Timeline set for building of 2nd entrance to growing Summerville neighborhood

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - A second entrance to The Ponds neighborhood in Summerville is set to start construction later this year, but neighbors say it can’t happen soon enough.

Located off of 17A near Dorchester Road, the Ponds has been home to thousands of residents since construction began in 2007. The neighborhood currently only has one entrance and exit, and because of the number of cars traveling in and out of the neighborhood, safety concerns have been raised for years.

“One of the main things that the folks in The Ponds have been concerned about is just access and safe access,” Dorchester County Councilman Jay Byars says.

A temporary signal was approved back in September at the intersection of Highway 17A and Village Ponds Drive. The county approved the project and the South Carolina Department of Transportation approved it.

The following table was provided by the South Carolina Department of Public Safety which keeps track of crash data:

The data seems to reiterate neighbors’ sentiments in that the traffic light is working.

“That has saved a lot of lives,” Diane Falkenberg, a resident of the neighborhood since 2023, says. “We had a ton of lives get lost over here and cars ruined because of the accidents that happened before we had a light. Now we have a light so the accidents are less but the traffic is the same.”

But that traffic light is temporary.

“The county’s actually working right now on creating a second entrance through Linger Longer Drive, which runs beside the Parker’s gas station, and we are funding that through the county,” Byars says.

That project is going to cost around $2.5 million, and Byars says they are going to start that project later this year. Once that entrance is complete, the Department of Transportation will likely remove the traffic light at the first entrance.

But Falkenberg says traffic in the neighborhood itself can be horrendous during certain times of the day. The main issue she raises is all residents currently have to go through a traffic circle near the current entrance to the neighborhood.

“We can’t all have to go through that same circle,” Falkenberg says. “I’ve been stuck on that road for hours because you couldn’t get out of here. And I had to go over the airport that particular time and I said, ‘I have got to get through.’ Finally, I kind of pushed my way through by going up on the lawn and everything, and I finally did get out, but those other people that were behind me or anywhere near me waited hours.”

Byars says that roundabout was intentional with its placement to try to slow traffic down.

“That is a long neighborhood to get back into the back,” Byars says. “You have people that will fly through a neighborhood. So, you don’t want people driving too fast through a residential neighborhood where you’ve got kids playing. So, that roundabout as well as some of the speed tables that are put in there are put in there to slow people down. So, unfortunately, if you live in the very back right now, it’s just it’s a couple of minutes to get out of there.”

Falkenberg just reiterates she wants that second entrance sooner rather than later.

“This could be done quickly and easily and safely,” Falkenberg says. “That’s what we need. We need it to be safer. There are too many people in here.”

Unfortunately, that second entrance won’t help the time it takes to get to the very back of the neighborhood. A third entrance, which would be on Old Tower Road, is a part of Dorchester County’s capital plan. There is currently an emergency access entrance with a gate on it. Byars says if EMS or law enforcement needs to get through, they can.

But that road is not being opened up to residents yet because the access road is not up to industry standards. Byars says that project is going to be much bigger and likely is at least five years out.