University, village push for regular bus route
Published 3:12 pm Tuesday, July 3, 2018
A new form of transportation could spur connections between Misenheimer and Albemarle.
Pfeiffer staff and Misenheimer village officials are appealing to the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish a fixed bus route between the two municipalities.
In an effort to move towards that, the village endorsed a grant at its last meeting that could be used to fund a regularly scheduled SCUSA bus to downtown Albemarle.
“With the new program they have down there, it would facilitate travel between the two campuses,” Mayor Michael “Frizbee” Herron said.
However, while the main motivation may be students, the bus would also be open to the public.
“(While) the majority of Misenheimer residents are students who attend Pfeiffer University, the balance of the population is much older adults,” their endorsement letter stated. “Both sectors of our population would greatly benefit from this service.”
According to the USDOT, 9 percent of public transportation trips in rural areas are for medical purposes. A bus route between Misenheimer and Albemarle would also increase access to CHS-Stanly and the other medical offices in the Albemarle area.
“I hope we could get it to include other areas up here, too,” Misenheimer Councilman Peter Edquist said. “I like the idea of stops in Richfield and other places.”
The town is contemplating ways to finish the sidewalk between Misenheimer and Richfield, as well. Currently Misenheimer’s sidewalk goes to the edge of the village limits, but there it ends. A stretch of county land would need to be bridged to reach the neighboring town.
“I’m tempted to say let’s (put in the sidewalk there) ourselves,” Councilman Micah Edquist said.
While they couldn’t use Powell Bill money to construct a sidewalk across that gap, they could use General Fund money, officials noted. But that would require a lot of study, so maybe not yet, they reasoned.
“But we need to keep looking into it,” Peter Edquist said. “We need to make these connections.”
Contact Shannon Beamon at 704-982-0816 or shannon.beamon@stanlynewspress.com.
