When I served as the advocacy chairperson for the Greenville Spinners several years ago, the club worked with the city to develop a small, downtown bike lane plan that was primarily focused on the central business district. That was definitely the right place to start, but at the time I often heard from Spinners members and other local cyclists who wanted to see those facilities expand beyond the city limits into the suburbs and other parts of the county. Since that time, through the work of many people, bike lanes in Greenville have expanded beyond the CBD… and if you attended any of the Bicycle Master Plan community meetings, you know that the plan is to eventually expand those bikeways much further in order to create a viable network for those of us who want a safe way to get around the city (and county) by bike. That is a long-range plan, but in order for that to happen, we NEED to take advantage of key resurfacing opportunities as they arise.
According to a recent Greenville News article (the same one I mentioned here), the South Carolina Department of Transportation is scheduled to resurface portions of Pelham Road (from Haywood Rd. to the Publix near East North) and Roper Mountain Road (from Blacks to Verdae) sometime this summer. I believe that bike lanes on both of those sections of road could provide critical connections from the heavily populated eastside of town to existing bike infrastructure in the city. Along with the new bike lanes and sharrows on East North, bike lanes on Pelham would feed to the current bike lanes in the downtown district and the Swamp Rabbit trail. Roper Mountain is also very important as it provides a route from eastside neighborhoods to the existing bike lanes at ICAR, where many people choose to ride. Personally, I have noticed a significant increase in the number of bicyclists on that currently dangerous section of Roper Mountain in recent years, so I believe the issue of safety for all users needs to be addressed with the resurfacing.
I am not alone in supporting the idea of bike lanes as part of these resurfacing projects. These sections of road are included in the Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study’s (GPATS) Long Range Transportation Plan, and Dan McGee, Transportation Planning Manager for the county, has recently publicly expressed support for including bike facilities in the Pelham Road resurfacing project. The Greenville Spinners board has also expressed support for bike lanes on both of these projects by sending a letter to the SCDOT and the Greenville City Manager on behalf of the club’s 800 plus members. I won’t list them all here, but a number of major employers on the eastside of Greenville have also expressed support for bike lanes as part of these resurfacing projects (Update 6/22: Flour, GE, and Hubbell Lighting are just a few of the companies that have already sent letters of support for these bike lanes). When you look at all the supporters who have taken an interest in these projects so far, it is clear that bike lanes on these roads are something that many people want to see.
In addition to the community support, I believe there are a couple of policy documents in place that support the inclusion of bike lanes as part of these resurfacing projects.
Greenville’s Complete Streets Resolution, adopted by City Council in 2008, states that the city endorses a complete streets policy (with accommodations for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and motorists) when feasible for new transportation projects as well as re-channelization projects and major maintenance. In both of these cases, observed bicycle traffic points to a need for facilities such as bike lanes on these roads.
SCDOT’s “Bicycle Accommodation Policy”, which is similar to the city’s complete streets policy, states that “ bicycling and walking accommodations should be a routine part of the department’s planning, design, construction and operating activities, and will be included in the everyday operations of our transportation system” and that bicycling and pedestrian improvements should be “an integral part of their transportation planning and programming where State or Federal Highway funding is utilized.”
Ultimately, the decision whether or not to include bike lanes as part of these projects will be made by the SCDOT, but certainly community support will be a factor in their decision. If you agree that bicycle accommodations should be considered with both of these projects, please leave a comment here expressing your support…and feel free to contact me if you wish to get involved further.
Update: It was mentioned in the comments, but I want to reiterate that bike lanes have previously been proposed on both of these sections of road as part of the Greenville Bicycle Master Plan. These are not just random resurfacing projects...both are important components in both the Greenvilly city and GPATS long range plans. See the map on page 58 of the presentation that was given at the March public meeting to see these, and other, identified bike routes.
28 comments:
I support this.
Awesome! Puhleez do it!!!!
I ride on Pelham Road 5 days a week, so I would welcome bicycle lanes.
I support bike lanes IF they are done right. I find the efforts on E. North Street to be unfortunate. I don't think a bike lane that comes and goes randomly makes anybody safer. Further, if the re-striping reduces the number of travel lanes, you wind up with angry, resentful motorists who blame cyclists. You have to look no further than the G'ville news OpEds to see the frustration building.
I hope there is enough room to add consistent bike lanes without subtracting any car lanes.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment, and for your advocacy on behalf of cycling.
I frequent both Pelham and Roper Mountain roads by automobile and as a bicycle commuter. Bike lanes would make sharing the road more comfortable and safer for motorist and cyclist.
More bike and pedestrian infrastructure means safer and more accessible streets for all. I am in favor of bike lanes on Pelham and Roper Mountain.
Thanks for the comments so far.
Danna, I completely agree that the bike lanes must be done right. That is why it is so important to address these resurfacing projects at the design and planning stage, and not when the work is starting. In both of these cases, there should not be a need to reduce travel lanes, so that is not a concern. As Jim.Blanton and nmccrary mentioned, properly done bike lanes can benefit the cyclists, motorists, and pedestrians who use the road. Complete Streets are for ALL users.
these roads don't need bike lanes, just better users. to stripe these lanes is heading in the wrong direction. have you ever seen a driver drive over the line into the bike lane?
Roving Loony, I ride regularly on Roper Mountain, and I disagree. The road is narrow at the end near Blacks with a high speed limit. In my experience, drivers are not comfortable passing a cyclist on that section, and I consider that a design flaw. As for better users (assuming you mean drivers and cyclists)...I'm all for that too
I support these bike lanes!
I used to ride Roper Mtn. Rd. all the time years ago...also Pelham. I'd love to bring these roads back into cycling circulation. Please create bike lanes.
I live in Coach Hills which lies right in between Roper Mountain and Pelham Rd. I agree as others have said that adding bike lanes to both of these roads would greatly benefit both cyclists and motorists.
I currently hesitate to ride anywhere direct from my house as I have to ride on either Pelham or Roper Mountain to get anywhere and I do not feel safe riding on either of these roads. When I have ridden on them, I feel like I impede traffic and have had this vocalized to me by motorists. Therefore, when I go riding, I load up my bike on my car to drive somewhere else to ride. If there were bike lanes on these roads I would not only go cycling more often from home but also commute to destinations that I currently drive to.
I fully support adding bike lanes to both of these roads. I also fully support my tax dollars going to pay for it.
i agree with Danna. the bike lanes should be coordinated with the 'master plan'. it would be nice if St. Francis would sponsor some lanes to form a bicycle lane hub. there are already some sharrows and some lanes in that area.
I support bike lanes on Pelham and Roper Mountain!
I ride my bike on Pelham Road and I support these bike lanes.
roving_looney said, "the bike lanes should be coordinated with the 'master plan'"
Take a look at Greenville's Bicycle Master Plan. Both of these roads are already included.
Yes. Please do this. Very important to economic and physical health of our community and state.
I support this. Transportation agencies need to focus on building complete streets for all users, not just cars. This includes those of us who walk or ride our bikes.
When I first moved to Greenville 22 years ago, I was shocked how fast vehicles traveled on Pelham Rd. At the very least, adding bike lanes should reduce speeds and make the roads safer for everyone.
An excellent idea. Many cyclists
coming into Greenville from
Eastside. Jim Young
These plans have my full support.
I fully support the addition of bike lanes on these busy roads. Will this decision be made by the SCDOT commissioners and, if so, should we contact the 4th congressional district representative, John Edwards?
I'm totally in support of planning and executing streets that can accommodate more than just vehicle traffic. Let's hope the decision makers are as well.
I am for bike lanes on these roads. This section of Roper Mt. Is one of my lunch time exercise routes and I frequent Phellam often. The balance of Roper Mt. Is part of my daily cycling commute to work.
Bike lanes on these streets would be another good addition to the bike infrastructure in Greenville.
Bike lanes in these areas is much needed. Safe streets for all to use, PLEASE!
I bike-commute on Pelham. Many drivers are helpful, but none of them have ANY guidance what to do regarding cyclists. Complete Streets would have been affirmation that, as a community, we were at least willing to try! County Council rejected it (thanks District 22).
Hope everyone saw the article in the Sunday, 6/12/2011, Greenville News. Despite all the controversy over East North Street, "slimming" four lanes to two has only added *20 seconds* to the drive-time. Surely we drivers can give that much to reducing dependence on foreign oil, improving health, and making our city and county a more attractive place for investment (which equals jobs).
Great points Richard,
I was at that County Council meeting in October, and it was a major disappointment. All the council members who I expected to vote against the complete streets resolution did (Joe Dill, Willis Meadows, et all), but it was encouraging to hear the strong support from Liz Seman and Joseph Baldwin. Unfortunately, Lottie Gibson was the swing vote and she did not seem to understand that provisions for pedestrians were included in the ordinance. It is also regretful that Jim Burns, who implied that he supported it previously, was not present to cast a tying vote. Regardless of the setback, a complete streets ordinance in the county is something to continue to work toward
In this case though, we are dealing with state roads. The SCDOT already has a policy on bicycle accommodation. The hope is that they will follow through with it on these projects.
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