The Lindsey Taylor Ranz Foundation is a nonprofit organization that promotes Pedestrian Safety to the Charleston SC area with a primary focus on the Crosstown. Each day we work towards implementing changes for safer intersections, starting with the intersection at Septima P. Clark Parkway which is better know as the Crosstown Crosswalk... or as we know it, the dangerous and deadly intersection leading onto I-26 and the Ravenel Bridge.
Since starting the Foundation we have legislated, traveling to Columbia several times speaking on behalf of Pedestrian Safety in the Charleston area with a current focus on the Crosstown. There have been several studies completed since chartering the Foundation. Working directly with Rep. Wendell Gilliard and Senator Larry Grooms, Bill H-4900 was passed in both houses.
We met and spoke with Neighborhood Consortium members, and petitioned for an overpass and/or necessary safety changes which received over 800 signatures.
The Foundation makes and provides safety equipment and accessories to the Charleston community, including placing flashlight stations all over for visibility of Pedestrians.
Recently our foundation president spoke at a Delegation Meeting on the USS Yorktown and several Representatives took action to make safety changes along the Crosstown.
The Foundation has been interviewed for Pedestrian Safety on all of the local TV channels, news papers and on the Cumulus radio stations. We have set up informative/educational stations at the Bridge Run and various businesses in Charleston SC. We spoke at local Colleges, Health Care Corp. and attended public meeting about Pedestrian Safety.
South Carolina is among the most dangerous states for pedestrians, according to the findings from Smart Growth America. Just recently South Carolina ranked as the third deadliest state in pedestrian fatalities, behind New Mexico and Florida. Charleston is one of the nation's fastest growing areas; with more people driving cars and more students walking to their destinations, the S.C. Department of Transportation needs to make safety changes to protect pedestrians from becoming fatalities.
Finally, by conducting our own research, it was discovered that in 2013 there were a total of one hundred and eighty-six auto-pedestrian accidents reported in the City of Charleston. Since then, this number continues to rise, and in the most recent report of 2024, South Carolina once again ranks in the top five states in the United States for pedestrian deaths. We are here to be the voice for those who no longer can be heard.
Since 2014 the numbers of deaths at the Crosstown have continued to grow, and that number includes Lindsey. Listed below are the names of those individuals.
2012- Thelma Duart (42) 2012- Hannah-Rose Elledge (21)
2014- Lindsey Taylor Ranz (21) 2016- Dwayne Stanley (57) 2018- Benjamin Fricke (31) 2023- George Liles (56) 2023- Belinda Prim (66)