SUMTER, S.C. — A committee in Sumter County met on Monday to discuss ways to improve transportation and how best to spend money from the federal government.
"The time it takes to bring a transportation project from idea to shovels in the ground to cutting a ribbon can be a decade and it can be longer depending on the magnitude of the project," Sumter's senior planner Kyle Kelly explains.
Kelly met with the Sumter Area Transportation Study's Metropolitan Planning Organization policy committee to discuss the future of transportation plans, looking out as far as 2050.
"If we can get ahead of the planning and sequencing so that we are taking advantage of that time and not letting that time work against us, that’s a key part," Kelly shares.
The committee adopted the new Unified Planning Work Program. The plan designates how to spend thousands of federal dollars. It lays out the projects coming in the future, including intersection improvements and work already underway like corridor improvements to Washington Street, Manning Avenue and North Main Street.
It also outlines a plan for applying for more grant funding, like the Transportation Alternatives Program to help with sidewalks and bicycle lanes.
"Everybody walks at some point in their journey. A lot of people may ride a bike, some people may be in freight trucks, some people may be in transit buses, a lot of people do have their cars," Kelly details. "So how do we make sure we aren’t over-prioritizing or de-emphasizing any one of those ways people get around so we’re not introducing more problems in your journey than solutions that we’re coming to."
Those solutions are being planned out for 2050 — a timeline Sumter resident Christine Tention says she’s thankful for.
"It makes the future of our kids have something to look for," Tention tells me.
To get more input from residents like Tention, Kelly says the county is currently developing a survey for residents to take so the committee can continue identifying areas to improve.
This funding is not going toward issues like road repaving, but instead it’s for more major "enhancements and improvements" like adding sidewalks and improving the flow of intersections.
Kelly says Sumter is one of 60 communities that is part of the Thriving Communities Program, which is a technical assistance program. As part of this, consultants will come out over the next two years to help the county take advantage of federal funding that can help with future projects.
That survey is being designed right now. Kelly says the goal is for it to be completed on May 3. Once it opens, residents will have about two months to give their input. The county hopes to get more than 500 responses.