Sandhill

  There is a shopping area out Two Notch Road in Columbia called the Village at Sandhill, but most people just call in Sandhills.  It is an area with a lot of stores, many of them upscale, in the area.  There are also some apartments and condos in the Village.  Ironically, across the street is a Walmart and Target.  We wanted to get a bus out there, but many of the residents and business owners didn't want one.  They never said it directly, but they implied that the bus riders didn't fit into their places.  After all, only thugs and gangs rode the bus.  That was their opinion.  One thing I hate is stigmas.  It borders on racism, in my opinion.

 I went to the Comet with the suggestion of getting a bus to Sandhills.  They had just gotten a new route planner who had come from Florida.  He took a car out that way and was amazed how many businesses were out there.  He came back and agreed with me that we needed a bus to Sandhills, despite the opposition from the elite.  Many employees of those stores rode the bus.  However, the Comet's Board of Directors were not all on board of putting a bus into a wealthy region.  Some wanted to maintain a bus presence in downtown Columbia and not venture out to Sandhills.  They had heard the criticism from that community, too.  

 My VP Keith and I made an appointment to see the Richland County Councilperson who represented Sandhills.  We told her what the benefits would be to have a bus go to that location.  She agreed with us.  Meanwhile, a woman in a wheelchair went to the Comet's Board of Directors and told them that she worked at the movie theatre out there and needed to get there, without depending on people to take her.  Between her story and our work, we were able to get a bus to go to Sandhills.  The Richland County Council recognized Keith and me at one of their meetings.  That recognition also validated the Midlands Transit Riders Association with the council.  When we spoke, they listened.  That clout would help us moving forward.  It also showed the county that we could get things done, when others were unsuccessful.  It also showed the merchants out there that not all bus riders were thugs or in gangs.