IRMO, S.C. — On Thursday, the Town of Irmo started a survey for residents in the town to see if there is a need for more bus stops.
"For a long time, I depended on public transportation because I don’t drive," said Irmo resident John Stetar. "But since we moved here, it hasn’t been accessible to me."
Stetar said having more bus stops from The COMET (Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority) would be beneficial to the community.
"It would allow people to come up here and fill jobs that we can't fill locally," Stetar said. "It would still be nice to have access to shopping areas and other areas to the city, surrounding areas. It’s always good to have public transportation."
Currently, Irmo only has two stops, less than a mile apart from each other. One is located at the Midlands Technical College-Harbison Campus, and the other is on Lake Murray Boulevard near College Avenue.
"The process is to find out what the needs are in the community, if the community wants it," said Irmo Mayor Barry Walker. "The second step, if the community does want it, is to approach the transportation committee of The COMET and see the feasibility to do that."
Mayor Walker told News 19, there have been a variety of concerns in the community.
Resident Tracye Williams believes it would cause an increase in crime rates and the homeless population. "You are most definitely going to bring in unwanted individuals that are meant to do harm. It’s going to happen. It’s inevitable. It's a bad thing."
Williams said another concern is over population.
"It’s going to bring more people in, which means ‘Oh, maybe I can move to Irmo, they’ve got a bus station now,'" Williams said. "And the population of Irmo is going to skyrocket."
According to Mayor Walker, the survey ends Tuesday. If residents are interested in filling out the survey, CLICK HERE.
