By Bill Reichardt

“The consequences for the City of Aiken deserve deliberate and diligent analysis that should take place in a manner that best serves Aiken.”

Planned or not, like it or not, the intersection on the southern boundary of the City of Aiken is already burdened with being a major traffic hub. However, it appears that the intersection — serving Whiskey Road, Powderhouse Road, and Stratford Drive — was not scoped or configured to accommodate even its current traffic load, leading to routine daily traffic delays as well as having become an accident magnet. The current situation is problematic, to say the least. 

Furthermore, the new Lowes supermarket now under construction; the completed redevelopment of the former Aiken Mall on Whiskey Road with many new residences and retail stores; active new residential developments along Whiskey and Powerhouse Roads; the placement of the new Lulu’s; and the proposed Parker’s Kitchen and Gas Station would, without doubt, make the current problematic situation way, way worse. Beyond this, still more development along Whiskey Road south of this intersection will occur in the future.

Many ingress/egress and lane modifications were proposed by Parker’s at the April 24th Aiken City Council meeting, and other potential ones arose at that time. These could be viewed as band-aid solutions to a much bigger problem. A coordinated, big-picture look is needed, rather than an assemblage of individual fixes. 

Developers prefer to advance through the municipal and public comment processes as quickly, and with as little comment. as possible. Adding to the factors previously mentioned, other concerns include the zoning history of the property on which Parker’s wants to build; vital SCDOT input; and more. Understandably, Parker’s interests favor moving without delay, yet I believe that the consequences for the City of Aiken deserve deliberate and diligent analysis that should take place in a manner that best serves Aiken.

Due to time limits for the public speakers at the City Council session, two other important considerations received little to no mention: environmental impacts and property values. These are very real issues and deserve to be aired. And, remember, there already is a Circle K gas station/convenience store at the same intersection, and all gas stations emit pollutants including carcinogens.

I hope that the Mayor and City Council members will thoughtfully look out for ALL constituents, including long-established residential areas that pay good property taxes. There are countless other commercial uses for the parcel which could appropriately generate property and sales taxes for the City of Aiken without the negative consequences of a gas station. An additional gas station at this intersection is neither necessary nor helpful.

Let’s not put the cart before the horse.

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Bill Reichardt
Aiken, SC