- I’ve been covering infrastructure around Wakulla County and seeing what improvements neighbors want to see.
- One thing neighbors would like to see in Panacea is more parking
- Watch the video to see what business owners are doing to add more parking and help other businesses stay open.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
After years of owning real estate in Panacea, Steve Cushman works with others to improve the community.
“Creating a plan for Panacea for infrastructure is a top priority right now. I’ve been working with the county on a few things as far as parking, trying to overcome the parking situation here,” Cushman said.
He feels public parking is limited and prevents drivers from pulling into businesses.
His goal is to make more parking available and make Panacea more viable.
“That’s the key to Panacea right now in my eyes, if you can get people to stop and get them out of their cars and get them to walk into the different stores here, suddenly they start to realize that Panacea offers more than zip-lining. over 98 at 60 mph,” Cushman said.
While Panacea has traffic, Cushman says it’s hard to get people into his businesses.
“You get people who just drive through town and don’t stop,” Cushman said.
Two businesses recently closed because they weren’t getting enough business, but others remain open.
One of those businesses is Barn’s Spirits. It has been open for ten years.
The owner, Niraj Patel, says he has seen businesses come and go.
“It’s hard for them to survive because of the lack of traffic, tourism and population,” Patel said.
Patel thinks more parking is one way to attract more people to businesses and help them stay open.
“If more people come and stay in Panacea as more residents and tourists, then Panacea’s businesses will do well, and if the businesses do well, it will be good for the community.”
There are several vacancies available in this lane for businesses to open. Cushman says he hopes they will soon be used to benefit the area.
Wakulla County recently purchased a lot as a way to make more public parking available. We will keep you updated on improvements.