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.

Palmetto Joyride with Mia Birk is tonight

I mentioned it before, but I want to remind you that the ride and reception with Mia Birk is tonight. See the invitation below (click to see it larger), and check the Palmetto Conservation Foundation website for more details. I hope to see you there!

Greenville Joyride with Mia Birk

Mark your calendars now, if you haven’t already. Just less than two weeks away, on Friday September 9^th, Portland-based bicycle transportation expert and author Mia Birk will be here in Greenville for the final stop on her Palmetto Joyride tour across South Carolina. After stops in Charleston and Columbia on Wednesday and Thursday, Mia will start her day in Greenville at 10:00am with an appearance on Your Carolina with Jack and Kimberly. Following the show, Mia will be busy meeting with local leaders to discuss how Greenville can benefit from investing in bicycling and pedestrian facilities. See the full agenda for the day on the Palmetto Conservation Foundation website for more information.

At 5:00pm, plan to join Mia for a community bike ride starting from the Zoo entrance in Cleveland Park. The roughly 2.5 mile ride will be open to the public and accessible for bicyclists of all ages and skill levels. The route will cover parts of the Swamp Rabbit trail as well as some of the downtown on-street bicycle facilities, and will end at the Greenville Little Theater at 5:30.

The Greenville Little Theater will be the site of Mia’s Key Note presentation, which will be open to the public. According to the Palmetto Conservation Foundation:

“Mia will share her observations of Greenville and discuss her experience working in Portland as well as in communities throughout the country. Attendees will have an opportunity to submit questions to Mia ahead of the presentation. Participants will also have the chance to win a Custom Fat Tire bicycle donated by New Belgium Beer. Participants will enjoy food and drink (served in biodegradable cups), as well as the opportunity to purchase a copy of Mia’s book Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet and have it signed by the author herself. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with Mia’s presentation at 6:15 p.m.”

This will be a fun and informative evening in Greenville that you won’t want to miss. Make sure to tell your friends about it too. We want a packed house at the Greenville Little Theater that evening, so I hope to see you there on the 9th!

Finally, I want to mention the great sponsors who are making this happen- the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, the Palmetto Cycling Coalition, SynTerra, Duke Energy, Piedmont Health Care Foundation, South Carolina Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, Livewell Greenville, the YMCA of Greenville, and TTR Bikes of Greenville.