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Bike Lanes in downtown Greenville


JCT

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I noticed the article in this month's Go Magazine about Spartanburg's status as a Bronze level BFC and it got me to thinking...JCT: Maybe you know the answer to this, but has the City of Greenville applied with the League of American Bicyclists to become a BFC? It seems to me that this is something at which Greenville trails Spartanburg, for sure - but through your efforts and the efforts others, it seems we're making great strides. If the city hasn't applied yet - how far off do you think it will be before we've applied and are recognized at the Bronze (or better) level? What more need to be done?

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I noticed the article in this month's Go Magazine about Spartanburg's status as a Bronze level BFC and it got me to thinking...JCT: Maybe you know the answer to this, but has the City of Greenville applied with the League of American Bicyclists to become a BFC? It seems to me that this is something at which Greenville trails Spartanburg, for sure - but through your efforts and the efforts others, it seems we're making great strides. If the city hasn't applied yet - how far off do you think it will be before we've applied and are recognized at the Bronze (or better) level? What more need to be done?

No, Greenville has not applied yet, but I think the City will start the application process this year. The inclusion of bike lane and greenway funds in the C.I.P. budget was a big deal for Greenville's progress toward BFC designation and we will begin to see the fruits of that soon. Spatanburg's City and County "Complete Streets" ordininces were recognized as a big factor in their designation. That is something that Greenville needs as well before we apply. I think that and a few more bike lanes on the ground would be good for Greenville to get a Bronze designation as well. Of course, I would like to see us shoot for Silver.

If you are interested, show up Friday morning at Piazza Bergamo to hear Mayor White speak about our progress toward becoming a Bicycle Friendly Community.

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I just want to remind everyone about the Bike to Work Day commuter breakfast tomorrow at Piazza Bergamo. Anyone who wants to join the Mayor for the short ride to Piazza Bergamo should plan to show up at City Hall just before 7:15. If you can

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I just want to remind everyone about the Bike to Work Day commuter breakfast tomorrow at Piazza Bergamo. Anyone who wants to join the Mayor for the short ride to Piazza Bergamo should plan to show up at City Hall just before 7:15. If you can
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My husband, who is a cyclist for a local team, had a less than stellar experience for the Bike to Work Day event. Here is his description:

"Leave my home on Earle St, ride up the bike lane on Townes, swerve around vehicles illegally parked in the bike lane because of "The Greek Festival". Get to Pizza Bergamo about 8:15, everything is back in the van, only the podium is left, no coffee, no bagel. Commiserate with real commuters who show up, and turn around to ride home, because I actually have the day off. On the way home a car accelerates away from a stop light to go a hundred yards, and turn right, into a parking garage in front of me, causing me to slam on my brakes, (I'm still using the bike lane). All this in a trip of a mile and a half."

Sorry to hear all that. I left Piazza Bergamo at about 8:30 to ride to work and I thought the stuff was still out. I guess not though. We had a pretty good crowd earlier for the ride with the Mayor for his speech. The weather wasn't perfect when I left my house at 6:30, but it goy better and the turnout wasn't bad (I would guess 30 to 40 people). I am sorry to hear that your husband missed everything though and had a bad experience riding down and back. I'll mention it to the people at the City, because the food and everything should have stayed out until nine.

With the detour downtown, my commute stretched out for the normal 7 mile trip to about 20 miles. I had a great ride this morning with nothing but courteous waves from drivers. I wish it were like that everyday. Things are changing and Greenville is becoming a better place to ride all the time. It is not perfect yet, but the City is making progress.

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Sorry to hear all that. I left Piazza Bergamo at about 8:30 to ride to work and I thought the stuff was still out. I guess not though. We had a pretty good crowd earlier for the ride with the Mayor for his speech. The weather wasn't perfect when I left my house at 6:30, but it goy better and the turnout wasn't bad (I would guess 30 to 40 people). I am sorry to hear that your husband missed everything though and had a bad experience riding down and back. I'll mention it to the people at the City, because the food and everything should have stayed out until nine.

With the detour downtown, my commute stretched out for the normal 7 mile trip to about 20 miles. I had a great ride this morning with nothing but courteous waves from drivers. I wish it were like that everyday. Things are changing and Greenville is becoming a better place to ride all the time. It is not perfect yet, but the City is making progress.

I'm glad that the earlier events went well and glad that Greenville takes part of the nationwide event. I hope that it continues to grow and educate Greenville on the benefits of cycling!

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I think I remember your husband arriving. If I'm not mistaken, he was wearing blue and white. Today's event was a disappointment, with the smaller crowd, and the ridiculously short route (City Hall to Piazza Bergamo). I did get to meet a few nice people, and spoke with Andrew Meeker for quite some time. By the time the event was over, the weather was great, so I spent the morning riding around, and even did a little shopping at Mast.

The best news to come out of the event was the "Lights for Life" campaign. The Greenville Spinners are donating LED lights that will be distributed amongst the police force. When the cops see someone riding a bike at night, they will stop them and give them the light. It's a program that could definitely save a life.

I also had a near miss, in front of the Poinsett. A pedestrian walked out in front of me, and instead of jumping back out of the way, he jumped ahead, and I almost hit him. <_<

The new section of the greenway (Cleveland Park to Greenville Tech) should be open by mid-summer.

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  • 2 months later...

I noticed the article in this month's Go Magazine about Spartanburg's status as a Bronze level BFC and it got me to thinking...JCT: Maybe you know the answer to this, but has the City of Greenville applied with the League of American Bicyclists to become a BFC? It seems to me that this is something at which Greenville trails Spartanburg, for sure - but through your efforts and the efforts others, it seems we're making great strides. If the city hasn't applied yet - how far off do you think it will be before we've applied and are recognized at the Bronze (or better) level? What more need to be done?

As of this week, the City has kicked off the application process for Bicycle Friendly Community Designation with a workshop that took place Tuesday. I'll provide more information later, but for now read more here:

http://bikegreenville.blogspot.com/2008/07...-follow-up.html

We need volunteers to serve on a BFC committee, so if you are interested in helping Greenville work toward a silver designation, semd an email to the address in the post.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm glad to see Greenville taking the steps towards applying for BFC. One of the things that they seem to factor in is population. They don't specify this factor anywhere, but it essentially means that if you have more people, you should be doing more stuff for bikes. So for example, it would explain why New York City only has a bronze when they are doing way more than Spartanburg could dream of.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 months later...

I don't think those are actual bike lanes, but rather "sharrows," meaning markings indicating a shared lane for autos and bicycles. It is basically an awareness symbol, but also useful for cyclists because it directs them along a specific route. Nonetheless, they are a welcome addition to our streets!

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

Does anyone know if the city is testing paint colors for bike lanes? A couple of city employees were out on Cleveland today, painting something in the bike lanes.....looked like a color too.....I was going to stop and asked them, but had traffic behind me. Thought it was very strange they were out on such a rainy day, though it wasn't raining at the time. :dontknow:

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I haven't heard anything about using colors. I do know that the city is creating more bike lanes and sharrows in the downtown area. Some of these will be utilized in the "Ride with the Mayor" on May 29.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 month later...

This morning, I posted a bit about Greenville’s first major bicycle count, which took place in October:

http://bikegreenville.blogspot.com/2010/12/share-news.html

That initial count was part of the Bicycle Master Plan that the City is currently working on with Alta Planning. Exciting things are happening with the bike plan, and we can expect to see some of it implemented in 2011. I know that is kind of vague, but I'll post specifics as soon as I can.

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  • 2 months later...

Bikeville is building a list of people willing to volunteer for bike month events in May. See this section from the latest City of Greenville Bicycling and Greenways newsletter:

“We plan to build a database of volunteers and will communicate specific needs and opportunities as event plans solidify. Volunteers would assist with event planning, bike valet, and group rides. If you are willing to donate a few hours of your time throughout the month of May to support our various initiatives, please send an email to [email protected].”

Send an email to get on the list if you can spare a few hours in May to help out. The bike valet events are a lot of fun, so give it a try if you haven't before. More info here.

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