Go Magazine, Joyride, and the Master Plan

Greenville City Council’s first vote on the Bicycle Master Plan is less than a week away, so please email a letter of support if you haven’t already.

Speaking of the Master Plan, I encourage you to pick of a copy of the September issue of Go Magazine (and not just because the back of my leg is featured on the cover). The issue features a good article by Gary Hyndman about the Bicycle Master Plan, which I think does a good job of expressing the community support for better bike infrastructure, and safer streets, in Greenville. As City Councilmember Amy Ryberg-Doyle says in the article, “the people have spoken. This is not a top down initiative.”

The recent SCDOT Pelham/ Roper Mountain resurfacing projects are also mentioned in the article. Neither of those roads will get bike lanes…a fact that still frustrates me quite a bit (more on that later). Hopefully once the BMP resolution is passed though, SCDOT will pay more attention to their own “Bicycle Accommodation Policy” and include provisions for bikes as part of resurfacing projects in the Greenville area. With both of those recent paving projects, we missed a great (cost effective) opportunity to include bike lanes on roads that are included in the plan, but there will be future opportunities as well.

While I am posting, I want to mention the Joyride reception with Mia Birk, which occurred just over a week ago. Overall, I think it was a big success. Around 200 cyclists attended (the bike racks in front of the Greenville Little Theater were packed), and Mia’s presentation was very encouraging. Personally, it was good for me to hear her perspective, and to step back a bit and look at our accomplishments in Greenville over the years. I have been somewhat involved in bicycle advocacy efforts here for the past seven years, and though it is easy to be discouraged by setbacks (like the one I mentioned in the above paragraph), we have come a long way and the small successes along the way are worth celebrating. Mia took notice of the good things happening in Greenville, saying this via this twitter after her day here:

"Greenville SC rocks! Love the Swamp Rabbit Trail, bike lanes & beautiful downtown."

Great to hear! Now let’s just build on that and make Greenville an even better place to live and ride a bike.

…and check out Mia’s book if you haven’t already. It is encouraging to hear stories the stories about Portland in the 90s and realize that the opposition we sometimes face here is not unique.

For more about Mia’s tour of South Carolina, check out this post at the PCC blog.

Time to let City Council know that you support the BMP

City Council’s first vote on the Greenville Bicycle Master Plan is two weeks away, so if you haven’t written a letter of support yet, now is the time to do so. I encourage you to address your letters (or emails) to Mayor White and the members of the Council, and also copy City Manager John Castile. In addition to writing, please plan to attend the meeting on Monday, September 26^th at 5:30pm in person if you can. The public meeting will take place in Council Chambers on the 10^th floor of City Hall (206 South Main Street). If you wish to briefly speak in favor of the plan that evening, show up a few minutes early and sign in with the City Clerk.

For more detailed information about the plan, check out the Executive Summary on the Greenville BMP website and the fact sheet that I posted a couple weeks ago. In this post though, I want to cover a few points that might be worth mentioning in those letters of support.

• The Bicycle Master Plan is the result of over a year’s worth of work by many people including traffic engineers, urban planners, and concerned citizens. About 400 people participated in the two public community workshops and around 700 offered input through the online survey.

• The Plan is a blueprint for future development of a safe bicycle network that will give people more transportation options, as well as a greater opportunity to ride for fun and fitness. In a survey during the plan’s development, 60% of respondents were “interested but concerned” about cycling on the City streets. Those are the people who will benefit the most from this plan, not just the smaller percentage who already ride a bicycle on the roads.

• Currently, South Carolina ranks as one of the worst states in the nation for cyclist and pedestrian deaths per capita. Focusing on making our roads safer for all users should be a major priority.

• Bicycle infrastructure is a good investment and allows Greenville to compete with bigger cities when it comes to attracting businesses and talented people. Executives and professional people are increasingly choosing where to live based on quality of life issues, and bicycle friendliness is a top priority for many of them.

 

Again, those are just a few points to mention, but I encourage you to read through the Fact Sheet for more. Whatever you write, please send a letter this week. It is important that we let our elected officials know that this plan is something we support. 

Bikeville E-Newsletter

There is some great information in the Bikeville E-Newsletter that was sent out today. Check it out here, and subscribe now if you don't already receive it.

In particular, I want to point out the Traffic Skills 101 courses, to be taught in three, three-hour sessions on September 17, October 1, and October 15th at the Nicholtown Community Center. Click here to register.

Needless to say, the upcoming Bicycle Master Plan vote is mentioned in the newsletter as well, and you are encouraged to contact your City Council members. I have mentioned the BMP vote a couple times here lately, but look for a new post with more information soon.

Bicycle Master Plan Fact Sheet

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 26^th 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 10^th 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. 

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.

City Council candidates on bike lane funding

An article in today’s Greenville News, Greenville City Council at-large candidates split on city goals, points out a few notable differences in opinion between candidates for an at-large City Council seat that is up for grabs in the election this coming Tuesday (June 14th). The city’s bike plan is mentioned in the article, and quotes from each of the two candidates clearly indicate their views on funding for bicycle transportation projects.

Susan Reynolds, the incumbent, states that she wants, “parking and business license improvements to help attract more companies and pedestrian-friendly work to improve neighborhoods for residents. She also wants to closely examine where the city is putting bike lanes to be sure they are useful.” Making sure that the bike lanes are placed where they are useful is the point of Greenville’s Bicycle Master Plan, so I hope that Mrs. Reynolds will, if re-elected, continue to support the progress toward complete streets in the city.

According to the Greenville News piece, her challenger, Jan Williams, “is skeptical of the need for city-funded bike lanes, saying he grew up on a bike and learned to look out for himself. Those who want them should donate to the cause, he said. The only tax money he would use is the hotel tax designed to fund tourism projects.” To me, his reference to tourism projects indicates that he considers bicycling to strictly be a recreational activity, not a component of the transportation plan. I would just like to remind Mr. Williams that bicyclists, like motorists, DO pay the income, sales, and property taxes that currently fund our road construction and maintenance projects. I seriously doubt he would ask drivers to ‘donate to the cause’ if they want improvements designed to make our roads safer, but the fact remains that vehicle registration fees and gas taxes do not even come close to paying for the transportation infrastructure that we all use. South Carolina ranks as one of the worst states in the nation for cyclist and pedestrian fatalities per capita, and I am afraid that 'learning to look out' is not going to be enough to turn that around. I wish it was that easy, but we do have a real safety issue on our roads that needs to be addressed.

To be fair, I am sending an email to both candidates to give them a chance to respond. If I hear back from Councilwoman Reynolds and/or Mr. Williams, I will update this post with their response.

…and regardless of which candidate you choose, I encourage you all to get out and vote next Tuesday. Ride your bike to the polls if you can.

Update 6/11: I received an email from Councilwoman Reynolds late last night expressing her support for bike lanes. I appreciate her quick response, so I want to share it with you in its entirety:

James. Ben asked many questions for the article. And I elaborated on all of them, including the one about bicycle lanes and I was very clear.   I support bike lanes, I am in favor of continuing them.  I do know that we have the bicycle master plan coming up.  I am not a cyclist at the moment. I have had 6 knee surgeries, which prevents me from riding right now.   So I am the first one who needs an education on sharing lanes, why some lanes are better than others- why some are used more than others.   So my comments in completion were about how I am looking forward to being educated on the whole thing.  I do think we need to do a better job of educating the public on how to share the road and I want to be the first to learn.  There is no doubt that bicycle lanes are important to this community.  Having the Pro cycling event here for the last 6 years has been a huge asset to our community. I am optimistic that we will do what it takes to keep it here.   I have no doubt that all of council wants to continue making Greenville a top notch cycling community.  I am eager to see where we have done a good job, and where we need to improve.  And for the record, I am a very visual person- I can read all the information in the world, but I am much clearer when I can actually 'see' the lanes and see how they look on the roads,etc.   I am well known to staff for having them ride me around to actually look at why something is working, how it can be improved, or when it doesn't work. I have no doubt I will be taking a tour around to become educated on the lanes.

I appreciate the opportunity to share my complete thoughts.  Ben and I  talked about many things and of course he could not print all of the things that I said, but it is frustrating when people read one comment on any subject and assume they have heard all that I said. So again, thank you for the opportunity to comment further.  And just FYI, I  look forward to riding a bike again soon, and I sincerely hope by the time I do, I will be much better educated about cycling- that is my intent!  

Susan Reynolds

Update 6/12: I also received an email response from Mr Williams clarifying his position on bike lanes, and I want to share that with you here:

Mr. Thomas,

Thanks for your inquiry. As you probably know, what is heard is not necessarily what was said or intended.

As a child we were taught to ride our bikes and assume all cars were going to hit you because they could not see you since you were so much smaller than a car. And to always allow the car to have lane priority and be sure to signal when slowing down or turning. And of course we did not have any bike lanes in the 1950’s. Courtesy by bike riders and car drivers is necessary for all safe riding.

Since most of our population does not ride bicycles, and we keep hearing how this is a draw for visitors to the city, it makes sense to use the hospitality tax as a source of funding.

Additionally, there are other resources of money, such as “Complete Streets” and the FTA. Some of these provide matching funding at 1% to 20%, which means a group can raise $1000.00 and get a grant for $9,000.00 at 10% rate. The GTA Board was able to provide some grant assistance to the city for bike lanes within 3 miles of public transportation at the rate of 1% and 10%. Placing bike racks on the Greenlink buses has increased ridership, and I am on the Board of Directors for the GTA.

If a group of local bicycle enthusiasts raised some money and helped the city of Greenville provide funding for bike lanes, more residents would appreciate and maybe understand their direction for local riding as a form of transportation instead of just for recreation. And Andrew Meeker, Landscape Architect, City of Greenville, who has participated in the bike lane design, would be a good connection since he knows about these grants.

I hope this helps clarify my position about bike lanes and bikes. Any questions, please feel free to call me at 299-6341.

Jan Williams

Note: As I mentioned to Mr Williams in response to this message, the Greenville Spinners have, in the past, donated significant amounts of money to the city for the design and implementation of bike lanes. The Spinners and local bicycle advocates have also been active in pursuing grants to improve cycling infrastructure in Greenville.

Bikeville’s pedal power generator

I mentioned in an earlier post that Bikeville has a new pedal power generator that will be used at events throughout the month. At the Downtown Farmer’s Market this weekend, Bikeville’s Andrew Meeker took this photo of City Councilman David Sudduth generating a bit of electricity (on a bamboo bike).

Stop by any of the bike valet stations or other planned events this month to see the power generator in action. Better yet, plan to get on the special trainer mounted bike and generate a little power yourself. It certainly looks like Mr. Sudduth enjoyed his turn creating a little electricity…I bet you will too.

Update: The bamboo bike pictured is a Hilltribe by Phil Webb -www.bamboobikemaker.com. Thanks to TTR Bikes! 

Bicycle infrastructure funding update and more

Thanks to all of you who attended the City Council meeting last night. A fairly large group of cyclists showed up in support of funding for bike lanes and greenways; in fact, the Greenville News mentioned us on the front page of today’s paper (though I couldn’t find the article online). As expected, City Council passed the C.I.P budget, which includes just under 5 million dollars over the course of the next 5 years for greenways and bike lanes. That is great news and I am looking forward to working with the City as a representative of the Spinners to get some of these projects implemented. Before I move on to another subject, I want to again express thanks to the Mayor, City Council, and the City Manager and his staff for including this funding for cycling and pedestrian projects in the budget.

Good things are happening in the City, but don’t forget the County Comprehensive plan workshops that are also happening this month. I plan to attend the next one on April 17th , 6:30pm at Hillcrest High. After that, only two more meetings are left; Traveler’s Rest on the 22nd and Woodmont on the 24th. Nigel Darrington attended the meeting last week at Mauldin High, and he said that his topic of Pedestrian Bikeways was voted as the number one topic at the end of the meeting. The data collected at these meeting will be used to direct funding, so it is important that cycling interests are represented at each. I hope that some of you will join Nigel and me at the next meeting at Hillcrest. Lets carry some of the positive momentum from the City efforts on to the County.
Updated 4/16: I just found out that I have a scheduling conflict and won't be able to make it tomorrow night (scheduling anything is tough with three young kids). Hopefully some of you who live near Simpsonville can attend the workshop and speak up for cycling.

Finally, I want to mention Bike To Work Week, May 12th – 16th. Planning is underway and many more details will follow, but I want to mention it briefly now so you can all plan to ride to work that week. The focus this year is “Encouragement and Education” and great events along those lines will be taking place all week. I’ll post a schedule of events here soon and I will link to the City’s official BTWW website. For now though, here are just a few of the events planned for Bike to Work Week in Greenville:

- May 12th, 13th, and 14th, we are offering FREE bicycle safety check-ups during lunch. Bring your commuter bike to Piazza Bergamo anytime between 11:30am-1:30pm to have a local bicycle mechanic get it ride ready. We'll provide air for your tires, check out your brakes, and look over your drivetrain. There will be bicycle demos and lots of commuter information available.

-Thursday, May 15th at 6:30pm on the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Downtown Greenville, the Greenville Spinners are hosting a Bicycle Commuter Training Course. This 1-hour course will give you the knowledge and confidence to safely ride your bike with traffic. This course is geared towards individuals who would like to use a bicycle as a form of transportation while getting exercise, having fun, and saving gas money. Pre-registration is required, so please visit the Bike-to-Work website (soon to come) for registration information.

-Friday, May 16th, National Bike-to-Work Day. Try making that trip from your house to your office by Bike! You'll be rewarded if you stop by Piazza Bergamo anytime between 7am-8:30am with free Bagels and Coffee.

Bicycle infrastructure funding

I already mentioned this on the Spinner’s email list, but it is worth mentioning again here for anyone who is not on that list. At the upcoming meeting on April 14th at 5:30, City Council will vote to approve the Capital Improvement Budget, which includes the following items.

1) $45,000 per year for bicycle lanes and bicycle infrastructure in the City limits. This 45k will be available each year for the next 5 years for a total of $225,000. The money will begin implementation of the Bicycle Infrastructure Master Plan that the Spinners and the City developed 3 years ago (see a map of that plan here).

2) $4.5 million over the next 5 years for City-wide trails and greenways. This money will continue implementation of the City's Trails and Greenways Master Plan, which was developed last year by Greenways Incorporated and the City staff.

This is great news so I hope that many of you will join me at City Hall in a couple of weeks to express your support. We have a Greenville Spinners club meeting planned that same night at 6:30 at Coffee Underground, so please plan to come downtown one hour earlier to let the Mayor, City Council, and City staff know that we support this effort and that we appreciate all of their work on cycling issues.

Some good news

The Palmetto Cycling Coalition recently sent out a press release to announce that South Carolina Bicycle Safety Bill H.3006 passed in the House in January by a vote of 105-0. That is great news and we owe the PCC our thanks for their hard work on this for the past couple years. Those of you who have been following the progress of this bill know that it revises South Carolina bicycle statutes to bring them into greater conformity with the Uniform Vehicle Code. Two of the reforms in the bill that stand out to me are the establishment of a minimum passing distance (five feet) and the elimination of a mandatory sidepath law.

In the PCC press release, Paul Lefrancios, President of the PCC is quoted as saying “We are so excited about the House passage of this bill. South Carolina is 4th in the nation for cycling fatalities. This is unacceptable. And House members agreed.” I have mentioned South Carolina’s terrible record on cycling safety before on this blog, and you can view the 2004 NHTSA statistics on cycling fatalities for yourself right here. Our state’s rate of 5.24 cycling fatalities for every million state residents is well over twice the national average; a fact which, as Mr. Lefrancios stated, is quite unacceptable.

You can read the PCC position paper on the legislation here. The bill will now go on to the State Senate for consideration as S.0354. In the Senate, the PCC is working to improve the bill by removing the Single File amendment, which would require cyclists to ride single file rather than two abreast. As the PCC’s Executive Director Natalie Cappuccio Britt points out, the Single File amendment “would prohibit parents from riding next to their children” and “It is far more difficult and dangerous for a motorist to pass a long line of cyclists riding single file versus two abreast.”

The bill is expected to pass in the Senate this year, but it still needs support from all the cyclists in South Carolina. If you are not already a PCC member, I encourage you to join them in their effort to make our state bicycle friendly.

While I am posting good news, I also want to mention that the Greenville City Council officially adopted the “Trails & Greenways Master Plan” at Monday evening’s City Council meeting. In addition, some good discussion took place at that meeting regarding implementation of additional bike lanes downtown in the near future. A few of you have mentioned that the downtown bicycle plan, which City Council endorsed in 2005, seems to have stalled a bit recently. That may be true, but I am still optimistic that we will see some progress in 2008. Mayor White, the City Council, and many members of the City staff openly support bicycle infrastructure projects, so we just need to continue to communicate our needs and desires to them. I received very positive responses from several City Council members to my comments, and to a follow up email that I sent, about a greater emphasis on bike lanes and “Share the Road” signage in the city of Greenville. As I said before, the City is working on several projects and I think we will see some notable improvements this year. Still, we can’t just wait for things to happen. We need to keep communicating with the City and helping them to pinpoint areas where improvements to make cycling safer are necessary. I don’t have all the ideas, so I am asking all of you to let me know what improvements you would like to see to make Greenville a bike friendly town.