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Accommodating the Transplants to Hilton Head Part 2: Public Transportation, Hospitals, Schools, Shopping & Roads

Posted by Bill True on Friday, December 28th, 2018 at 3:46pm.

With the flourishing influx of new residents into the heart of the Lowcountry, Bluffton and Hilton Head, Beaufort County and the towns had to respond and work diligently to improve the elements of infrastructure…and in some areas create services from scratch.

The need for PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION was recognized by the Beaufort County leadership forty years ago this year when in 1978 The Beaufort-Jasper Regional Transportation Authority was established as the primary public transportation provider for Beaufort and Jasper Counties.palmetto breeze bus route

Originally the objective was not to create an intra-county transportation system but rather to support the ever-expanding need for workers in the growing Beaufort County, so the initial routes of The Beaufort-Jasper Regional Transportation Authority, established in 1984, was service to Allendale, Colleton, and Hampton counties from Beaufort county pickup/drop-off points.

It soon became apparent that the need behind the motivation to develop a multi-county system came from the Lowcountry so with the launching of the Allendale, Colleton, and Hampton county routes, the community fathers renamed the system to Lowcountry Regional Transportation Authority.

Need and response to need grew exponentially through a complex system that can best be depicted by the Palmetto Breeze (the current name of the services provided by the Lowcountry Regional Transportation Authority) route map above.

Hospitals

HOSPITALS and general medical care were high on the agenda of the community leadership when it came to responding to the needs of a rapidly growing population.

hilton head hospital, scIn 1975 Hilton Head Hospital opened its doors as a forty-bed community hospital. It was a welcome new endeavor making the residents of Hilton Head and Bluffton gain a new sense of security with a facility where the ill and the injured could go in time of need and expectant parents knew where their new family member would enter this world.

But as the years rolled on, the population grew, and the medical needs expanded proportionately.

With a name and organizational change Hilton Head Hospital evolved into what it is today.

Hilton Head Regional Healthcare is a cohesive community of care for the Lowcountry region. A coordinated group that was originally a forty-bed hospital, the organization now includes Coastal Carolina Hospital, Hilton Head Hospital, the Bluffton Medical Campus, and the Bluffton-Okatie Outpatient Center. With affiliated physicians spread across the Bluffton/Hilton Head geography, with offices throughout the community, this network, serving a population of slightly over sixty-thousand residents has come to epitomize personalized treatment, in an integrated network of resources and expertise built to service the entire Lowcountry.

Schools

SCHOOLS in the Lowcountry are as diversified as in any community in the United States of ten-times the size.

may river high school, bluffton, scWith every grade level served from pre-school through bachelor’s degrees at the University of South Carolina Beaufort – Bluffton Campus, parents can be assured of choices for their offspring.

Pre-college education is available from public institutions, private institutions and religion affiliated institutions.

To provide a bit of insight here, I will focus on the newest addition to the public institutions, May River High School in Bluffton.

May River offers extensive diversification in educational choices for the Bluffton youngsters with modern extensive facilities offering advanced curriculum in English, Math, Science, Social Studies, World Languages, Career and Technology Education, Physical Education, Visual and Performing Arts, ESOL and Special Education.

Shopping

tangier outlet store, bluffton, scThe diversity of shopping opportunities in Bluffton/Hilton Head is enough to make a frugal head-of-family weep.

From warehouse clubs to exceptional, unique boutiques and everything in between, those seeking unusual items and those seeking variety in choices, will find them all here.

I will bypass enumerating the vast selection of food stores and move on to one of the attractions in the area visited daily by thousands of residents and visitors alike.

Tanger Outlets in Bluffton with over seventy-five stores is a one stop shop for everything from shoes to hats, luggage to kitchen tools and gadgets and pretty much whatever else you may want or need.

This is a complex that was the result of the Tanger group working closely with the Bluffton and Beaufort County officials to bring a resource to the area that not only serves the Lowcountry residents and attracts tourists. It is also a source of revenue for the town and county.

Roads

Of course, fundamental to all these resources functioning and providing the Lowcountry townspeople with their services, is the ability of the residents and visitors to move about Beaufort county safely, conveniently and at an efficient pace.

bluffton/hilton head US 278 - Bluffton Parkway Flyover

The linking requisite is ROADS, and each level of government, Bluffton & Hilton Head towns, Beaufort County and the State of South Carolina, have worked together to produce an ever-improving network of roads, highways and bridges to meet the growing need.

Are you interested in making a home on Hilton Head Island or Bluffton? Please contact Bill True online or call 1-843-384-9088 today!

-Bill True

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