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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
After years of owning properties in Panacea Steve Cushman has been working with others to improve the community.
“Developing a plan for Panacea for infrastructure is is a main priority right now I’ve been working with the county on a few things as far as parking goes trying to overcome the parking situation here.” said Cushman.
He feels that public parking is limited and prevents drivers from stopping into businesses.
His goal is to make more parking areas available and make Panacea more walk-able.
“That’s the key for Panacea right now in my eyes, if you can get the people to stop and get them out of their cars and get them walking to the different shops here, all of a sudden they start realizing there’s more to Panacea than zipping through 98 at 60 miles an hour,” said Cushman.
While Panacea gets traffic, Cushman says they have a hard time getting people into their businesses.
“You get people that just drive right through town they’re not stopping,” said Cushman.
Two businesses recently closed because they weren’t getting enough business, but others have remained open.
One of those businesses is Barn’s Spirits. It’s been open for a decade.
The owner, Niraj Patel, says he’s seen businesses come and go.
“It’s hard for them to survive because the lack of traffic, tourism and residents,” said Patel.
Patel thinks that more parking is one way to attract more people into the businesses and help them stay open.
“If more people come and stay in Panacea like more residents and tourists, then the Panacea businesses will do good and if businesses do well then the community will.”
There’s some vacant spaces available in this strip where businesses can open. Cushman says he’s hoping those can be used soon to benefit the area.
Wakulla County recently purchased a lot as a way to make more public parking available. We’ll keep you updated on the improvements.
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