bike walk greenville

Advocating for Active Transportation in Greenville, South Carolina since 2013

Board of Directors urges County Council to pass resolution

To: Greenville County Council Members
From: The Board of Directors of Bike Walk Greenville

The mission of Bike Walk Greenville is to increase the quality of life and economic vitality of Greenville County through the improvement of our pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure and to promote the importance of health, safety, recreation and equitable transportation options.

The Board of Directors of Bike Walk Greenville has been actively following the discussions about a proposed referendum for a sales tax to fund transportation projects in our County.

The Board of Directors strongly endorses the need for more funding for transportation improvements and urges that County Council pass a resolution to put a sales tax referendum dedicated to road improvements on the November 2014 general election ballot.

As shown through our research and through recent citizen submissions to our website, there is a very large need for sidewalk and bike lane projects in Greenville County.

The County is currently preparing the first Bicycle and Pedestrian Network Improvement Plan that will be presented for Council approval early in 2014. This plan will include a prioritized list of the twenty most important walk / bike projects.

As such, the Bike Walk Greenville Board urges the Council to move forward with the sales tax referendum, stipulating that sidewalk and bike lane projects be part of the list of transportation projects to be developed.

Mark Taylor- Chair, SynTerra
Eleanor Dunlap- Vice Chair, Community Volunteer
Rebecca Crown Cooper- Secretary, Greenville Health System
Jason Albert- Treasurer, GE Power and Water
Pamela Wood Browne, Palmetto Cycling Coalition
Robin Bylenga, Pedal Chic
Kim Cato, GE Power and Water
Amy Ryberg Doyle, Greenville City Council
Owen Page, Erwin Penland

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2 responses to “Board of Directors urges County Council to pass resolution”

  1. Becky Avatar
    Becky

    As far as making the county more bicycle friendly, I hope that someone would speak to the DOT about their ill-advised decision to put rumble strips on roads that cyclists frequent (I already have, with no response). Most recently, Old White Horse Road in Travelers Rest has been ruined with these strips. This road is a hub that is used to access many other county roads, and so sees a good bit of cyclist traffic.

    However, the recent addition of rumble strips has removed the option for cyclists to ride on or to the right of the white line, out of the direct path of traffic. Now all cyclists are forced to ride well out into the traffic lane—and with the traffic moving as fast as it does, that road is much more hazardous. When you can ride on a shoulder—even a small one—you are out of the direct path of traffic, and safer as a result; without the shoulder on these faster-travelled roads, there is a much greater risk of being hit by someone who isn’t paying full attention, because now we are forced to share the same lane with them. An inattentive driver would hit us long before they drifted onto the rumble strips because now we are directly in their path.

    As a safety measure for cars on that road I consider it a dubious measure at best—I don’t see a big difference between your tire running off the edge of the road and your tire hitting the rumble strips; but for cyclists it has certainly made the road much more hazardous. Please, in the course of discussions for cycling improvements, tell the DOT to not make existing roads worse!

    If for some reason the DOT believes there is a definitive need to wake drivers up on these roads, there are cycling-friendly options like “rumble cookies” that, spaced well enough apart, allow cyclists to access the shoulder while still providing cars with tactile feedback when veering out of the lane. I sincerely hope that someone will bring this to their attention in order to keep them from ruining any more roads. In the meantime, only repaving Old White Horse will make it safer now.

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  2. Bike Walk Greenville Avatar
    Bike Walk Greenville

    Rumble strips are a big concern for cyclists. The Palmetto Cycling Coalition has taken the lead in addressing this issue with the SCDOT. Here’s their post on the policy and some discussion: http://pccsc.net/rumble-strip-policy-a-pcc-policy-recommendation-to-our-scdot/

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