Aiken, SC -- Will Radabaugh lives on the southside of Aiken and says emergency response time could be quicker..

Will Radabaugh, Aiken, SC: "I would say probably about 15-20 minutes. I think it could be better."

In about 6 months, it will be. Tuesday, city and county leaders held a cermonial groundbreaking for a new emergency substation to be built off Whiskey Road, on the south side of town.

Radabaugh: "I think it's a good thing, down on this side, because it's a quicker response time. The ambulances, right now, come from all the way up on in the city down on the southside, and it makes it pretty hard, especially during traffic season and nightime stuff like that."

The one-cent sales tax, that voters approved, bought the land and will pay for the substation at a cost of $1 million. Aiken Mayor Fred Cavanaugh says better response times will keep the community safe.

Fred Cavanaugh, Mayor of Aiken, SC: "The safety is the main thing and health; getting people when they're having their heart attacks, or whatever it may be, emergency health problems, get there quickly. That's the key, we all know that."

The new substation will be similiar to the one on Richland Avenue, but bigger.

Ronnie Young, Chariman, Aiken County Council: "This specific site will also offer that same coverage to the town of New Ellenton, and the the 278 corridor, which they did not have the qucik response time before that; they will have now."

The substation will also serve as a polling station and a community meeting place.