Residents have their say about future of Florence

Residents had their say in what the city of Florence will look like in 30 years during a community workshop held Wednesday at Poynor Adult/Community Education Center.

The workshop addressed the city’s Comprehensive Plan, which essentially is a guide for future growth and economic development in the area.

Florence Mayor Stephen J. Wukela said residents having an input in what type of city Florence will be in the future is highly important because many of the residents remember the type of place Florence was decades ago.

“Thirty years ago, Second Loop Road was one way in either direction,” he said. “It lets you imagine what we can look like 30 years from now.

“We are on the precipice of a major change,” Wukela said. “We want to make sure that change leads us to a place where we want to be.”

The plan will be written during the course of about one year and eventually will be brought before Florence City Council for consideration.

The plan is required by state law because it helps with the coordination of projects and the creation of a public consensus about the direction of the city.

Kendig Keast, a national planning firm, was hired to aid in the creation of the plan, said Bret Keast, who is the company’s president.

About 20,000 more people are expected to move into the city by the year 2030 and it’s important to have quality guidelines in place that will influence the Florence’s direction, he said.

During the meeting, workshop attendees disbursed into smaller groups to discuss specifics of the comprehensive plan, such as urban growth, community character and neighborhood renewal.

Neighborhoods within city limits are at various stages, said Mac Birch, a Kendig Keast consultant.

Some of the neighborhoods within Florence are at the point where they aren’t going to make it, because they have too many destroyed homes, he said. Those neighbors might want to consider leaving the area.

During the workshop, residents discussed with Birch problems in Florence areas and what they would like to see done to improve them.

Many residents sounded off about the congestion along Timrod Park Drive, which is caused by so many visitors to the park who seek out its beauty and green spaces.

Vehicles lining the narrow drive make it extremely difficult for more than one car to pass at a time, according to one Timrod Park neighborhood resident.

Birch said the problem might be solved if beautiful parks were built in other areas of the city as part of the comprehensive plan.

Timrod Park and other parks were designed in Florence to be destinations for residents in the surrounding neighborhood who could access them primarily by foot and not by vehicle, he said.

Many residents agreed that other parks — such as Levy and Iola Jones — need to be brought up to the same standard as Timrod so those, too, can be destinations.

One north Florence resident said she doesn’t go to Iola Jones Park because it doesn’t even have a bathroom. Others pointed out that Levy Park doesn’t have tennis courts, suitable playgrounds and other amenities.

Birch said these issues will be considered during the coming months as the plan is develop.

A second community workshop is planned for late October. A third will be held in early 2010.