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Bike to work day


JCT

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The City Council has officially recognized Friday, May 12, 2006 as Bike-to-Work Day in Greenville and the city will host a Bike-to-Work celebration at Piazza Bergamo on Friday, May, 12 from 7:30am-9am. Even if you do not bike to work, show up to show your support for something that is good for the entire city. The event will have food, prizes, and a speech by the Mayor about future projects. Mayor White and several city council members will be riding bikes to the event, along with many local bike commuters, of course. Unfortunately, I have a meeting out of town and won

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Thanks for posting. That map is really cool. Does anyone know when the work on the Max Heller Greenway is set to start?

I noticed driving by there yesterday that they had the area spray painted for where the plants were to go, so it shouldn't be too long. Also, I noticed where the Villagio Verde site is, they have now laid grass seed down where they were grading it last week, so I don't think that was grading for the site, but probably for the apartments next to it.

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I noticed driving by there yesterday that they had the area spray painted for where the plants were to go, so it shouldn't be too long. Also, I noticed where the Villagio Verde site is, they have now laid grass seed down where they were grading it last week, so I don't think that was grading for the site, but probably for the apartments next to it.

I noticed that too about the grass... BUMMER! I was getting really excited about this too! :(

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I'll be there on my bike on Friday. I ride to work occasionally, but unfortunately I often need my car to go out on work related stuff. Here is a link to some more information from the city:

Bike2Work.pdf

Thanks for the Bike2Work PDF! The cycling infrastructure plan looks more extensive than I realized. Nice to see this as a push by the city.

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I went to this event, arriving at 7:20 or so. Everyone was asked to complete a survey on Biking to Work. Mainly, they wanted to know the impediments to doing so. Then everyone was asked to highlight on a map there route to work. "trouble spots" for bikers were identified as well. There was a handout with the city's resolution on it as well as info/tips for motorists and bikers.

Mayor White, a couple of council memebers and the city manager all arrived by bike at 7:45 or so. There was a podium, and some announcements were going to be made, but I needed to get to work so I left about 8:10. The event was intended to end at 9:00. The crowd peaked at about 40 or so people. I expected to see an article in the Gville News about the announcements, but there was nothing on the web about it.

I currently do not own a bike, but am giving it some thought. The city's effort to add bike racks, dedicated lanes, etc. is definitely encouraging me. Biking to work would be nice, but the shortest route would put me on six-laned Wade Hampton for 2-3 miles. That is a little intimidating, but there are other, safer, more pleasing (but longer) routes that would eliminate most of the Wade Hampton part.

If anyone else went, and heard the announcements, please post them. Otherwise, we will have to wait for next Friday's Journal.

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I showed up to Piazza Bergamo at about 7:30 for the free bagels and filled out the survey on my route to work. Unfortunately, I had to leave just before the dignitaries showed up because I have a 35-minute ride to work. I'm lucky enough not to have to ride any major roads, but I would still love some bike lanes, or at least shoulders on the roads.

I'm glad to see that the advocacy work by the Greenville Spinners is paying off, and that the city government is listening. I went to the city council meeting where the Spinners and other bike advocates presented their proposal, and the city council was pretty enthusiastic. The plan to connect the downtown neighborhoods is great and seems to be well thought-out, but I would also like to see some plans to link to nearby towns like Simpsonville and TR. Hopefully that rail-to-trail plan that's been discussed for a few years comes to fruition.

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It already has come to fruition. More info here:

http://www.travelersrestsc.com/trails/

It's a long way from finished though (18-36 months and a lot of $$).

The trail has to be cleared again, then a bed of gravel put down. That should happen by the end of the year. Within the next couple of years, it can hopefully be paved. After that is when it will really become a useful resource.

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It already has come to fruition. More info here:

http://www.travelersrestsc.com/trails/

I tried hiking it a few weeks ago, and I couldn't even find the railroad bed after about a half mile, starting from the Greenville side. The website above is a proposal and a plan, but with no start date. I was hoping for something a little more concrete.

Also, I want to point out that the first phase of the plan would be funded by "the sale of salvaged rails and ties". Maybe I'm underestimating the value of old rails and ties, but that sounds a bit optimisitic to me.

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I also made it by on Friday morning and was able to stay for the mayor's speech. It was short but he did mention that the new trail beside the Reedy should be done by the end of the summer. It will extend along the old rail line from Linky Stone Park out to the city limits. The rest will be continued by the county out to Traveler's Rest hopefully within the next year or two. He didn't give a timetable on the rest of the new bike lanes, but did say the city was seeking to earn the status of a 'bicycle friendly community' by adding additional bike lanes and racks. I'm going to try riding to work more often. Maybe if the city gave free breakfast every week I would have more incentive.

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  • 11 months later...

May is national bike month, so Greenville's Bike to Work day is coming up again. The date will be May 18th and an event will be held downtown at Piazza Bergamo.

If you are interested, check out my new Bike Greenville blog for more info at http://bikegreenville.blogspot.com

The city will have a webpage up about it soon as well. It should be a fun event, so mark your calenders.

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Thanks for the information, JCT! That 1984 Pinarello in the photo on the poster looks familiar... :lol: ... Breakfast on the go!

It's times like these that I wished I didn't work from home.

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