What does 'gateway' really represent?
Thirty-five years ago, Saluda Street was in a better economic condition than it is today. It was a street that serviced the needs of the black community. There were grocery stores, convenience stores, clothing stores, diners and other social gathering places. Whatever the need, it was available within walking distance to the community. People had places to go and things to do after 10 p.m. Saluda Street represents a part of history for Rock Hill's black community.
But today, in 2008, the age of laptop computers, cell phones and flat-panel TVs, there is a 10 p.m. curfew for businesses along the Saluda Street corridor. An ordinance imposed by the city prohibits business owners to conduct business after 10 pm. What's wrong with that picture?
Hard-working men and women don't have a place in their own neighborhood to go for a meal, a drink or to have a good time, not to mention to buy a carton of milk or to gas up their vehicles. There is no gas station, no fast-food restaurant and only one corner store within walking distance that's open after 10 p.m. Businesses on Saluda Street are zoned to close by 10 p.m. on what's labeled the "Gateway" to downtown Rock Hill. Saluda Street is the "Gateway" through the black neighborhood, to downtown's predominately white businesses, which are able to operate after 10 p.m.
Unfair to businesses
This seems like an unfair business practice to me. All businesses have to go through the same process to get started through the city. But those businesses not located in the Saluda Street corridor have a better opportunity to make a profit than those that are in the corridor because of the way it is zoned. The businesses on Saluda that are "grandfathered in" and able to operate after 10 p.m., are owned by people out of North Carolina or other places. They don't care about the community. They make their money off of the black community, and at the end of the day, they go home to their own communities.
Is this ordinance in place to cut crime? If crime is going to happen, it will happen whether it is before 10 p.m. or after 10 p.m. Crime is crime. Saluda needs a chance to grow with the rest of Rock Hill.
Paving and sidewalks
The city put in sidewalks, paved the streets, put up street lights, so that the street can become a growing, prosperous community, and it looks good to those passing through. That's a start, but the black communities of Rock Hill are dying. Go beyond Saluda Street and look at the whole corridor. There are very few businesses, nothing to do, no livelihood. We need to bring business back to the Saluda Street corridor. Lift some of the restraints that are in place for businesses in the black neighborhood and not in place for businesses in other neighborhoods. Allow businesses to stay open past 10 p.m. Try midnight (even kids have an 11 p.m. to 6 p.m. curfew during the school year, and midnight when school is out). Enforce rules that the landlords make repairs and fix up their buildings instead of just collecting and increasing rent. Tear down these abandoned houses that are an eyesore to the community. Let's bring the life back to Saluda that existed 35 years ago.
This weekly column features opposing views from readers. These opinions are contrary to those expressed on this page or which otherwise take issue with something that appears in The Herald. All commentaries submitted become the property of The Herald and may be republished in any format.
This story was originally published November 15, 2008 at 1:48 AM with the headline "What does 'gateway' really represent?."