Bike-friendly Spartanburg

[Sparkleman]

Ok, I had some extra time today at lunch and drove down Marion Ave off of Pine St. There are signs up that say "bike route" and it looks like the city has put down temporary dotted lines to signify a bike path is coming. This continues all the way to where Marion crosses Church and becomes W Hampton Heights Ave and then turns right on Spring and continues to the Post Office. I think this is a good idea but the streets have not been widened any so the bike path cuts into each side of the two lane road by about 3' on each side. Its pretty tight through there, but it is indeed there. Just make sure you are wearing a helmet if riding through there.

[Spartan]

They should be at least 4' bike lanes. Thats an AASHTO minimal guideline. Hopefully it follows this route eventually, except bike lanes are not needed on Main St since traffic is pretty slow through there.

Link

[hub-city]

Are bike lanes included in the Main street narrowing project scheduled to start in May? Also, I wouldn't be surprised in bike lanes don't come all the way down Converse to Barnet Park and the CCC.

[Spartan]

Yes, on the East Main portion. I was referring to the serpentine portion of Main St and the portion through Morgan Square.

[huck94]

Traffic is slow on that section of Main but you really have to watch out for cars backing out of the angled parking spaces. Straying off from Spartanburg, I really liked when I was in Paris back in the summer. Some streets have a completely separate lane for bikes and buses separated from car traffic. Blvd St.-Germain comes to mind. Speaking of France and bicycles, any news of the rental bike stations that were proposed for Spartanburg?

[Spartan]

I was riding around town today and I was able to check out the bike lanes. They look good, although I think you are right about them being 3' wide. They are a little narrow in spots and they have some obstacles in the way on the section of Marion St between Pine Street and Union Street. They also widen a little bit through South Converse. However, its great that they are there. The bike-lanes help to narrow the vehicle travel lanes to a consistent width of what I assume is about 11', and overall they make for a better biking environment in this area. I also noticed that there are many places where ADA compliant sidewalk ramps have been installed and some sidewalk has been reconstructed. The efforts of Partners for Active Living should be applauded.

They are missing a key section of lanes between Forest Ave and Church St. This is a key section to build since there is a hill there (bikers need to have a lane on steep uphill sections like that similar to how trucks need a lane on the Saluda Grade. Does anyone know when the last segment will be marked? Maybe if one of the good folks over at PAL is reading, they can shed some light on this for us

[Spartan]

I'll also add that while these things look great, we have already started to see one of the major and inevitable problems with bike lanes.... people think that they are parking for cars. I have this problem in Charlotte all the time while biking to and from work.

[GvilleSC]

I don't know if this have been brought up or not, OR if people have taken advantage of this, but Upstate Forever's office in downtown Spartanburg offers 'free bikes'. My understanding is you check-out the bike for up to three months (or was it weeks?). Anyway, it seemed like a great way to promote getting around the city by means other than a car!

[Spartan]

Four new miles of bicycle lanes are coming to Spartanburg!

• College Street (Magnolia Street to Forest Street)
  
• Dupre Drive (Sydnor Road to Greengate Lane)
  
• Forest Street (West Main Street to Crescent Avenue)
  
• Forest Street (College Street to Wofford Street)
  
• Hollywood/Brentwood Drive (Connecticut Avenue to Sydnor Road)
  
• Magnolia Street (Morgan Square to College Street)
  

Apparantly some or all of these are being done in conjunction with resurfacing. I'm going to start working on a map of bike lanes and sharrows at some point, I'll post it one of these days.

HJ Article

[alias007]

I'm going to start working on a map of bike lanes and sharrows at some point, I'll post it one of these days.

Ooo... cool idea!

[sparkinlady]

anyone see the new bike lanes around downtown? Magnolia street, forest st and the ones out near spartanburg high school? they are installed now - what do you think?

[Spartan]

While I haven't seen them for myself, I think they will be good. Those locations make a little more sense than some of the others around town where they we just installed because we had excess width (Spring St).

[sparkinlady]

Saw that Greenville just installed their first sharrow markings. That's exciting! Great for the Upstate all around.

......And let's not forgot who had them first! It's nice for Spartanburg to have a few firsts.

[spartanburgh]

Spartanburg has done a good job in this area. The bike lanes and racks etc. are very good ways to improve on the Quality of life issues. Great job Spartanburg!!!

[Spartan]

Bike Worx, a local bike shop, has relocated to a larger space on Union St at the south end of the rail trail. The article on this move is a bit of a fluff piece, but I think that the move is a sign of Spartanburg's "Bike Town" efforts paying off. Its great to see higher demand for bicycles.

HJ Article

[sparkinlady]

Also noteworthy that Flour Corporation just received Bike Friendly status as a Business. That kind of national attention is good for all of the Upstate. GSA NEWS BRIEF PASTED BELOW...

Fluor

[GvilleSC]

It's funny that you post this today. I actually was in Greenville for a few hours today. I saw about 7 or 8 cyclists on the roads in groups. Many had Fluor Cyclist team uniforms on...

Cool article!

[Spartan]

Ok, I have a complaint. The new bike lanes suck!

Bike lanes should, by design, be about 4-5 feet in width (read as "USABLE SPACE"). On Magnolia Street they are approximately 3 feet, and most of that is in the freaking gutter! Here are two pics. Its blurry, but keep in mind that its quite difficult to take pictures while driving:

Notice the crap that's in the gutter!

What I really don't get here, is that even with the bike lanes, the travel lanes for cars still has to be 15 feet wide in each direction. The bike lanes could EASILY have been two feet wider and there would have still been 10 to 11 feet for cars, which is more than enough room.

So, I follow the route down College St. These are ok. They are 4 feet, two of which are included in the gutter pan. Not ideal, but this street is slightly more constrained. Pic:

I then turn on to Forest St. I don't have a picture, but these seemed to be a little narrow, but functional. I saw them being used, and given the neighborhood, I'm sure they are appreciated. Forest St has a fair amount of traffic.

Then on to Hampton Heights. I still do not understand the need for bike lanes in this neighborhood. Its a neighborhood street with very low traffic, so it shouldn't need lanes.

Marion Street makes sense to me now. A while back I complained about the gap between Church Street and Barksdale... well, they marked sharrows in that stretch. I presume that there is not enough width to make bike lanes, so its good to see some sort of acknowledgement of bikes in this area.

So here's the root of my complaint: in order for bike lanes to function properly, they need to be wide enough that bikers don't feel like second class citizens while they are riding, and they need to be on streets with a moderate traffic volume. If you start making too many neighborhood streets, then people start to think that the only place bikers are allowed is on bike lanes. Bicycles are allowed on any street if the cyclist is willing to ride it! Worst yet, people will start to think that bikers don't mind riding in these conditions, which is not true in the least.

---

I do have to complement the city for re-striping Hollywood St/Brentwood Dr from four lanes to three with bike lanes. This is much better than the old arrangement. Its not all bad folks, and its all better than nothing.

[westsider28]

The Spartanburg CVB just posted on their Facebook page that B-Cycle bike sharing is coming soon to Spartanburg! I can't wait to hear more details about this!

Spartanburg CVB Facebook page

B-Cycle website

[westsider28]

B-Cycle bike sharing is indeed coming to Spartanburg! Two stations will be installed downtown by July or August with plans to expand later. As well as being great for the community in general, this system will also be helpful as the city reapplies for the Bicycle Friendly Community designation this year.

Herald-Journal article

[Spartan]

I found an interesting update on the B-Cycle bike-share stations from the Palmetto Cycling Coalition:

Bike Share Updates in SC Communities

Bike share systems are growing like wildfire, nationally and statewide. These are systems to allow bicycles to be shared to the public at large. They are a great solution for many SC communities working to improve their bikeability, transportation and recreation options, and overall quality of life.

Spartanburg, SC took the lead, when in the summer of last year they launched their B-Cycle bike share system. Led by Partners for Active Living, it has been just near an entire year that the Spartanburg B-Cycle system has been in place, and in that time the program has grown by leaps and bounds: 2,171 trips taken; 793 members enrolled, and 17,116 miles ridden (as of May 14, 2012).

Two other South Carolina communities are also embracing bike shares as ways to make their communities more bike friendly, accessible, and livable. Upstate Forever was successful in being granted Federal funds to begin implementing a bike share program in the City of Grenville. The University of South Carolina is also working to implement a bike share program on their campus, to also service areas within the City of Columbia. Both the USC and Greenville systems are expected to be complete in the fall of this year. Read more about these developments on our blog.

I'd say that almost 800 members for a town the size of Spartanburg is pretty good- particularly since we only have two stations right now.

[westsider28]

Last week, there was a public meeting to give input on a new Trails & Greenways Master Plan for Spartanburg.  This plan is more focused on off-street facilities like greenways than bike lanes, for instance.  And rather than being more like policy recommendations (like the Bike & Pedestrian Master Plan), it will be a concrete plan that will guide future trail development in the Spartanburg metro area.  Check out the proposed plan and leave your comments at http://www.spartanburgtrails.org/

 

Also, in a PCC e-mail, they mention that Spartanburg's system now has 1,070 members and that the third station (at the northside Healthy Food Hub) will launch in July 2013.  And on a related note, Partners for Active Living (who runs our B-Cycle system) has confirmed that they will be working to form a partnership with Greenville's system, so (potentially) members of either system will have access to both systems (like Denver and Boulder).

 

Great news all around!

[Spartan]

In the Carolina Piedmont region, our creeks and rivers are our biggest natural asset. The Upstate a a whole needs to have a regional greenway network plan (think "Palmetto Trail" but bigger) and a commitment towards building them. A community that invests in opening these areas up to the public via greenways will reap the benefits quickly. The Cottonwood Trail along the Lawson's Fork is extremely popular... we just need more of them that connect to more places. Over time, they can be used for recreation and transportation purposes.

 

Here in Charlotte, people use the Little Sugar Creek Greenway to access uptown for work and play. It's also a part of the regional greenway network called the Carolina Thread Trail, which gives you an idea of the scale of planning that I think needs to happen in the Upstate.

[westsider28]

A few things to report.  First of all, I noticed a few days ago that the Spartanburg B-Cycle website said "two new stations coming soon."  Well, I talked with someone at Partners for Active Living and found out there will be stations at Wofford and Converse Colleges!  They are being installed right now and could be operational as soon as next week.  This makes a ton of sense and will make it really convenient for students to bike to downtown.  There will be a station at the Healthy Food Hub once it's completed later this year, and there's a plan to put one at Denny's Plaza as well.  As the system grows, it will continue to be more useful.  Really excited about this!

 

Also, B-Cycle announced a few weeks ago that B-Cycle annual memberships will work across 15 systems nationwide!  This includes Charlotte but not Greenville, oddly (at least initially; they'll probably join once their system gets up and running).

[Spartan]

Nice. The expansion of the system to 5 stations will make it much more effective for people to use. I'm also excited that I can use my pass for Charlotte in Spartanburg!