Can Greenville become more affordable?

The Greenville News recently did a great writeup on the accolades Greenville has received and what that means for the future of the city. There is a lot to digest in the article, but one common thread was that Mayor White and others are concerned about ensuring that the city is affordable for all of the residents in the Upstate, not merely the upper classes.

So what does that mean? Well, agree with him or not, the mayor clearly believes that revitalizing downtown (as he said in the article, “no neighborhood left behind”) in concert with rental assistance programs are a big part of making it more affordable. To this end, expect development of Downtown Greenville to continue, with a particular emphasis on the areas in and around the West End, which are clearly in his crosshairs.

However, another major theme in the article is public transportation. Mayor White explicitly said to The Greenville News, “I will say we do a lot of things right, but I don’t think anyone would say that Greenville is where it should be when it comes to public transportation.”

This should come as no surprise. Downtown Greenville has a trolley, which helps if, for instance, you need to park at University Ridge and go to Fluor Field. But let’s be honest, going 10 mph in a trolley is fun and cute but not really a serious public transportation option. Greenlink has other, more serious routes that are fairly cost-effective, but they are limited in scope. (Let’s just say, if you are within walking distance of public transportation, you are one of the few.) In fact, more and more I hear that people are using the ride-sharing services, Uber and (since they just started operating in the Upstate) Lyft.

If Greenville got serious about public transportation, it could be a big boon to the Upstate and particularly to downtown. We’ll never have a subway system, but what if we could go shopping at Woodruff Road without having to sit in traffic for whoever knows how long? What if we could hop onto a bus from Eastside to have appetizers in Greer, go to Travelers Rest for dinner, and then head to Greenville for dessert, and back, all without driving or walking very far? What if we could step into a cheap, crazy-futuristic podcar to go from one part of town to the other? If Mayor White has his way, maybe that won’t be so far-fetched.

We all know that Downtown Greenville is on the rise. Will it remain (or become) affordable? Let’s hope Mayor White and others figure out a way to make it happen.