Before I pass along a few updates, I would like to thank those of you who attended the Spinners advocacy meeting on Monday. It was the first time in a while that the advocacy group has met and I think we had a few good discussions about topics that have been on the table for quite some time. I won't go into detail right now, but I will recap some of the important points at a later date.
I was able to attend the GPATS (Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study) Regional Transportation Plan presentation on Tuesday afternoon. Overall, it was very encouraging. Much of the presentation about a proposed 30-year plan for the region was focused on Complete Streets, which by nature include bicycle and pedestrian elements. According to a recent GPATS Long range Transportation plan survey, most residents rated this area’s current level of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure as poor. In keeping with other survey results that I have seen in the region (like the City’s recent Bike to Work day survey), safety issues seem to be the biggest factor that prevents people from considering cycling as a transportation option. Despite the low percentage of trips by bike in the Greenville area, I do believe that many people would ride to nearby destinations if they felt safer doing so. People who don’t currently ride often ask me questions about the logistics of bike commuting, so I know there is at least some interest. Some people, like me, ride mainly because of the love of cycling, but you don’t have to be a hardcore cyclist to ride for transportation. John Burke, president of Trek Bicycles, pointed out recently that 50% of all car trips are under 2 miles in length. I don’t expect everyone to replace their cars with bikes, but for those many short trips, cycling really can be a viable option for a lot of people. I am starting to ramble a bit, so let me get back to the GPATS presentation. One question the survey asks is “If you had $100 to spend on transportation improvements, how would you spend it?” There are several options to choose from, but on average, respondents wanted to spend a total of $28 of those dollars on bicycle, pedestrian, and streetscape improvements. That is a pretty impressive figure and, again, it shows that a real interest in complete streets does exist in this community. The survey is still active on the Greenville Planning website, so I encourage those of you who have not taken a few minutes to fill it out to do so here.
I was not able to attend the GTA bikes on buses press conference, but from what I hear, it went well. Fifteen GTA buses will get racks by Labor Day weekend, with the rest to be completed by the end of September. The Greenville News ran an article about the announcement this morning. Check it out here.
I was able to attend the GPATS (Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study) Regional Transportation Plan presentation on Tuesday afternoon. Overall, it was very encouraging. Much of the presentation about a proposed 30-year plan for the region was focused on Complete Streets, which by nature include bicycle and pedestrian elements. According to a recent GPATS Long range Transportation plan survey, most residents rated this area’s current level of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure as poor. In keeping with other survey results that I have seen in the region (like the City’s recent Bike to Work day survey), safety issues seem to be the biggest factor that prevents people from considering cycling as a transportation option. Despite the low percentage of trips by bike in the Greenville area, I do believe that many people would ride to nearby destinations if they felt safer doing so. People who don’t currently ride often ask me questions about the logistics of bike commuting, so I know there is at least some interest. Some people, like me, ride mainly because of the love of cycling, but you don’t have to be a hardcore cyclist to ride for transportation. John Burke, president of Trek Bicycles, pointed out recently that 50% of all car trips are under 2 miles in length. I don’t expect everyone to replace their cars with bikes, but for those many short trips, cycling really can be a viable option for a lot of people. I am starting to ramble a bit, so let me get back to the GPATS presentation. One question the survey asks is “If you had $100 to spend on transportation improvements, how would you spend it?” There are several options to choose from, but on average, respondents wanted to spend a total of $28 of those dollars on bicycle, pedestrian, and streetscape improvements. That is a pretty impressive figure and, again, it shows that a real interest in complete streets does exist in this community. The survey is still active on the Greenville Planning website, so I encourage those of you who have not taken a few minutes to fill it out to do so here.
I was not able to attend the GTA bikes on buses press conference, but from what I hear, it went well. Fifteen GTA buses will get racks by Labor Day weekend, with the rest to be completed by the end of September. The Greenville News ran an article about the announcement this morning. Check it out here.
Finally, I want to mention another opportunity for the cycling community to get involved in shaping the future of this area. The Plan-It Greenville website has just been launched by the City. Greenville is getting ready to develop a new 10-year comprehensive plan and they want input from the community. To get more information, you can sign up to be on the email list. Also, plan to attend the Community Open House on Thursday, August 30 from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. at the Hughes Main Library. Several of you have mentioned that it is hard to make it to public meetings that take place during the workday, so this is your opportunity. I hope to see many of you there next week.
