Jim Fair
Spartanburg County has taken ownership to Greer's gateway on I-85/Highway 14 with a monument-style sign.
It’s so big it stakes its turf – gateways into its county – with signage described as big as monuments.
One such monument resides at northbound I-85 and Highway 14 at exit 54 – a “Welcome to Spartanburg County” structure that is near completion. That just happens to be the gateway into Greer, too.
“I am trying to remember another county monument that size and can’t remember that I have,” City Administrator Ed Driggers said.
Through Driggers’ association with the Municipal Association of South Carolina, he has traveled throughout the state on main and secondary roads. “I have never seen one (county welcome sign) this monumental,” he said.
Spartanburg County’s plan is to put similar monuments at gateways northbound I-85 and east and west I-26. It is a controversial branding idea.
It goes against the “Eyes on 85” initiative that Spartanburg and Greenville counties officials had been working toward for years to beautify interchanges along the corridor. That initiative, originating with noted landscape architect Rick Webel, was to design consistent landscaping at the interchanges along the I-85 corridor to signal the natural beauty of the upstate.
Webel’s signature works include Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, Augusta National Golf Club, BMW North America, Rockefeller Center and Fluor Daniel when he was managing director of Innocenti & Webel.
“It’s kind of on the shelf,” Greenville Mayor Knox White said of the Eyes on 85 initiative. “Rick Weble first came up with the idea of landscaping the interchanges,” White said. “There was no mention of signage that I remember.”
White said Weble’s plan was, “If we did all the intersections and designed them like GSP we would have something in the upstate that nobody else has,” White said. “It would be the first impressions traffic has of the communities off of I-85.”
White said city officials have requested Weble have input in designing the I-85/385 interchange landscape.
Eyes on 85 would give responsibility to landscaping the interchanges to the cities with gateways off of I-85. Thus Greer would have interchanges at highways 14 and 101.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation would partner with cities with a 5- or 10-year maintenance agreement to upkeep the interchanges. “You have to have capital to do that. DOT won’t do it,” White said.
Mayor Rick Danner and other Greer city and economic officials were aware of Spartanburg County taking ownership of the Greer gateway to announce travelers’ arrival into Spartanburg County through plans delivered to the city.
“We absolutely had a heads up on that side of the road into the city,” Danner said. “They sent us the plans and they met all qualifications of our sign ordinance.”
Which leaves Greer without any signage, except for roadway signs, to steer travelers to the city.
Driggers said Greer’s just approved master plan includes, “directing gateway signage on Hwy. 29 at Gap Creek Road and at 29 at the Target (shopping center) area.”
Greer must decide what kind of signage it wants to engage travelers northbound on I-85. “We will do something but we’re not going to get into a contest of trying to have a sign bigger than theirs,” Driggers said.
“We still have highway 101 exit that we can do something with,” Driggers said.