County Council handling growing pains in Boiling Springs

BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. (WSPA) – It’s no secret that Boiling Springs has exploded in recent years, and this summer, Spartanburg County leaders said it’s reached a peak.

It has become home to the state’s first Whataburger, a new Target, and a new coffee chain, all in the span of a few months.

This inevitably comes with change, and county council members said they’re ready for it.

“You don’t really have to leave the little area now, to go out into downtown Spartanburg, the eastside or westside, to really get a good meal, or to shop,” said Jack Mabry, Spartanburg County councilman. “I know its hard because I didn’t like the growth in the beginning, I thought gosh can we slow it down somehow, but as you see, we’re doing things the right way.”

Doors at Target opened Wednesday, and store director Jonathan Colbert said he’s seeing the large crowds he expected.

“They’ve been so excited. We’ve felt that from the very beginning when we got to this community, our large food and beverage assortment is drawing a lot of guests, having Ulta, Starbucks, CVS, its bringing a lot to this community,” said Colbert.

Traffic is getting worse according to officials and councilman Jack Mabry said he’s been working on solutions.

“I talked to the DOT guy and he went up there and actually re-calibrated the light at Rainbow Lake and Old Furnace to try and get that coordinated so one light doesn’t change too quickly and can let the traffic flow on through,” said Mabry.

He also said there are alternate routes, like backroads, aside from Highway 9, that he hopes drivers will use more often.

The growth has also brought more money to pay for accommodations. The penny sales tax is one example council noted.

While county council members said they know it’s hard for lifelong residents to watch their once small town transform, they hope they can see the positives.

“When we look at people who come in to live in Boiling Springs and they just love the area, we kind of need to embrace that,” said Mabry. “It’s like we have something good and we have had something great for a long time, we need to just adjust how we look at the growth.”

County council said to deal with the traffic congestion, residents should expect to see more construction on their commutes as part of some upcoming road projects.

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