This was not what we signed up for.
That was my thought as walls beaded up, soaking moisture from the 100-degree air surrounding 10 sweaty adults crammed in a 4-by-6-foot elevator.
“HELP! We are at the court of appeals stuck in an elevator,” someone posted on Facebook. “This is not a joke!!!! Serious.”
Ironically, more than half of our Leadership Greenville tour to the S.C. State Capitol was about one of the most pressing legislative issues in our state today: transportation. Area Development magazine ranked infrastructure access – specifically high-quality highways – as the No. 1 factor for corporate relocations and expansions. It’s not just about the inconvenience of bumpy roads and traffic – our system might be slowly emptying our wallets as a state.
As we collectively shed 10 gallons of water over half an hour, I couldn’t help but think our predicament – we’d stalled our elevator with too much weight – was a painful parallel to what we face with South Carolina’s broken-down infrastructure.
We banged on the elevator doors and held our cellphones up to catch a signal, but ultimately, we could do nothing but wait to be rescued. The frustration was real, as was the panic-inducing realization that the air conditioning only worked when the elevator was in motion.
For South Carolina business leaders, citizens and economic developers, the frustration is real as well. There is no end to the stream of reports about how the issue could stifle development, about increasing challenges for the supply chains that are the lifeblood of our manufacturing industry, about overwhelming budget shortfalls and whispers of crippling government inefficiencies that make infusions of cash ineffective.
What surprised me, however, was that the legislators we spoke with seemed just as frustrated. They shook their heads while explaining the state of affairs, which options they’d tried, were trying or might discuss. The process is meant to be slow, they say, to make sure it’s the right legislation. It might happen this year, they say. But probably not.
To be fair, some have proposed options. Many counties – Greenville included – have tried to shore up transportation budgets with penny sales tax referendums. Some advocate for a higher gas tax, one to match our regional state peers. Others argue for a pay-per-use system, but government tracking, privacy and technology issues seem to make it a no-go for everyday citizens.
But that’s little solace to the employee who can’t work because his job moved to Georgia. It’s of little solace to economic developers who can’t get in the door because companies need to reliably, safely and quickly get their product to market. And it’s of little solace to businesses on congested streets trapped behind gridlocked traffic. So here we are, trapped in an elevator, still trying but ultimately waiting for an answer to South Carolina’s transportation woes. I don’t at all mean that it’s hopeless. We might just be stuck, sweating in the hot box a little longer. Here’s hoping we can soon move onward and – with any luck – upward.
Postscript: After half an hour held hostage between floors three and four – and multiple calls reminding maintenance that, yes, we were still stuck – the elevator released us, tumbling out clown-car style to the surprised employees below.
