Those who successfully and rightly opposed Charleston County’s sales tax extension because more than $2 billion from it would have been spent on the controversial project to extend the Mark Clark Expressway to Johns Island can’t just sit back, grin and dust their hands. They need to join forces with sales tax supporters to push smaller, meaningful road projects that will reduce congestion on the growing Sea Island.

And they must ensure that ongoing projects, such as highway improvements, are completed with as few delays as possible.

They should also push for new parks and conservation agreements that will help protect much of what remains of the island’s rural character, which won’t reduce traffic today but will certainly help it get worse in the years to come.

Voters’ 3-2 rejection of the tax and the Mark Clark Expressway is by no means the end of the matter; it’s just a tipping point that should focus the attention of city and county officials on less zealous, more popular and much cheaper yet rewarding steps.

When it comes to Johns Island, there is no doubt that the most serious traffic congestion occurs when getting on and off the island on one of the two bridges. Charleston County is moving forward with a $354 million contract to rebuild Main Road from Bees Ferry Road to River Road, including an overpass at one of the biggest problem areas, where Highway 17 and Main intersect.

County council members should take a hard look at adding a 14-foot-wide bike and pedestrian bridge they defunded adjacent to the Limehouse Bridge, a vital feature supported by hundreds of residents that would have taken pedestrians and cyclists safely across the Stono River but was scrapped due to cost .

But congestion is also a problem where Maybank Highway crosses River Road and then heads towards the bridge to James Island. Fortunately, there are solutions at hand: adding a second lane off the island without affecting large trees, and building a new southbound route between the bridge and River Road, a project known as the “south fork,” and realigning Cane Slash Road with a new fork.

The county should also prioritize adding roundabouts on Main Road at Chisolm Road and Mary Ann Point Road, two unsafe intersections and easily fixed chokepoints.

The $75 million the county had set aside to buy Mark Clark outright should go a long way toward funding all of these projects, and council members should consider it soon.

But the much greater potential for progress, both on Johns Island and elsewhere in the county, will present itself in the next year or so, as the County Council considers which projects to include in its widely expected 2026 sales tax referendum. Given how financing and construction costs for the Mark Clark Expressway could easily have consumed half of the $5.4 billion raised if voters had approved the tax this month, that’s a lot of money to spend on various manner.

That referendum discussion in 2026 must not focus solely on ways to help the island; increasing the share of money for land conservation and parks would continue the drive to protect more of the island’s remaining rural areas. This year’s referendum would have earmarked a smaller percentage of revenue for this important work compared to the county’s previous sales tax referendums; the 2026 proposal should not make that mistake.

All of these changes would go a long way toward assuring Johns Island residents, businesses and property owners that while the hugely expensive plan to extend Interstate 526 to the island is dead, their traffic woes are not forgotten. Other help is on the way.

Click here for more opinion content from the Post and Courier.