In a recent post, I mentioned a few places in the City of Greenville where “Share the Road” signs will soon be installed. I just found out about one more road, Chick Springs. It sounds like two signs have been approved for that road and are currently being fabricated by the City. Many local cyclists use Chick Springs as a route from Altamont/ Paris Mountain to downtown, so it will be great to have the signs there to remind motorist of the presence of cyclists. Thanks to the City Staff for getting this done. I hope to see many more STR signs popping up in the City limits as the year progressesSo far, my attempts to get more “Share the Road” signs in the County have not been very successful, but I still consider that to be a major advocacy goal for 2008. I don’t want to blame the County entirely though; part of the problem has probably has been that I have not had the time to spend and have not been talking to all the right people. Any help that all of you can provide with contacts would be greatly appreciated. “Share the Road” signs are a cost effective way to spread the message that cyclists have a right to use the roadways, so there is no reason that we shouldn’t be able to get signs installed on the routes that we most often use.
One thing that all of you can do is use the form that is shown here (click to enlarge) to let the SCDOT know which roads in Greenville County need “Share the Road” signs. I encourage any of you who have a specific route in mind to identify specific locations on that road (with pictures if possible), fill out this form, and send it to the SCDOT (or just send it to me and I will forward it for you). As I mentioned before, Old Buncombe is the highest priority road in my opinion. Let’s work to get signs installed along that road before the US pro races in August.
3 comments:
Share the Road signs don't do anything; they don't make me feel any safer about riding a busy thoroughfare.
Fridrix, I obviously disagree with you about the effectiveness of Share the Road signs. Some people may choose not to obey them, but you could say the same about most traffic signs. I wouldn’t advocate removing speed limit or stop signs just because some motorists choose to break the law. Often when bike lanes or greeway trails are present in a city, the misconception by some drivers that bicycles do not belong on the roads is reinforced by the presence of separate facilities. Some drivers mistakenly believe that bikes should only be operated on those separate facilities and that cyclists do not have the right to use the road. I support bike lanes and trails, but I strongly believe that Share the Road signs are necessary to educate drivers and provide a balance. Bike lanes can not go everywhere, so it is very important that we educate the public about our rights to ride on roads.
I have written a lot about the Share the Road message in other posts, so I won’t rehash all of the reasons that I believe the signs are effective in this comment. I will just say that, in my 20+ years of bicycle commuting in Atlanta and Memphis, I have seen the changes in driver attitude brought about by the installation of these simple signs.
Good news for those of us who do believe in the effectiveness of the signs; the ones on Chick Springs are now up.
Yes I believe you do have a point.
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