Bike Walk Greenville partnered with the City of Greenville to have a large display counter installed on the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail. We successfully raised $27,000 to purchase the Eco Display Classic + Double sided unit. Prisma Health provided significant funding along with 25 other donors. The City of Greenville installed and will maintain the unit on the SRT just north of Unity Park at Willard Street. Counts of both people on bikes and people on foot will be displayed daily and year to date.
Dr. Julian Reed of Furman University did a study of trail use back in 2013 and 501,236 trail users were publicized as part of the year 3 impact study. We look forward to counting the actual users in 2022 onwards. We suspect the count will be much higher!
Having real metrics of trail users will help in attracting additional public and private support for our trail network.
Lakeview Link
The Lakeview Link to the Prisma Health System Swamp Rabbit Trail
Bike Walk Greenville raised funds to build the Lakeview Link in 2018, a trail measuring 4/10 of a mile in length, as a Public Private Partnership with Greenville County.
This new trail created a safe walking and biking environment for 575 students at Lakeview Middle and the surrounding community along the Old Buncombe Road corridor. Lakeview Middle is a school with a high poverty
constituency and at which 100% of the students are eligible for free lunch. The School District reports that 480 students live within a 1 ½ mile radius of the school. Students, as well as Sans Souci and Berea neighborhood residents, would benefit from the safety improvements, further encouraging healthy transportation options.
Furthermore, Momentum Bike Clubs serves the students at Lakeview Middle School. Momentum allows students to experience, many for the first time, Furman University grounds, downtown Greenville, Falls Park, the Cancer Survivors Park, and Travelers Rest – all while learning safe bicycling skills.
Public Art at the Lakeview Link Plaza
Bike Walk Greenville commissioned artist Charles Pate Jr. to create this bronze statue of a girl on her strider bike. The granite base was fabricated by Kyle Gillespie, and the metal base was built by Ryan Calloway.
Bike Walk Greenville donated the statue to Greenville County
Diagonal Crossing in Downtown Travelers Rest
In March 2016 volunteers counted 1,613 people on foot and on bikes crossing the intersection of US-276 of the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail. Subsequent meetings with SCDOT advocating for a safe diagonal crossing where a push button would stop motor vehicles in all directions eventually led to SCDOT approval. The City of Travelers Rest allocated funding for construction and with permits in place the project is advertised for bids as of February 2022.
Protected Bike Lane Demonstration
In May 2016 we were very pleased to report on a successful collaboration with the City of Greenville to provide South Carolina the first demonstration of a protected bike lane. Three hours of work by 13 volunteers transformed one block of East Broad Street in the heart of downtown Greenville to show our transportation future.
On Saturday May 28, we engaged with the public at the corner of S. Main and E. Broad and found widespread support for the protected bike lane concept.
With 4,000 new housing units under construction downtown, it makes great sense to provide these new residents with an opportunity to safely travel a mile a two to the the store or to work. The more short trips taken by bike the fewer cars on the city streets. Protected Bike Lanes will help make Greenville a place people will want to live.
In 2017 the City of Greenville made the this short section of E. Broad Street a permanent part of the City’s infrastructure.
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