By Jason Guerry
Anyone who lives in Lexington County feels it.
What used to be a quick drive down 378 or Highway 1 now takes twice as long. Intersections and feeder roads back up for multiple light cycles. Roads are patched, repatched, and still falling apart. You don’t need anyone to explain it, because you deal with it every day.
It’s easy to blame “growth” as the boogeyman, but the real problem is that our County Council has failed to plan for it all while continuing to approve it.
Too many are willing to ignore the problem and hope it resolves itself, but traffic and infrastructure challenges don’t solve themselves.
Over the past several years, Lexington County Council, including our District 7 representative, Beth Carrigg, has approved development after development, with more than 20,000 housing units now in the pipeline. Growth at that scale brings responsibility. Roads have to keep pace. Traffic has to be managed. Infrastructure has to be aligned.
That didn’t happen. And that’s why I’m running to be your next Lexington County District 7 Councilmember.
When growth moves forward without planning, the outcome is predictable: more congestion, worsening road conditions, and infrastructure that struggles to keep up. What we’re experiencing today isn’t surprising. It’s the result of decisions made without a coordinated plan.
And that pattern hasn’t changed.
Just last week, our County Council moved forward with selling 200+ acres of county-owned land for a large-scale development — even as tens of thousands of unbuilt units remain in the pipeline. The impact of that growth is still coming, yet there’s still no clear, countywide plan for how our roads, traffic, and infrastructure will handle it.
Instead of planning ahead, we’re now seeing proposals that try to deal with the consequences after the fact. Recently, our District 7 representative, who has held elected office for more than 18 years, expressed support for a $100,000 impact fee on new homes. At a time when the median home price is already approaching $350,000, that doesn’t solve the underlying problem; it makes it harder for our teachers, nurses, first responders, and first-time homebuyers, like my children, to afford to live here.
That’s how we got here: approving growth first and dealing with the consequences later.
Traffic didn’t become a daily frustration overnight. Our roads didn’t fall apart overnight. Infrastructure didn’t fall behind overnight. These are the result of decisions made without a clear, consistent plan to guide growth.
And it doesn’t have to be this way.
To their credit, the Town of Lexington, under the leadership of Mayor Hazel Livingston, has taken the lead on addressing major traffic issues like the Sunset Split, stepping in to find solutions where county leadership hasn’t. It’s a clear example of what happens when leaders choose action over inaction.
A county that approves this level of growth without a plan will continue to face these same problems. Without a clear approach to traffic, roads, and infrastructure, the same decisions will produce the same results.
That’s what has to change.
Here’s what a real plan looks like:
- Start fixing the problems we’re dealing with now by clearing bottlenecks and repairing roads, not just studying them.
- Create a traffic plan that aligns with growth, with roads, lanes, and signals coordinated with development.
- Put someone in charge of traffic by establishing a full-time role focused on congestion and planning, without raising taxes.
- Look at long-term solutions, such as a bypass, to take pressure off 378 and Highway 1.
- Use the tax dollars we already have and put them to work on roads.
Roads, traffic flow, and long-term capacity need to be part of every decision, not something addressed later. Leadership, including my opponent, should be accountable not just for what gets approved, but also for the real-world results of those decisions.
That’s the kind of results-driven approach Lexington County needs.
I’ve lived here my entire life. I’ve built a business here, raised my family here, and I care deeply about where we’re headed. My background is in solving problems, managing resources, and being accountable for results.
Because the challenges we’re facing aren’t complicated. They’re the result of choices, and better choices can lead to better outcomes.
At the end of the day, residents are asking for something simple: a county that plans ahead, keeps up with its growth, and delivers results that improve daily life.
That starts with having a plan.
If you agree, I respectfully ask for your vote for Lexington County Council District 7 in the June 9th Republican Primary. Together, we will put traffic and roads at the center of every decision.