Mulberry Pond Crossing

The project for the Spring 2021 semester was to create a connecting path between the West Ashley Bikeway and the neighborhoods along Mulberry Street. By creating that connection, we hoped to open a dialogue between the West Ashley Bikeway and the neighborhoods on Mulberry Street. This connection would allow for residents to gain access to the Bikeway without having to cross unfriendly pedestrian crossings. It would also provide residents with a space for outdoor activities like fishing, bird watching and the overall enjoyment of the outdoors.

Before the design phase of the project, we assisted the Charleston Parks Conservancy in hosting a community dialogue to discuss potential project sites along the West Ashley Greenway and Bikeway. The goal of the dialogue was to receive feedback from community members and use it to select a site. From the conversations we heard, we concluded that Mulberry Pond would be the best location for community impact.

Once the site was selected, we chose the side of the pond that would host a bridge more effectively, reaching this conclusion based on shading, distance to cross, and accessibility. After an extensive design period, we began our construction of the bridge. 4 weeks later, our ideas finished coming into fruition and we had a final product in front of us. Just as planned, our bridge merged into the natural landscape of the pond.