Sidewalk talk, drainage pains discussed at joint meeting
City boards and commissions met at the Darlington Library on Tuesday, October 20.
Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Everything from storm drainage to bicycle racks was up for discussion when the City of Darlington Planning Commission held a joint public meeting with other city boards and commissions on Tuesday, October 20 at the Darlington Library.
The meeting began with a round of thanks to city and county emergency responders for their performance during the Oct. 2 through 5 rains and flooding. Although the police, fire, and rescue agencies worked very well, the city’s drainage infrastructure is still a work in progress.
Joan Alston, Bryant Gardner, and Gloria Hines all shared the same concerns they had heard from city residents – namely that some streets flooded out and were very slow to drain, sometimes due to a buildup of leaves, grass, or other materials that had washed over the drains and plugged them nearly shut. Alston suggested forming a response plan to ensure that enough street department workers are available when storm events approach to keep drains cleared.
Alston also noted that a number of residents have asked for more information, delivered in different ways, regarding city events, programs, and meetings. Darlington planning director Lisa Chalian Rock added that while she has heard the same concern, some residents have admitted that they don’t watch television, read the newspaper, or listen to the radio, making them rather hard to reach.
“We need to have better communication skills so that all neighborhoods that (things) are happening,” said Alston, suggesting an insert in water bill mailings as a possibility.
Hines suggested teaming with local grocery stores to put up community message boards – like the one at IGA on South Main Street – for the posting of informational fliers. Gardner said an interactive app could help reach tech savvy residents and encourage two-way communication. Ronda Brown wondered whether the city’s long term plan should include the purchase of a digital message board, replacing the function once served by the broken message board at the Darlington County Courthouse.
In the near term, the planning and beautification boards are eyeing small-scale improvements to enhance quality of life, like benches around the Public Square, seating at PDRTA bus stops, and bicycle racks placed at high-traffic areas around town. These additions would likely be purchased and installed in phases to ensure that city residents know when their neighborhood is due for some spiffy new additions.
Several present brought up the need to repair sidewalks with uneven areas, often raised up by encroaching tree roots. Hines and others said that sidewalk and street repair efforts are sometimes hindered by the tetchy nature of area SCDOT personnel.
“They always are very negative and don’t want to help,” said Hines, observing that DOT often paves over manholes and leaves the city to fix the mess. “And when they do (work here), they don’t come to the city and let us know what they’re doing… they just don’t work with us.”
Chalian Rock and city manager Howard Garland shared that when the city contracted with a company to grind down sidewalk hazards on Oak, Cashua, and Spring Streets, they caught flak from DOT.
“They got very upset with us for fixing the sidewalk because we didn’t get a permit to do that,” said Chalian Rock.
“They want us to fix things when they want us to fix them, but if we take the initiative – because they’re our sidewalks, too – they get upset,” said Garland. He added that SCDOT had agreed to replace the sidewalk along Cashua Street if the city took down a number of encroaching Bradford pear trees, but only replaced certain sections and not the entire sidewalk.
State Rep. Robert Williams noted that SCDOT is “under the gun” financially, but he offered to intercede on the city’s behalf when needed to help repair lines of communication.
Discussion turned to pedestrian and bicyclist traffic, which is bound to increase with the opening of the South Main Street Walmart next spring. Brown suggested a project to connect downtown with the South Main/Hwy 52 corridor via a sidewalk and bike path. Jimmy Cooper agreed that a bike lane is needed for that heavily trafficked area, and voiced support for installing bike racks around town to increase convenience and security for bicyclists. Most agreed that lighting improvements along South Main and Hwy 52 are also needed.
The group of board members and guests also discussed long term plans to paint or replace street signs and parking signs, add banners welcoming visitors to Darlington, and improving or replacing city welcome signs with durable brick installations, knocking off several signs at a time as budgets permit.
“We have to look at these things as long term projects. Things come in phases, and if our sidewalks are most critical, we do that first, then we get bike lanes, pedestrian crosswalks, and other things,” said Brown.
Brown noted that Darlington does not have a community foundation (like the Byerly Foundation in Hartsville) to help raise funds for civic projects, and such an organization could accelerate all these improvements. Gardner added that in his experience, Darlington has many generous citizens and an organized effort to involve them in city revitalization could yield positive results.
