As I
mentioned in a recent post, Greenville’s City Council will soon vote on a resolution to adopt the
Bicycle Master Plan. The first vote will occur on
Monday, September 26th at a Council meeting that I encourage you all to attend (
5:30pm in Council Chambers, 10
th floor of City Hall, 206 South Main Street). You can show up a few minutes early and sign up with the City Clerk if you wish to speak in favor of the plan at the meeting.
Before the meeting, I encourage you all to write your
City Council representatives and let them know that you support this resolution. I will post a few of the key points that I think are worth mentioning in those letters soon, but today I want to quickly share a “fact sheet’ about the master plan. If you have not been involved with the development of the Bicycle Master Plan, these points may help you understand what has led up to it, why it makes sense for Greenville, and how the plan fits with other initiatives that the city has underway.
City of Greenville - Bicycle Master Plan FACT SHEET
1. City Council is scheduled to vote on adoption of the Bicycle Master Plan on Monday, September 26 and Monday, October 10.
2. Anyone wishing to address City Council regarding the plan must sign-up to speak prior to 5:30pm the day of the meeting at the City Clerk’s desk on the 10th floor of City Hall.
3. In 2006, Greenville City Council passed Resolution 2006-32 endorsing the League of American Bicyclists “Action Plan for Bicycle Friendly Community Designation”, which committed the City of Greenville to improve conditions for bicyclists by addressing the 5 E’s: Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation.
4. In 2008, Greenville City Council adopted a Complete Streets Resolution "to endorse and suport a complete streets policy to provide safe and convenient access for all users of streets”.
5. The creation of a Bicycle Infrastructure Plan was a specific task of the City’s 2009 Comprehensive Plan’s Implementation Strategy Matrix that identified the need to “Increase Transportation Options”.
6. The Plan is consistent with the City of Greenville Comprehensive Plan’s Environmental Theme to improve air quality; the Healthy Living and Pedestrian Friendly Environment Theme by creating safe, walkable spaces and accessible destinations; the Transportation Theme by providing a variety of options and linkages between all transportation options; the Neighborhood and Corridor Identity and Stability Theme by encouraging a wide variety of transportation modes.
7. During the Comprehensive Plan resident survey, residents were asked to rank Quality of Life issues in Greenville. Respondents indicated that “being able to get places without using your car” as the worst attribute to Greenville’s Quality of Life.
8. The Plan was funded by the Greenville Pickens Area Transportation Study (GPATS), the regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) responsible for transportation planning. Funding was also provided by the City of Greenville.
9. In 2009, the City of Greenville was designation by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community.
10. In 2010, the City of Greenville contracted with Alta Planning + Design to develop a city-wide Bicycle Master Plan to provide recommendations to guide the expansion of a network of bike facilities and infrastructure improvements and to promote bicycle safety and education to increase ridership.
11. The Plan’s development was guided by a multi-disiplinary committee which served as planning advisors throughout the project. It received input from neighborhood associations, businesses, residents, transportation officials, and the general public. This allowed stakeholders the opportunity to participate in two community workshops, an interactive website, and a public survey where input and comments were received.
12. The Plan is the result of more than a year’s worth of research, field work, data analysis, and public input.
13. The Plan provides a blueprint for the short-term and long-term development of a safe and practical bicycling network.
14. The Plan intends to assist in the reversal of South Carolina’s designation as one of the most dangerous states for bicyclists. Annually SC ranks above the national average in bicycle fatalities.
15. By developing a connected and safe bikeway network, Greenville can better meet the current and future demand for physical activity and for transportation choices.
16. The Plan includes specific recommendations for educational programs that raise awareness of the rights and responsibilities of bicyclists and teach kids, adults, and seniors how to bike safely.
17. The Bicycle Master Plan provides a method for prioritizing bikeway projects that will guide implementation, development, and funding.
18. Specific projects recommended in the Bicycle Master Plan will receive additional review by City Council, City staff, the general public, and SCDOT prior to construction.
19. The two public meetings for the Plan drew close to 400 total attendees, and over 700 individuals participated in the survey.
20. With adoption of the Plan, the City is not asked to fund and implement the Plan’s recommendations on its own. Business, community partners, and transportation agencies are encouraged to support this effort with funding, resources, and leadership.
21. The Plan can be implemented by leveraging funding opportunities from a variety of local, regional, state, and federal programs. Possible projects include routine road resurfacing, roadway widening, and linking transit networks. An emphasis will be placed on cost effective solutions such as including proposed bicycle facilities during street repaving projects.
22. Now, more than ever, CEO’s, executives, businesses, and young professionals are choosing vibrant, active communities with downtowns and neighborhoods that are bike- and walk-friendly to locate. Investing in bicycle-friendliness will help Greenville attract those searching for a healthy, inviting, and economically prosperous community.
23. In one generation, the percentage of U.S. children who walk or bike to school has dropped by 70%. Childhood obesity has tripled.
24. Just three hours of bicycling per week can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%.
25. Bicycling reduces air pollution and improves public health, lowering costs to businesses and taxpayers.
26. The Plan included a two-day field bike count in October 2010 at 36 locations throughout the City. Volunteers counted over 1,000 bicyclists in just a four hour count period.
27. The Plan is based on a principle of 6 E’s; Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Evaluation, and Equity. This approach will ensure the Plan’s implementation is comprehensive by balancing the priorities between physical facilities, education programs, policies, and neighborhoods.
28. One goal of the plan is that by 2015, every City resident be within ½ mile of the bikeway network.
29. Greenville is home to 4 nationally recognized bicycle friendly businesses by the League of American Bicyclist.
a. TTR Bikes – Platinum Designation
b. Fluor Corp – Bronze Designation
c. Upstate Forever – Bronze Designation
d. Caine Halter Family YMCA – Bronze Designation
30. In 2005, the City installed it’s first mile of bicycle lane and had 4 miles of Greenways. In 2011, the City has 15.4 miles of on-street bikeways and over 8 miles of Greenways.
31. The public’s investment in bicycling infrastructure over the past 6 years has resulted in a increase in private sector investment via bicycle oriented businesses resulting in local economic development. Local bicycle retailers were surveyed during the Bicycle Master Plan and produced the following results. Note that the first bicycle lane in the City was installed in 2005.
a. In 2005, Greenville was home to two bike shops, in 2011, there are 8 bicycle retailers.
b. Over 60% of Greenville’s bike shops see over half a million in annual sales each – with 37.5% seeing $1.5-$2 million.
c. Since 2005, all stores have increased sales by at least 6%, and 75% increased by more than 20%.
d. 100% of stores attribute the increase in sales to local investment in bicycling infrastructure.
32. The Plan recommends increasing the bikeway network by 65 miles of bicycle lanes, 7 miles of Greenways, and 51 miles of signed bike routes.
33. Since 2007, Greenville has hosted the USA Cycling Professional Championships which attracts cycling enthusiasts from around the world to Greenville.
34. Greenlink, Greenville’s regional transit authority, has reported that since 2010, passenger utilization of their bus bike racks has increased from a monthly average of 80 to 550.
35. Greenville’s bicycle friendliness has been mentioned in recent national publications such as Southern Living, the Washington Post, Men’s Journal, US Airways Magazine, and AARP Magazine.
