Summerville discussing ways to make Sawmill Branch Trail safer for residents

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – Summerville town leaders are discussing ways to improve safety along a popular walking and biking trail.

Mayor Russ Touchberry said the town’s Public Safety Committee discussed the Sawmill Branch Trail during a Tuesday night meeting, calling the space a huge asset for the community. “It’s a great opportunity for folks to get out and enjoy the outdoors in Summerville,” he said.

The trail is roughly seven miles long and runs through Summerville with a paved path next to the Sawmill Branch Canal.

“We talked about safety along that trail,” said Mayor Touchberry of the meeting. “There was an incident – I believe last week – a very tragic incident.”

A woman died and another person was injured on the trail last month when they were shot near the Newington Plantation swimming pool by a man who was illegally hunting deer.

There is no lighting on the trail, and it’s supposed to be closed at dusk.

Sarah Stallings and her friend Joanna Disch were walking their babies on the trail today for the first time to get some fresh air. They like the idea that additional safety measures might be on the way.

Improvements could include installing emergency call boxes or security cameras.

“We both just recently had babies, six weeks ago – the same week – so we wanted to get together and get some fresh air and have some time together,” said Stallings.

“I think it’s always a good idea to be able to call people to you if you’re having like a problem, especially if your phone dies or if you don’t have service or something like that,” said Disch. “Especially since it’s getting darker […] you’ve got to be able to still, come out here and walk and feel safe so I think it’s a great idea.”

The town is considering options like annexing some of the property, or perhaps even looking at areas the town could purchase. But none of that has been decided on at this point.

“We did talk about initiating a memorandum of understanding with Dorchester County- not only the sheriff’s office but with the county itself working together. There are areas of the trail that are within the municipal boundaries of the town of Summerville and there are areas that are unincorporated and can sometimes lead to confusion, and we just want to make sure that there’s no confusion that would lead to interruption of public safety along that asset,” said Mayor Touchberry.

Summerville Town Council is expected to discuss the issue during their council meeting Thursday night.