A few overdue updates

At the beginning of May, I posted about a few upcoming events such as Bike to Work week, the Ride of Silence, and the Imagine Greenville County planning meetings. I have been meaning to do a follow up post on all of those, but I haven’t found the time until now.

Overall, Bike to Work week went well. I am not sure exactly how many people showed up with their bikes for the ABC quick checks on Monday through Wednesday, but I do know that Greenville’s urban designer Andrew Meeker talked to quite a few people at Piazza Bergamo who had questions about commuting and were interested in seeing the City’s trails and Greenway master plan.

I attended the Thursday evening “commuter 101” course at TTR and was pleased to see the turnout. Sally Nicholson and Paul LeFrancois did a great job of providing the group with basic safe riding and commuting tips. The group seemed to be pretty diverse in cycling experience, but I think most everyone got something out of the presentation. Many people asked questions, so I think it was definitely a worthwhile experience for all who attended.

Despite the rains overnight on Thursday, the commuter breakfast on Friday also went well. After a short ride from City Hall, Mayor White spoke about his vision of a bike friendly Greenville. He made what I thought was a great comparison between the current bike lane, trail, and greenway plans and the Liberty Bridge project that became a reality just a few years ago. Though Liberty Bridge and all of Falls Park has become a showcase for the City, it started with just a handful of people who really wanted to see it happen and were willing to put forth the effort to make that dream a reality. There was certainly some opposition to the idea of tearing down an automobile bridge and building a pedestrian bridge in its place, but now that the project is complete, almost all Greenville residents are proud of Falls Park and view the new bridge as a symbol of the City. Let’s hope that future efforts to make Greenville bicycle and pedestrian friendly will be received the same way.

Another highlight of the commuter breakfast was Greenville Spinners club president Tim St. Clair’s presentation of a “Lights for Life” light to Police Chief Wilfong. Michelle James has been the driving force behind this initiative to get free blinky lights in the hands of those who need them by partnering with local law enforcement. I think this is a great initiative, so I really appreciate the time that Michelle has put into it. I also want to mention Charleston attorney Peter Wilborn, who spoke to the Spinners at a club meeting about the importance of using lights. He is the one who donated the first 100 Planet Bike Blinky lights for this program, so we owe him our thanks for that. I almost forgot, we gave away really nice waterbottles (donated by the Great Escape) at the commuter breakfast. You can see one in the picture with the lights.

The joint Greenville/Spartanburg Ride of Silence on Hwy 101 was well attended and well organized. Hundreds of cyclists rode to remember those who have been killed or injured while riding on the roads. It would be great to say it went off without a hitch, but one incident that took place during the ride points to the fact that the “share the road” message still needs to get out. The driver of a car, who was apparently not happy to see so many cyclists on the road, swerved near some of the riders. A Spartanburg County deputy who was escorting the ride pursued the driver for a short distance, but backed off to avoid a dangerous high-speed chase near the ride. Apparently the driver continued to travel at high speed until he flipped his car near the junction with I-85. I didn’t see it happen, but as the group I carpooled with left the ride, we saw the flipped car and skid marks. I didn’t know the full story until I saw it on the news that evening.

Lastly, I want to mention the last Imagine Greenville planning meeting that took place on May 13th. As I mentioned in previous posts, Nigel Darrington attended a few of these County meetings and reported that the issue of “Bikeways” was in the top 5 vote counts for all of the meetings he was able to attend. I am happy to report that it took the top spot at this last meeting by a large margin. Everyone at the meeting was given a survey to fill out. If you missed the meeting, you can still fill out the survey online to let the County know that bike lanes and greenway trails are something you care about.

The Bicycle Safety Bill is almost law!

So many of you on the Spinners email list did a great job of contacting your Senators and Representatives over the last couple weeks in support of H3006. Some of the concerns that came up were short notice, but I appreciate the fact that Greenville cyclists really responded. The great news is that our effort, along with that of cyclists in the rest of the state, has paid off. See the message below that Natalie just sent out to the PCC membership.

PCC Members,

What a great day for cyclists! The Senate concurred with the House amendment and the bill passed this afternoon!!!!!! I cannot thank the members of the PCC enough, you all made this happen! Your phone calls, emails and passion are the reason this bill passed successfully. It has definitely been a long fight! I am so very grateful to all of you that participated in the political process in order to make South Carolina a more bicycle friendly state!! We will actually have a cyclist harassment law (this means if you throw something out of your car, honk unnecessarily, or yell obscenities at cyclists you will get a $1000 ticket!) and we will have a safe passing distance law!!!!!!! We still need the Governor to sign the bill into law.

There is much to do immediately so I have little time to write but please know that I am so appreciative to each of you that have worked so hard to make this happen. I am so grateful to all PCC members, without you the PCC would not exist!

Please read the info below for more detail, it is very important you thank your legislators. Furthermore, please take a moment to thank the legislators listed below that went above and beyond the call of duty to fight for equitable laws for cyclists.

We are truly pedaling forward.

Natalie

Palmetto Cycling Coalition

While I am posting this great news, I want to recognize Greenville County district 27 Representative Garry Smith who has worked very hard for cyclists and for this bill. Representative Smith spoke at the press conference this week and was one of the Representatives who worked to revise the language for violations involving injuries to cyclists in the final version of the Bill. If you live in his district, make sure that you let him know how much you appreciate his efforts.

And of course, thanks to all of the Greenville area legislators who supported this bill. As Natalie said, this is a great day for cyclists in South Carolina

H3006 press conference

I have mentioned H3006, The Bicycle Safety Bill on the blog a few times. This legislation, which will update our state traffic laws pertaining to bicyclsts, is extremely important. For those of you who don't know, the bill went though the House and then through the Senate. Just this week, the House adjourned without voting to approve the Senate version of the bill. One legislator is strongly opposed to the Senate amendments and is working to convince others to vote against concurrence with the Senate version and to send the bill to conference committee. We don't want the bill to go to conference committee, so please contact your representative if you haven't already.

Also, please plan to attend a press conference on Tuesday, May 27 at 11 AM in the lobby of the State House in Columbia if you can. Please wear regular clothes and the PCC will give you a sticker to identify you as a bicycle supporter. I know it is late notice on Memoral Day weekend, but attend if you can. Unfortunately, I have a speaking engagement on Tuesday at 12:30, so I won't be able to make it down to Columbia. Hopefully some of you from Greenville can attend and show our support. We really need to see H3006 signed into law.

Bike to Work Day breakfast

I have mentioned it a few times, so I won’t go into detail, but I want to remind everyone about tomorrow’s Bike to Work Day commuter breakfast at Piazza Bergamo. You are welcome to stop by Piazza Bergamo anytime from 7:15 to 9:00 for bagels and coffee. If you want to ride to the event with Mayor White, plan to meet at City Hall just before 7:15.

Also, don’t forget the Commuter 101 course tonight at TTR. More information about both events can be found here. I hope to see some of you downtown later today and in the morning.

By the way, these are photos of the 2007 Bike to Work Day event courtesy of Jonathon Pait. I think the turnout last year was pretty good, and this year promises to be even better.

Events in May

I have mentioned that next week is Bike to Work week a few times so I won’t elaborate on that. I do, however, want to point out a couple of other events that are coming up soon.

Next Tuesday, May 13 at 6:30pm, will be the last public meeting for the Greenville County comprehensive plan. This meeting, which should last no longer than an hour and a half, will take place at Greenville County Square in Conference room D. Nigel Darrington has attended a few of the meetings and has done a great job speaking for all of us who regularly ride in the County. He reports that the issue of Pedestrian/ Bikeways was in the top 5 vote counts for the three meetings he was able to attend. Let’s show up at this last meeting to help shape the future of Greenville County and to support the great advocacy work that Nigel has started.

Also, mark your calendars for the Upstate Ride of Silence which will take place on Wednesday, May 21st. This ride, which will take place on the same day in cities all over the world, was started in Dallas, Texas in 2003 to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Riders will proceed in single file at no more than 12 mph to pay respect to fallen cyclists and to raise public awareness about the presence of cyclists on the roads in our communities.

Following are the details of this year’s ride from Kimberly Morgan and Richard Dillard, both of whom did a great job organizing the event last year:

What: Upstate RIDE OF SILENCE (For ALL abilities) We need/want veteran cyclists and beginning cyclists.

Why: Bring attention to the huge population of cyclists in the Upstate and need for safe roads. Tribute to fallen/injured cyclists

Goal: 200+ cyclists riding single file 10 yards apart, stretching over a mile.

Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Time: 7:00 P.M (Some will again be riding to the Ride of Silence)

Place: Bruce Group Auctions - (2.5 miles south of I-85 on Highway 101 in Greer.)

Pace: Maximum 12mph

Route: South on Hwy. 101 bike lanes toward Woodruff for 6 miles to Bellview Church and return.

Course: Flat, Flat, Flat !!!

Helmets Required

Calling Greer cyclists

I just want to pass along this information from Chip Radford, who will be serving on one of the Greer Citizen Committees to help shape the city’s new Comprehensive Land Use Plan. As I mentioned earlier, I am serving on one of the Greenville Citizen Committees (transportation), and I think this is a good opportunity for local cyclists to get involved at the early planning stage. Here is the info from Chip for any of you Greer cyclists who want to help shape the area’s future:

Greer is embarking on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. There will be a kick off tomorrow (May 6) at the new Police station. I was asked and will be serving on the planning committee. There will also be a lot of sub-committees in which local and county input will be invaluable. Below are a couple of links; one outlining the meeting tomorrow and another to the Citizens Theme Committees. If any of you can find some time, I hope you will entertain providing some expertise with the future growth of Greer.

Click for meeting information

Click for Committee themes

Bike to Work Week events flyer

May is upon us and Bike to Work Week is just a couple of weeks away, so I want to remind all of you of some of the events that the City, the Spinners, and the other generous BTWW sponsors have planned. As I mentioned earlier, you can keep checking the City’s bike2work website for the latest information and scheduling. Also, you can click on the attached flyer and print it out to let your friends and coworkers know about the events planned that week. If you would like a higher resolution file of the flyer to print and distribute, shoot me an email and I will be happy to send you one. Speaking of the flyer, I want to credit Richard (aka Fritz at Cyclelicious) for the photo. Thanks for giving me permission to use it.

The free ABC quick checks at Piazza Bergamo on Monday though Wednesday from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm will provide a great opportunity for those who haven’t ridden in a long time to dust of the old bikes in the garage and have them checked out by a professional mechanic. Be sure to tell all your friends who don’t ride often about this great opportunity to get that old bike rolling again. Thanks to TTR, Carolina Triathlon, and The Great Escape for donating their time and resources to make this bike safety check up happen.

The Commuter safety 101 course, which will take place at the new downtown location of Tandem, Touring, and Recumbent Bikes on Thursday evening, is an event that will be great for cyclists of all skill levels. You will benefit from the knowledge of two LAB League Certified Instructors who will cover the basics of riding safely with traffic. TTR has generously donated door prizes and will have commuter oriented demo bikes and products available for you to try out, so plan to be there. I want to remind you that pre-registration is required, so email Andrew Meeker with the City if you plan to attend.

Finally, the Bike to Work Day commuter breakfast will take place on Friday, the 16th . Stop by during your bike commute anytime between 7:15 and 9 am for free coffee and bagels from Coffee Underground. Mayor White will be there to update us on the progress toward making Greenville a Bicycle Friendly Community. While you are there, you can pick up your free Greenville BTWW event waterbottle donated by the Great Escape. There will probably also be an informal “ride with the Mayor” right before 7:15 from City Hall to Piazza Bergamo for those of you who will be downtown early (more information on that will follow). Overall, it should be a great event to cap off Bike to Work Week in Greenville, so I hope that many of you will join us to fuel up before your ride to work.