvements as a result of the WHP Gateway Corridor Project.

Planning for a safer, accessible, and environmentally conscious future on Hilton Head Island.

The MTCP confronts present challenges like population growth, traffic demand, and land development while looking ahead to the Island’s future. It acknowledges that Hilton Head is evolving from a 'second-home resort destination' into a thriving, modern 21st-century community. The plan seeks to establish a new standard for safety, accessibility, connectivity, and environmental stewardship across all modes of travel, ensuring that today’s improvements will protect the Island’s unique character and sustain its vitality for generations to come.