SUMTER, S.C. — As spring gets closer, Sumter residents are taking advantage of the nice air. The City Council met today to vote on a resolution that might encourage more residents to get out.
"It's so much better to get outside and enjoy the fresh air," Sumter resident Joseph Johnson smiled.
Johnson says with spring almost here, it’s the perfect time to get some exercise in, and the Shot Pouch Greenway is Sumter’s newest path. The project was completed in January.
"But we don't want to stop there," the city's senior planner, Kyle Kelly, said.
Kelly presented an update on the greenway’s usage on Tuesday’s city council meeting where councilmembers unanimously passed a resolution to replace the Plowden Pond boardwalk and bridge.
"You know, there are things that we will continuously do as a city to improve that path not only where it is," Kelly said. "You know, adding amenities like bike racks and trash cans and pet waste stations but also making connections and making it more of a linear park in effect."
Kelly also updated the city council on statistics showing how much the greenway has been used. A sensor has recorded an daily average of about one hundred people, but Kelly tells me it cannot distinguish between one person or a group of people.
"We expect that that number is probably more like double that and will only increase as the weather improves," Kelly shared.
As more people get outside, Kelly says the city hopes to continue improving certain areas near the greenway like Plowden Bridge.
"Plowden Pond is a big piece of that because it is it has been a city facility, a city park facility for decades now," Kelly explained. "And the boardwalk the loop that you know you can go out over the water on is something that's been in place for a while, but it's built as a traditional boardwalk you know with wooden boards and wooden boards deteriorate."
With this new resolution, the city will use private funds and money from the previous penny sales tax to replace the wood with more durable, weather-proof material.
"The more [improvements], the merrier. You can't, you can never do too much improvement especially in these areas. But I hope they do this also in the other communities, the poor communities. You know this goes right alongside the more affluent neighborhoods where they have money. I hope they do this in the areas where they don't have money," Johnson explained. "Give those people opportunity to exercise and you have a lot of people in the poor communities, seniors, that would love to have the opportunity to get out and walk and exercise. So this is great."
According to Kelly, the new project should be completed by summer.