MAIN STREET PANEL WRESTLES WITH ADOPTING BOUNDARIES

FROM: THE GREENVILLE (S.C.) NEWS (LINK)
POSTED WENDESDAY, JULY 16, 2008

By Kelly VanLeeuwen • TRIBUNE-TIMES WRITER

Members of the steering committee to redesign Mauldin's Main Street met for the first time July 10 where they were tasked with determining the parameters of the study.

But first they had to decide where Main Street is.

The redesign study is the first phase of a long-term project that could invest many city dollars and volunteer hours into building a future city center.

The City Council voted unanimously in May to approve the $90,000 proposal from Asheville-based firm LandDesign to craft a redesign plan for Main Street that addresses beautification, traffic control, land use and economic development.

Officials have said both the city's growth and the planned developments up 276 toward Greenville have created a sense of urgency toward establishing Mauldin as its own place.

Taft Matney said what makes Mauldin unique is "not something people can put their hands on or even name. There's something here that makes people want to stay."

Members said they wanted people to think of Mauldin as a home for friendly neighbors, walkability, a small town attitude, great shops and a "village appeal."

These visions influenced the conflicting opinions about where to build the city's Main Street.

The first choice would be Main Street, also known as Highway 276, from North Main at Forrester Drive down to the Southern Connector and also down South Main toward Simpsonville to I-385.

That's the section that Mayor Don Godbey has referred to as the "concrete landing strip" in need of an overhaul in light of coming developments such as the ICAR campus and a St. Francis hospital.

Redesigning this area would involve overhauling a main thoroughfare that could end up setting Mauldin apart along the 276 corridor.

"It's time we got out of the shadows and let everyone know from Travelers Rest to Fountain Inn (that) Maudlin is a great place to come live and work," Dave Chesson said.

The second choice would be Butler Road, the second, much narrower thoroughfare that intersects 276, I-385 and runs into Woodruff Road.

Keith Brockington, representing the Greenville County Planning department and the Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study -- which is funding $45,000 of the project -- said developing Butler Road as Main Street would keep congestion where it should be: on 276 as a thoroughfare.

The money budgeted for the project now -- more than $600,000 of enhancement funds from the S.C. Department of Transportation -- can be used only along 276, City Administrator Trey Eubanks said.

The first meeting for the public will be on Aug. 14. The time and location have not been set yet.

Public meetings also are scheduled for Oct. 2 and Nov. 13.

TMPR NOTE: To voice input on the Main Street Corridor plan, download PDF survey HERE, and return it no later than Friday, August 8, 2008. You may return the survey in one of the following ways:

• US Mail = PO Box 249, Mauldin, SC 29662
• City Hall = 5 East Butler Road, Mauldin, SC 29662
• Fax = 864/297-3411
• E-Mail Responses or Comments = MauldinMainStPlan@landdesign.com.