CUL-DE-SAC SOLVES PROBLEM FOR VETERANS AT MEDICAL CENTER IN FLORENCE
posted on Thursday, May 23, 2019
FLORENCE, S.C. - With a few words and swift work with some
scissors, community leaders Thursday morning marked the opening of
a cul-de-sac that was purpose-built to allow veterans to access
their medical center through public transportation.
The lack of a space where a bus could turn around had forced
veterans to walk down Sally Hill Farm Road from North Cashua Drive
to the Veterans Administration Clinic - more than a quarter of a
mile.
"I think it's important that we're able to help facilitate
this," said Florence County Administrator KG "Rusty" Smith. "It was
a terrible inconvenience where they had it they had to drop people
off at the end of the road and they had to walk" or use wheelchairs
and crutches no matter the weather.
When the clinic first opened the bus would use the parking lot
to make a front-door delivery of passengers and then pull back out
onto Sally Hill Farm Road, but the weight of the bus was causing
damage to infrastructure under the clinic's parking lot.
And, at that time, there was nowhere on Sally Hill Farm Road
where a bus could be turned around.
"It's been nearly two years since we were able to take veterans
all the way down sally hill road to the clinic," said Tyrone Jones,
chairman of the Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority (PDRTA),
at the ribbon cutting.
In January 2018, the problems bubbled to the surface during a
meeting of the Pee Dee Veterans Advisory Council, which urged
state, federal and county officials to work together to solve the
problem.
They did.
With a property donation from developer Wallace Jordan and
assistance from many others, the cul-de-sac was built big enough to
facilitate a bus.
"My dad did the development that sits out there," said Rep. Jay
Jordan, son of Wallace Jordan. "We went through about four
different plans to get to a plan that works and kind of led the
charge to get the plan to fruition.
"My dad gets a lot of credit. Floyd Properties gets a lot of
credit for this, Sam Adams gets credit for this. They all were
landowners out there. It really disturbed them, the situation, and
they sat down with the county and came up with an idea that would
work."
"It's a big win. It's a lot off us now because we were, every
day the veterans were talking about it, we need it," said Randy
Godbolt, Florence County veterans service officer.
"You don't want them to walk all the way from down there,"
Godbolt said, alluding to the distance from the clinic to North
Cashua Drive.
"This road, the cul-de-sac and this community partnership we
have built here today is absolutely incredible. It really is," said
Richard Boggan, administrative officer for community based clinics
connected with the Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia.
"I can't thank you enough for everything you've done," said
Boggan, a veteran. "The family's contribution to it. The local
authorities. The transportation folks."
"It's no longer a dead end. It's a turnaround that continues and
the community partnership that we built today," Boggan said of the
road and the people who made it happen.
The next step for the clinic is an improved bus stop, something
more than just the end of a driveway where veterans get out into
the weather, or have to wait in the weather.
https://www.scnow.com/news/local/article_ead5b9bc-7dc4-11e9-bbf8-0b65af85bef2.html
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posted on Sunday, October 25, 2020
FLORENCE, S.C. - With a few words and swift work with some
scissors, community leaders Thursday morning marked the opening of
a cul-de-sac that was purpose-built to allow veterans to access
their medical center through public transportation.
The lack of a space where a bus could turn around had forced
veterans to walk down Sally Hill Farm Road from North Cashua Drive
to the Veterans Administration Clinic - more than a quarter of a
mile.
"I think it's important that we're able to help facilitate
this," said Florence County Administrator KG "Rusty" Smith. "It was
a terrible inconvenience where they had it they had to drop people
off at the end of the road and they had to walk" or use wheelchairs
and crutches no matter the weather.
When the clinic first opened the bus would use the parking lot
to make a front-door delivery of passengers and then pull back out
onto Sally Hill Farm Road, but the weight of the bus was causing
damage to infrastructure under the clinic's parking lot.
And, at that time, there was nowhere on Sally Hill Farm Road
where a bus could be turned around.
"It's been nearly two years since we were able to take veterans
all the way down sally hill road to the clinic," said Tyrone Jones,
chairman of the Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority (PDRTA),
at the ribbon cutting.
In January 2018, the problems bubbled to the surface during a
meeting of the Pee Dee Veterans Advisory Council, which urged
state, federal and county officials to work together to solve the
problem.
They did.
With a property donation from developer Wallace Jordan and
assistance from many others, the cul-de-sac was built big enough to
facilitate a bus.
"My dad did the development that sits out there," said Rep. Jay
Jordan, son of Wallace Jordan. "We went through about four
different plans to get to a plan that works and kind of led the
charge to get the plan to fruition.
"My dad gets a lot of credit. Floyd Properties gets a lot of
credit for this, Sam Adams gets credit for this. They all were
landowners out there. It really disturbed them, the situation, and
they sat down with the county and came up with an idea that would
work."
"It's a big win. It's a lot off us now because we were, every
day the veterans were talking about it, we need it," said Randy
Godbolt, Florence County veterans service officer.
"You don't want them to walk all the way from down there,"
Godbolt said, alluding to the distance from the clinic to North
Cashua Drive.
"This road, the cul-de-sac and this community partnership we
have built here today is absolutely incredible. It really is," said
Richard Boggan, administrative officer for community based clinics
connected with the Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia.
"I can't thank you enough for everything you've done," said
Boggan, a veteran. "The family's contribution to it. The local
authorities. The transportation folks."
"It's no longer a dead end. It's a turnaround that continues and
the community partnership that we built today," Boggan said of the
road and the people who made it happen.
The next step for the clinic is an improved bus stop, something
more than just the end of a driveway where veterans get out into
the weather, or have to wait in the weather.
https://www.scnow.com/news/local/article_ead5b9bc-7dc4-11e9-bbf8-0b65af85bef2.html
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