Fort Mill plans to improve public safety through several key initiatives following recent events and the town’s rapid growth.
- The Rock Hill – Fort Mill Area Transportation Study (RFATS), funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, is developing a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan. This plan aims to create safer, more accessible transportation networks for all users by eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2055, promoting safe speeds and roads, prioritizing vulnerable road users, fostering a shared responsibility culture, and using data to focus safety improvements at high-risk crash areas. Community input is actively sought to guide this plan.​
- Fort Mill maintains a strong public safety record with low violent and property crime rates, credited to proactive public safety strategies, community policing, resident involvement, and targeted law enforcement efforts. The town is recognized as one of South Carolina’s safest cities in 2025.​
- Specific recent measures include a partnership between Fort Mill schools and local police departments to enhance traffic safety during school drop-offs and pick-ups by deploying police officers to direct traffic and implementing right-turn-only rules at some schools to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety. Pedestrian crossing guards remain stationed at key points to ensure safe crossings.​
- Fort Mill informs residents about the new South Carolina Hands-Free and Distracted Driving Act effective September 2025, which prohibits holding or using electronic devices while driving to reduce distracted driving incidents. Law enforcement is initially issuing warnings during the first 180 days before fines and points on driving records apply, enhancing road user safety through compliance with this law.​
Overall, Fort Mill’s public safety improvements blend infrastructure safety enhancements, law enforcement collaboration, community engagement, traffic management, and adherence to state safety laws, ensuring a comprehensive approach to protect its rapidly growing community.
SOURCES
[1](https://www.rfats.org/safe-streets-and-roads-for-all/)
[2](https://www.wrhi.com/2025/04/fort-mill-tega-cay-and-clover-recognized-among-south-carolinas-safest-cities-in-2025-199300)
[3](https://emcsecurity.com/is-south-carolina-a-safe-place-to-live-in-2025/)
[4](https://www.fortmillschools.org/post-details/~board/front-page-news/post/traffic-flow-changes)
[5](https://www.fortmillsc.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=693)
