FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Florence veterans have voiced their concerns over a bus stop near the Veteran Affairs Clinic.

Florence County Veteran Affairs Officer, Randy Godbold, said the office has been working with the Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority for the past year, to give free rides to veterans across the county.

Godbold said the bus hasn’t dropped veterans off in front of the clinic for more than two years.

“The only thing we want to see done is just the bus be able to get down there,” he said.

He said the road leading to the clinic makes it difficult for the bus to turn around and that there needs to be a way for veterans to get dropped off and picked up outside of the clinic.

“It could be gravel or whatever, we don’t care, just something so the bus can go down there and turn around,” said Godbold.

Veterans get off at the bus stop at the intersection of North Cashua Drive and Sally Hill Farm Road. The veterans then have to walk nearly half a mile down the road to get to the clinic.

“I know of at least four that are in walkers that have to walk down that road to the clinic,” said Goldbold.

Godbold said the bus used to turn around in the clinic parking lot, but caused damage to the lot so it stopped taking that route.

A 26-year military veteran, John Galloway, said he doesn’t use the bus system, but said is disappointed to learn disabled veterans have to walk down the road for their appointments.

“If I had to walk as much as some of the veterans have to I probably wouldn’t go to the clinic,” said Galloway. “They’ve served their country and they should be treated better.”

Galloway said the cold weather has made the situation even worse.

“For the past couple of weeks the weather’s been kind of bad around here, and it gets kind of cold and it’s a shame that they have to walk in that bad weather to go to the clinic,” he said.

Godbold said he is working with the Florence County Administrator, Florence County Council, PDRTA, and State Representative Terry Alexander, to fix the road or add a roundabout so the bus can turn around and drop veterans off in front of the clinic.

“We’ve been trying to get with whoever we need to get with to try to get this road fixed,” Godbold said. “To where we can get the bus back down that road and to keep the veterans from having to walk.”