North Charleston community pushes to revitalize boat landing

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A North Charleston community is pushing to fix a boat landing some say you can’t even use.

People who live in the area say it’s gotten so bad that some boats can’t even get in the water.

Almost 300 people in Wando Woods have signed a petition for the Flynn Drive Boat landing, which is part of the Ashley River Scenic Corridor District.

The community dates to the 1950’s and it has grown to an area with roughly 650 homes. Some residents say they can remember a time where they used to go to the landing.

Kevin Mock says he first remembers coming to the boat landing in the early 70’s with his grandparents.

He says there are a lot of residents in the neighborhood with boats that still use it.

“We now have a lot of people that are interested in it. It’s a benefit to Wando Woods and it should be fixed up and used,” said Mock.

According to those residents the problem is that the landing is deteriorating, and it has been a question of who is responsible for maintaining it.

North Charleston Councilman Todd Olds says that the SC Department of Natural Resources accepted the boat landing as an area to oversee. But over the years it’s gotten to a point where no one was keeping up with it.

Olds says he is currently working with the city and its legal department to see what they can do to help restore the landing.

“It’s a great recreational amenity and the people deserve to have this back accessible,” said Olds. “They would like additional amenities added to it, maybe a lookout area with park benches or a gazebo or a dock. But the most important thing on my agenda is to get the landing restored and to get accessible parking.”

Allen Martin helped start the petition online because he says a lot of Wando Woods residents are boat owners. He believes there is a lot of potential to fix the landing in a way that would make it more accessible to everyone.

Olds also believes that by restoring the landing, property values around it will go up.

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