Town of Summerville to take control of West Richardson Avenue

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) — The Town of Summerville is moving to take control of West Richardson Avenue from the South Carolina Department of Transportation, citing ongoing safety and maintenance concerns.

West Richardson Avenue, the main gateway into Summerville from the west, could soon be maintained by the town. SCDOT is currently responsible for it and most roadways in town.

“The residents along that corridor are really concerned about the safety of their neighbors; they’ve had instances where folks have had accidents. There’s also a park along that corridor, so safety has been a huge concern,” Mayor of Summerville Russ Touchberry said.

Touchberry said town staff has begun the process of taking over West Richardson from Main to Maple Street. Council members said past requests to SCDOT for signage and safety upgrades were denied, and in some cases, ‘no through truck’ signs were removed.

Recent crashes have added to concerns. At Thursday night’s council meeting, one council member said there have been nearly 40 accidents in 10 months.

Requests for safety improvements denied

“We made requests on behalf of our citizens who were concerned about safety to lower the speed and also add some three-way stops and four-way stops in certain areas, and so far, SCDOT has declined every single time, and I think that’s where some of the frustration came from,” Touchberry said.

Al Syssa, who lives in Summerville, said he supports most of the proposed changes.

“I don’t think the speed limits are very off. I’m 92 years old now and still driving around. I drive around quite a bit, that’s why I know quite a bit about the holes in the roads,” Syssa said.

Touchberry said he is worried about maintaining holes and cracks in the pavement over the long term. He said signs are cheap; pavement is not.

“Construction costs are very high, so I did want to urge our council to think about and consider the cost of taking over a roadway, especially one that is in a poor condition from a pavement quality standpoint,” Touchberry said.

There is no identified budget for improvements yet.

“We try to partner with SCDOT as much as we can, but we also have work to do ourselves, so we have to take care of our citizens,” Touchberry said.

Touchberry said he does not know how long the transfer process will take. When it is official, the town council will consider adding all-way stops and ‘no through truck’ signs, along with speed reduction from 35 to 25 miles per hour, and more crosswalks are also expected.