Greetings from the mayor’s office in Summerville.
I really love this time of year. From the first crisp mornings to the events surrounding the holidays, the last few months are some of my favorites.
I have had the pleasure of speaking with several groups recently and thought it might be nice to share a more formal “mayoral update” with you.
Russ Touchberry
Vision Plan
The town is partnering with Dorchester County, the Greater Summerville/Dorchester Chamber of Commerce and Summerville DREAM to engage an independent third party to assist us in developing an integrated and comprehensive vision plan. The selection of the third party is in process, with a request for interested parties being advertised. They will be tasked with integrating our existing plans, engaging our citizens and businesses for feedback, incorporating comments and producing a vision plan that reflects what is important to our community. This will be a long-term planning document that will help our council set policies for decades. Please be ready to provide your input early next year.
Infrastructure
Several projects are moving forward to help reduce congestion and provide safer options for our bicycle and pedestrian community. These are in addition to the North Maple Street and Berlin Myers Parkway projects, projected to be completed in 2025.
First, we have the Main Street Resiliency Project, which is in the preliminary engineering phase. The town has selected a design consultant, and work is currently underway. Funding for this would not be possible without the help of our state Legislative Delegation and our partners at Dorchester County. With their help, we can improve the first five blocks of North Main Street from the railroad tracks to Highway 78. This will include placing the utilities underground, widening and completing the sidewalk network, beautification and landscaping, and street lighting.
Second, we have received bids and selected a contractor for the Central Avenue Sidewalk Project. This project will provide safe pedestrian accommodations along Central Avenue from Parsons Road to the existing sidewalk near West Carolina Avenue. We could not complete this project without the assistance of our state Legislative Delegation and our partners at Dorchester County. Expect construction to begin early next year.
Third, we have secured additional funds to help relieve congestion along North Main Street from Highway 78 over I-26. We now have a named project on the regional Transportation Improvement Plan for the preliminary study on connecting the north side of Berlin Myers Parkway to I-26 without touching Main Street. We also have funds to study improvements on North Main Street that would reduce congestion and bring solutions to help mobility along that corridor. We also need funds to improve our signal coordination and timing while the other improvements are planned, designed and permitted.
In addition, we are being updated on the improvements being designed under the Dorchester County Transportation Sales Tax Program that will benefit all of our citizens and business owners. Please be patient as these projects will take considerable time to design, permit and construct, but be encouraged that so many improvements are being developed.
As we approach the holiday season in Summerville, I hope you can enjoy the many opportunities to come together and celebrate within our town. Please stay safe and look out for one another. The folks who call this town home are what makes it so special.
It is an honor to serve you and our beautiful town.
Russ Touchberry is the mayor of Summerville.