Mayor Junie White votes down resolution
By Dustin Wyatt
Staff Writer
On a cluttered four-mile stretch of Pine Street, where U.S. 176 cuts through the city of Spartanburg, you can spot small cars carrying families, buses carrying school children, and cyclists pedaling toward the popular Rail Trail.
Also in the mix: large semi-trailer trucks carrying freight.
It’s “undesirable” for these giant trucks to be moving through a community where a college, an elementary school and multiple neighborhoods sit, according to a resolution the city of Spartanburg is sending to the state Department of Transportation.
Calling it a safety concern, the city is asking DOT to either redirect this truck traffic elsewhere — an option that trucking leaders say wouldn’t solve the problem — or pursue potentially costly roadway improvements that would slow trucks, calm traffic, and improve safety.
“I don’t know what the answer is,” said City Manager Chris Story. “We just want them (DOT) to look at it.”
There wasn’t unanimous support for this resolution when the council voted on it Monday. Mayor Junie White, who owns an auto repair shop on Pine Street, caught community partners and
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ABOVE AND BELOW: Vehicles make their way along Pine Street at Country Club Road, during noon traffic on Wednesday. [PHOTOS BY TIM KIMZEY/SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL]
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nonprofit leaders backing the effort by surprise when he voted it down without explanation.
He did not return phone calls or emails seeking comment.
“I think everybody is puzzled by that,” said Jody Traywick, who heads up the nonprofit Citizens for Safe Streets.
Formed last year, the group has been pushing for improvements to Pine Street. A number of other nonprofits and organizations have joined their cause, including the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, the Spartanburg Area YMCA, Partners for Active Living, the Chapman Cultural Center and others.
While safety is the top concern, some advocates want to see trucks reduced on the roadway to cut back on the noise and pollution that’s spit out into neighborhoods lining Pine Street.
Alex Refshauge, who lives off Pine Street and works as a development associate with the environmentally- minded Spartanburg Area Conservancy, said she and her children often try and cross that section on bicycle to get to the Rail Trail.
“It is terrifying,” Refshauge told the Herald- Journal in December.
A recent Herald-Journal look at incidents involving pedestrians found that 10 pedestrians have been hit on Pine Street between Highway 221 and Country Club Road since January of 2015. One of those was killed.
Traywick with Citizens for Safe Streets and supporters met with Story weeks ago. The resolution to the DOT was born out of that meeting.
“I am extremely elated” this passed, Traywick said. “It’s an excellent move on the part of our council. It shows great vision and leadership.”
He continued, “This is a stretch of roadway within our city limits that is subject to a mix of slow local cars, school pedestrian traffic and commercial trucks that are passing through the city.”
Rick Todd, CEO of the South Carolina Trucking Association based out of Columbia, agrees that that segment of roadway is challenging. But trucks have no choice but to be there, he added.
If trucks were redirected away from Pine Street, they’d clog up another roadway somewhere else.
“These truck drivers aren’t just out there joyriding,” Todd said. “They are out there for a purpose.”
He said that when truck drivers plan their routes, they typically look for the quickest way to get from point A to point B. Pine Street through Spartanburg is often the most logical option, Todd explained.
“We continuously communicate to our members (truck drivers) about this route. This is a problem, and we are very sensitive to it,” Todd said. “But this situation is not unique. This situation happens everywhere in South Carolina.”
Traffic volume has increased everywhere throughout the state, he noted. So has commercial growth. And every business, whether it’s a restaurant, retailer or a mega-distribution center, relies on trucks to receive their goods.
“You wouldn’t want to stop UPS or FedEx from delivering stuff to your house,” Todd said. “Businesses need these trucks for the same reason.”
Councilman Jamie Fulmer clarified at the meeting Monday that this effort is to eliminate commercial trucks from going through the area, not trucks trying to serve businesses along Pine Street.
Councilwoman Ruth Littlejohn commended the nonprofit leaders for seeking solutions to some of the issues she often sees on Pine Street.
“I have seen the speed on Pine Street,” she said. “Even the big trucks that are going past the schools don’t even slow down. I am glad to see this is taking place, and I hope something can be done.”
Vehicles make their way along Pine Street at Country Club Road, during noon traffic on Wednesday. [TIM KIMZEY/ SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL]