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.

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. 

No bike lanes on Roper Mountain Road…apparently

I wrote a post in June about the possibility of bike lanes on Pelham and Roper Mountain as part of SCDOT resurfacing projects for sections of those two roads. Many of you responded in favor of bike lanes on those streets, and the support did not just come from individual citizens. Major local companies including Fluor, Hubbell Lighting, GE, and Greenville Hospital System sent the SCDOT letters of support for the inclusion of bike lanes in these projects. Ditto for local organizations like the Greenville Spinners, The Spinners Safety Foundation, GPATS, and LiveWell Greenville. 

In response to everyone who wrote a letter, Steve Gwinn in the Greenville SCDOT office responded:

“Thank you for your e-mail (or letter) concerning the striping of bike lanes on Pelham Road and Roper Mountain Road after the upcoming resurfacing project. We have met with the City of Greenville and reviewed the roadway geometry as it exists today to determine a possible solution that would accommodate bike lanes on both roads.

The exiting roadway width on Pelham Road is 61.5 feet of usable space. Our restriping typical required a minimum of 64 feet for exclusive bike lanes. We have existing 12 foot lanes with a 13.5 foot median. The proposed typical would have travel lanes and median less than 11 feet and 12 feet respectively. This is not meeting a minimum standard for an arterial with 22,400 vehicles per day. We are currently working on a restriping plan for Roper Mountain Road that will not only try to eliminate confusion with lane placement but also try to accommodate bike lanes.

We have been working diligently in trying to modify our existing facilities to accommodate bike lanes. We understand that the City of Greenville is submitting a design exception request with detailed information for Pelham Road for reconsideration. We will take this information into account for the restriping of Pelham Road. We will also determine what we can accommodate for Roper Mountain Road once resurfacing is complete.”

Based on that response, it sounded like they had issues to overcome with Pelham Road, but that a restiping plan for Roper Mountain was in the works. In addition to the design exception for Pelham, the City of Greenville had submitted to SCDOT a rough design for a layout of Roper Mountain that included bike lanes, so I was encouraged about the chances of seeing bike lanes in the final design.

From what I had heard, the resurfacing project on Roper Mountain was to be delayed a bit, so I was quite surprised to see the old asphalt being scraped away earlier this month. On August 9^th, I sent an email to Steve Gwinn in the Greenville SCDOT office to find out what was going on:

Dear Mr. Gwinn,

I want to follow up with you on the status of the Roper Mountain and Pelham resurfacing projects (http://bikegreenville.blogspot.com/2011/06/bike-lanes-on-pelham-and-roper-mountain.html). You mentioned in your response to the letter from the Greenville Spinners that there were some issues with existing widths on Pelham, but that SCDOT was working on a restriping plan to include bike lanes on Roper Mountain. Is that still the case? It appears that resurfacing is currently underway on Roper Mountain, so I hope that bike lanes will be included when the project is complete. I know that a design exception has been submitted for Pelham Road as well, so I would like to hear about the status of that project as well. 

As you know, there has been a lot of local support for bike lanes on both of these roads. Local companies and organizations including Fluor, GE, Hubbell Lighting, GE, Greenville Hospital System, Greenville Spinners, The Spinners Safety Foundation, GPATS, and LiveWell Greenville have all publicly expressed support for the addition of bike lanes to these roads. I know that it is not easy, and that there are some hurdles to overcome to make these roads into complete streets, but doing so would be a major step toward making the eastside of Greenville bicycle friendly.

Thanks for your attention…and best regards,

James Thomas

http://bikegreenville.blogspot.com

I didn’t receive a response, but a couple days later I followed up with this message (and I copied SCDOT’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Coordinator Tom Dodds):

Mr. Gwinn,

I just want to follow up on the email I sent you a couple days ago. It appears that the surfacing and striping is nearly complete on Roper Mountain Road, and bike lanes do not appear to be included in the project. Out of the two SCDOT resurfacing projects on the east side of Greenville (Roper Mountain and Pelham), it certainly sounded like Roper Mountain was the one that was more likely to include bike lanes.

Earlier, you said, "We are currently working on a restriping plan for Roper Mountain Road that will not only try to eliminate confusion with lane placement but also try to accommodate bike lanes. " Is that something that is still in the works? Also, can you provide an update on the design exception that was presented for Pelham Road.

Thanks and best regards,

James Thomas

http://bikegreenville.blogspot.com

It’s been over a week and I still haven’t received a response to either email. I’m still hoping to get answers, so I sent this message today to the main SCDOT office in Columbia:

I have sent a couple emails to Steve Gwinn about the Roper Mountain Rd resurfacing that recently completed here in Greenville. Many local companies and organizations, including Fluor, GE, Hubbell Lighting, GE, Greenville Hospital System, Greenville Spinners, The Spinners Safety Foundation, GPATS, and LiveWell Greenville, wrote letters of support for including bike lanes as part of the project (along with another scheduled resurfacing project on Pelham Road). In his response to everyone who wrote a letter, Mr. Gwinn said:


"We are currently working on a restriping plan for Roper Mountain Road that will not only try to eliminate confusion with lane placement but also try to accommodate bike lanes."


Unfortunately, the resurfacing occurred with what appears to be no changes to the striping at all. Can someone please let me know why a request with so much community support was completely ignored? Mr. Gwinn has not responded in the past week, but maybe someone else can...Deputy Secretary for Engineering John Walsh perhaps?


The companies and individuals who supported bike lanes on Roper Mountain would like to know what happened. SCDOT pointed out that bike lanes on Pelham Road might be difficult, but it seemed like Roper Mountain was feasible and that the SCDOT engineering department was working on it. When did that change and why? I am looking forward to hearing your reply so I can share it with others.


Thanks for your time and best regards,


James Thomas

I’m a little frustrated now, but when I do get a response with some answers from someone at SCDOT, I will share it here. The resurfacing on Pelham is still on the horizon, so it is important to continue letting SCDOT know that we want to see bike lanes as part of these projects. Set-backs are discouraging, but safer streets  for all users are worth fighting for. I encourage you all to keep it up.

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.

Federal bike and pedestrian funding in danger!

If you are an LAB member, PCC member, or People for Bikes subscriber, you have probably already heard that House Transportation Chairman John Mica (R-FL) announced yesterday that his transportation bill will eliminate dedicated funding for bicycling and walking, including Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and the Recreational Trails Program. He stated that these programs support activities that are “not in the federal interest”, and encouraged states not to fund them either. This proposed halt to funding for sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways comes at a time when, as the LAB points out, “two-thirds of all pedestrian deaths are on federally funded highways” and “one-third of children’s traffic deaths happen when children are walking or bicycling and are struck by cars.”

The LAB also provides some good talking points on this issue:

• Biking and walking are important forms of transportation, and funding for bicycle and pedestrian improvements is a very efficient use of federal transportation dollars.  Portland, OR built 300 miles of bike lanes and trails for the cost of one mile of highway. 
• These projects create jobs and build local economies.  Building bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure creates 46% more jobs than building road-only projects per million dollars spent.  Cities that invest in bicycle and pedestrian projects turn downtowns into destinations, and capitalize on increased business activity.
• Eliminating the 1.5% of transportation funding spent on bike/ped would have no meaningful impact on the federal budget, but instead, decreases transportation options for American families in a time of rising gas prices and an uncertain economy.  

Please take a few minutes today to write your Senators and Congressional representatives to express your support for continued bicycle and pedestrian funding. See the message below from Rachael at the Palmetto Cycling Coalition for more information and/or visit the page that People for Bikes has set up to send a message. This could be a major setback for bicycle and pedestrian transportation, so we all need to speak up now.

Good evening,

  

We just found out some very bad news, which we urge you to take action on immediately: dedicated funding for bicycling and walking is in jeopardy based upon House and Senate Transportation proposals released today. 

This funding has supported projects that we all know and love--like sections of the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston, pathways in Hilton Head, mountain bike trails (FATS and others) in the Central Savannah River Area, and parts of the Swamp Rabbit in Greenville. Without this funding, these projects and similar ones in the future will be in jeopardy. 

Today, Congressman John Mica of Florida, Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, outlined his plans for the new transportation bill and called for the elimination of dedicated funding for biking and walking programs, which he suggested are "not in the national interest."

In the Senate, James Inhofe of Oklahoma is leading a similar attack. Inhofe, a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said that one of his top-three priorities for the next multi-year federal transportation bill is to eliminate "frivolous spending for bike trails."

If Representative Mica and Senator Inhofe get their way, dedicated funding for three crucial programs -- Safe Routes to School, Transportation Enhancements, and Recreational Trails -- will be eliminated. The cost-effective federal investment in bicycling that is making our nation better will shrink dramatically.  

We can't allow this to happen.

Visit the League of American Bicyclists' action center to send the message to Sen. DeMint, Sen. Graham and your Representative in Congress. In a year when South Carolina is on track to break a new record for bicycle and pedestrians deaths, we must stand up to protect bicycle and pedestrian funding. 

Thanks for your support and quick response. 

   

Rachael Kefalos

Palmetto Cycling Coalition 

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.

Bike lanes on Pelham and Roper Mountain Roads this summer?

When I served as the advocacy chairperson for the Greenville Spinners several years ago, the club worked with the city to develop a small, downtown bike lane plan that was primarily focused on the central business district. That was definitely the right place to start, but at the time I often heard from Spinners members and other local cyclists who wanted to see those facilities expand beyond the city limits into the suburbs and other parts of the county. Since that time, through the work of many people, bike lanes in Greenville have expanded beyond the CBD… and if you attended any of the Bicycle Master Plan community meetings, you know that the plan is to eventually expand those bikeways much further in order to create a viable network for those of us who want a safe way to get around the city (and county) by bike. That is a long-range plan, but in order for that to happen, we NEED to take advantage of key resurfacing opportunities as they arise.

According to a recent Greenville News article (the same one I mentioned here), the South Carolina Department of Transportation is scheduled to resurface portions of Pelham Road (from Haywood Rd. to the Publix near East North) and Roper Mountain Road (from Blacks to Verdae) sometime this summer. I believe that bike lanes on both of those sections of road could provide critical connections from the heavily populated eastside of town to existing bike infrastructure in the city. Along with the new bike lanes and sharrows on East North, bike lanes on Pelham would feed to the current bike lanes in the downtown district and the Swamp Rabbit trail. Roper Mountain is also very important as it provides a route from eastside neighborhoods to the existing bike lanes at ICAR, where many people choose to ride. Personally, I have noticed a significant increase in the number of bicyclists on that currently dangerous section of Roper Mountain in recent years, so I believe the issue of safety for all users needs to be addressed with the resurfacing.

I am not alone in supporting the idea of bike lanes as part of these resurfacing projects. These sections of road are included in the Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study’s (GPATS) Long Range Transportation Plan, and Dan McGee, Transportation Planning Manager for the county, has recently publicly expressed support for including bike facilities in the Pelham Road resurfacing project. The Greenville Spinners board has also expressed support for bike lanes on both of these projects by sending a letter to the SCDOT and the Greenville City Manager on behalf of the club’s 800 plus members. I won’t list them all here, but a number of major employers on the eastside of Greenville have also expressed support for bike lanes as part of these resurfacing projects (Update 6/22: Flour, GE, and Hubbell Lighting are just a few of the companies that have already sent letters of support for these bike lanes). When you look at all the supporters who have taken an interest in these projects so far, it is clear that bike lanes on these roads are something that many people want to see.

In addition to the community support, I believe there are a couple of policy documents in place that support the inclusion of bike lanes as part of these resurfacing projects.

Greenville’s Complete Streets Resolution, adopted by City Council in 2008, states that the city endorses a complete streets policy (with accommodations for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and motorists) when feasible for new transportation projects as well as re-channelization projects and major maintenance. In both of these cases, observed bicycle traffic points to a need for facilities such as bike lanes on these roads.

SCDOT’s “Bicycle Accommodation Policy”, which is similar to the city’s complete streets policy, states that “ bicycling and walking accommodations should be a routine part of the department’s planning, design, construction and operating activities, and will be included in the everyday operations of our transportation system” and that bicycling and pedestrian improvements should be “an integral part of their transportation planning and programming where State or Federal Highway funding is utilized.”

Ultimately, the decision whether or not to include bike lanes as part of these projects will be made by the SCDOT, but certainly community support will be a factor in their decision.  If you agree that bicycle accommodations should be considered with both of these projects, please leave a comment here expressing your support…and feel free to contact me if you wish to get involved further.

Update: It was mentioned in the comments, but I want to reiterate that bike lanes have previously been proposed on both of these sections of road as part of the Greenville Bicycle Master Plan. These are not just random resurfacing projects...both are important components in both the Greenvilly city and GPATS long range plans. See the map on page 58 of the presentation that was given at the March public meeting to see these, and other, identified bike routes.