Residents of Ward’s Subdivision, located off of Highway 261, are trying to bring awareness to an issue they have been dealing with for some time. The subdivision has multiple dirt roads that are almost completely undrivable. MS, CE, and WE roads in the subdivision have large holes that fill with water when it rains, making the roads dangerous to navigate, and damaging resident vehicles.
One resident of the subdivision, Angela Bannister, has paid more than $1,000 to repair damages to her vehicle. When asked if there were more people in the subdivision who have had to pay for car repairs, she said, “My son has had to get a lot of work done to his brakes, and I know my neighbor has had to get multiple alignments done on her car as well.” All of these repairs are coming out of the residents’ pockets.
Because there is only one way in and out of Ward’s Subdivision, residents have no choice but to travel the unsafe dirt roads. An additional concern is the amount of disabled people that live there. The roads subtract from the accessibility of the entire subdivision for some, and put others at risk if they need to navigate them in an emergency.
Several people who live in Ward’s Subdivision have brought their concerns to the authorities, but because the subdivision is privately owned, Clarendon Public Works and SCDOT are not able to help with the issue. The owner of the subdivision is solely responsible for the upkeep of the roads, and he has stated that he will not be repairing them.
Representative Fawn Pedalino is working on getting the residents the help they need, stating, “I originally reached out to one of the homeowners when I first saw their post online. They also came out to the July County Council meeting to bring awareness to the state of the roads in the Winter Hill Community. I started working on reaching out to a few people that I thought could sit down with them and explain the full situation of the roads currently and the conveyance information that was originally written. As the Representative, it is my job to help Constituents who are having problems find the appropriate entities that can help them if it isn’t in my power to handle it myself. We also have a meeting this week with members of County Council and County Admin to further discuss the future situation of the roads. I hope that we can find a solution to get these roads fixed. The children have to walk to the end of the roads to get on the School buses, the Post Office dropped letters to inform them that they will no longer provide mail to their homes, and I am genuinely concerned about how Emergency vehicles will be able to get to homeowners if an emergency occurs. There are several members of the community who are disabled that live on these roads.”
A petition to get these roads repaired has been started.
