City Council will soon vote on the Bicycle Master Plan

Over the course of the last year or so, many of you who read this blog have been involved in one way or another with the development of the Greenville Bicycle Master Plan. During the development cycle, there have been community workshops, a major bike count, online surveys, and many other ways for the community to get involved. All of that work has culminated in what I think is a great outline of the future of bicycling infrastructure in Greenville, and I encourage you to read the Executive Summary of the Master Plan website to learn more about it. Greenville City Council will be voting on the plan in August, so please contact the City Council member for your district  (as well as the Mayor and City Manager) to let them know what you think of it. If you support the bicycle master plan, now is the time to make sure that your voice is heard

Update 8/17: The City Council vote is now has been scheduled for September 26th. More information to follow soon in a new post.

An article published last week in the Greenville News point out that “some leaders are cautious on the city’s bike plan” (you can read the full article at the Asheville Citizen Times website if you don’t subscribe to the Greenville News).  When I first read the article, there were quite a few comments and points that I found troubling, so I will try and address a couple of those issues in this post.

According to the article, Mayor White states that the “city intends to act deliberatively and focus on off-road trails”. He says “he doesn’t foresee bike lanes on heavily traveled thoroughfares such as Stone Avenue.”  Based on the success of the Swamp Rabbit, I agree with the Mayor that we should build more greenway trails. Personally, I enjoy riding on the Swamp Rabbit with my kids, but I consider that type of trail to mainly be a recreational component. In order for bikes to be included as a part of the overall transportation plan, we need a comprehensive network that includes off street trails, on street bike lanes, sharrows, and other bicycle infrastructure components. To me, that is what the Master Plan offers…a guideline to create a REAL network that will allow more people in the community to safely travel by bicycle. Sure, there are people like me (and many of you) who are out riding no matter what, but to address the 60 percent of residents who are “interested but concerned” about cycling (according to recent city survey), a comprehensive network of routes needs to be established.

I am a bit confused at the apparent distinction that is made in the article between the bicycle master plan and the City’s Complete Streets policy. The idea with both is to accommodate all types of traffic on our roadways, and to make those streets safer for ALL users. Knowing that South Carolina ranks as one of the worst states in the nation for cyclist and pedestrian fatalities per capita, I would hope that making our roads safe for everyone would be a priority. Councilwoman Amy Ryberg Doyle understands that. She points out in the article that “the city isn’t rearranging streets just for bikes,” and that a “complete streets policy is designed to make more roads that reduce car speed, improve the safety of pedestrians and offer alternate transportation.” The example of East North Street is mentioned. Based on the city’s traffic engineering department usage studies, that road was reduced from 4 lanes to 2 and bike lanes were added. According to city officials, that lane reduction “added 20 seconds to the drive time, which was part of the goal, while continuing to move roughly 10,000 cars per day.” Mayor White states in the article that the road diet has “made traffic more efficient”, so overall it sounds like the East North street project was a success. So why does Councilwomen Susan Reynolds not agree?  She is glad that traffic has improved, but says, “that wasn’t our intent. Our intent was to put bike lanes.” That statement really puzzles me. Personally, I don’t think the intent should ever be to JUST put in bike lanes. A holistic approach to traffic planning needs to be considered, and that was the case with the East North Street project. Furthermore, that is why the master plan has been carefully developed by urban planners, civil engineers, and with much input from concerned local citizens. No one is advocating painting bike lanes on every road without considering the factors that affect traffic. The goal is to improve safe traffic flow and benefit everyone. Mrs. Reynolds does say that she supports bike lanes, but that the city needs more information such as bike counts (during the development of the master plan, I participated with many others in the city’s first major bike count). She goes onto to say things like, “I just think it’s really short sighted to start picking streets…we on council are not engineers. We should be sticking with the original policy, which is complete streets”, and “We can’t make all our roads bike lanes…there’s got to be some roads that we leave intact for traffic.” Knowing the research and planning that has gone into the current proposal, I find those statements very puzzling. 

It is not my intent to pick on Mrs. Reynolds, who you may remember I supported in the recent election. She says that she is “all for bike lanes and believes in their economic value to the city” and I believe she is sincere in her support. What I don’t understand is why is she is unaware of the research and design work that went into the current bicycle master plan to make sure that any changes improve traffic and benefit cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.  Perhaps we in the cycling community have done poor job of communicating that fact to our elected officials. In my opinion, the goal of the plan is to improve the safety of our streets and allow more people to choose alternative ways to get around. It is not just an amenity for the people who currently ride bicycles in Greenville, but an opportunity for those 60% of concerned but interested potential riders to safely and comfortably get out on bikes.

If it is ever going to happen though, now is the time to let our elected officials know that this is something we care about. Again, I urge you to voice your support and help to make this plan a reality in Greenville.

Federal bike and pedestrian funding in danger!

If you are an LAB member, PCC member, or People for Bikes subscriber, you have probably already heard that House Transportation Chairman John Mica (R-FL) announced yesterday that his transportation bill will eliminate dedicated funding for bicycling and walking, including Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and the Recreational Trails Program. He stated that these programs support activities that are “not in the federal interest”, and encouraged states not to fund them either. This proposed halt to funding for sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways comes at a time when, as the LAB points out, “two-thirds of all pedestrian deaths are on federally funded highways” and “one-third of children’s traffic deaths happen when children are walking or bicycling and are struck by cars.”

The LAB also provides some good talking points on this issue:

• Biking and walking are important forms of transportation, and funding for bicycle and pedestrian improvements is a very efficient use of federal transportation dollars.  Portland, OR built 300 miles of bike lanes and trails for the cost of one mile of highway. 
• These projects create jobs and build local economies.  Building bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure creates 46% more jobs than building road-only projects per million dollars spent.  Cities that invest in bicycle and pedestrian projects turn downtowns into destinations, and capitalize on increased business activity.
• Eliminating the 1.5% of transportation funding spent on bike/ped would have no meaningful impact on the federal budget, but instead, decreases transportation options for American families in a time of rising gas prices and an uncertain economy.  

Please take a few minutes today to write your Senators and Congressional representatives to express your support for continued bicycle and pedestrian funding. See the message below from Rachael at the Palmetto Cycling Coalition for more information and/or visit the page that People for Bikes has set up to send a message. This could be a major setback for bicycle and pedestrian transportation, so we all need to speak up now.

Good evening,

  

We just found out some very bad news, which we urge you to take action on immediately: dedicated funding for bicycling and walking is in jeopardy based upon House and Senate Transportation proposals released today. 

This funding has supported projects that we all know and love--like sections of the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston, pathways in Hilton Head, mountain bike trails (FATS and others) in the Central Savannah River Area, and parts of the Swamp Rabbit in Greenville. Without this funding, these projects and similar ones in the future will be in jeopardy. 

Today, Congressman John Mica of Florida, Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, outlined his plans for the new transportation bill and called for the elimination of dedicated funding for biking and walking programs, which he suggested are "not in the national interest."

In the Senate, James Inhofe of Oklahoma is leading a similar attack. Inhofe, a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said that one of his top-three priorities for the next multi-year federal transportation bill is to eliminate "frivolous spending for bike trails."

If Representative Mica and Senator Inhofe get their way, dedicated funding for three crucial programs -- Safe Routes to School, Transportation Enhancements, and Recreational Trails -- will be eliminated. The cost-effective federal investment in bicycling that is making our nation better will shrink dramatically.  

We can't allow this to happen.

Visit the League of American Bicyclists' action center to send the message to Sen. DeMint, Sen. Graham and your Representative in Congress. In a year when South Carolina is on track to break a new record for bicycle and pedestrians deaths, we must stand up to protect bicycle and pedestrian funding. 

Thanks for your support and quick response. 

   

Rachael Kefalos

Palmetto Cycling Coalition