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Progressive South Carolina?


krazeeboi

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  • 2 months later...

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  • 6 months later...

Charleston is taking the 'leed' in considering a new green initiatives plan called the Charleston Green Plan. I've only skimmed the plan, but it covers how Charleston's public sector will become more sustainable by 2030 and how the public sector can encourage the private sector to do it too. It's a pretty fascinating plan, and the most extensive green initiatives plan that I've seen in South Carolina to date.

Charleston Green Plan[PDF]23Mb

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  • 8 months later...

The City of Spartanburg adopted a form-based code for its downtown area. This is currently one of the largest, if not THE largest urban area covered by a form-based code in South Carolina. That said, many other cities and towns already have form-based codes. I have seen a list before, so I'll see if I can track that down. If you are unfamiliar with form-based codes, the basic idea behind them is that the codes regulate how buildings should look, how they address the street, and how they should function based on the design. For example, a building in a more urban context like downtown Spartanburg would have different requirements than one in a more suburban or rural location. Over time America has regulated itself to the point where it is not possible to build downtowns anymore. The places we know and love like Morgan Square in Spartanburg, Main Street in Greenville, Five Points in Columbia, all of our colonial cities like Charleston, Beaufort, Georgetown, etc are all perfect examples of places that can't be recreated under conventional zoning. In the future, form-based codes will play a role in allowing cities to more efficiently expand the attractive urbanism in their downtowns, and it will allow cities to build places that people will want to come visit while removing the "Anywhere, USA" stigma.

If you are not familiar with form-based zoning codes, I strongly encourage you to learn about them. In the future they will be a key part of re-making our cities into great places. More information about them can be found here:

I also encourage you to read about the Congress for the New Urbanism and their initiatives:

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  • 2 weeks later...

According to The Greenville News: Greenville is looking to become the first platinum bike town on the east coast! The City's new bike master plan was presented last night and calls for 170 miles of new bike lanes, neighborhood routes, and greenways, among other measures to make people feel comfortable to ride in the City.

A downtown bike station where riders could lock up and change clothes, a bike sharing program, some car-free streets, safe routes to schools and the redesign of commercial corridors such as Augusta Street were among additional recommendations.

The ambitious plans would place a bike route within a quarter mile of EVERY residence in the City. The plan aims to achieve Silver status in three years (which requires bike facilities on 50% of artery roads) and platinum by 2020. :thumbsup:

If any city can reach this goal, I'm confident that Greenville is among them (disclaimer: the goal I'm referring to is that of becoming platinum; being first, if it were to pan out that way, would only be an added bonus). Simply setting up the plan is a big deal, but the community support definitely seems to be there. The city has reduced the carrying capacity of many streets, both downtown and elsewhere in the city, for the goal of making room for bicycles. Some of those projects have been rather controversial, but have proven to gain support after the work is complete and residents see the traffic changes. The Swamp Rabbit Trail, according to a recent article in the Post and Courier, has an average of 1,200 users/day. 94% of those use it for leisure, and 6% use the trail to get somewhere.

This quote marks the efforts quite well for the Swamp Rabbit, at least:

"Greenville is just not afraid to take some modest risk that we seem to be incapable of doing here," he said. (Don Sparks, a Citadel professor & member of Charleston Moves).

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That is certainly an ambitious goal. I hope Greenville can succeed. One thing that will have to change for any of South Carolina's cities to move forward is the culture around cycling as a means of transportation, rather than recreation. If you look at other cities across the nation with Gold and Platinum designations, they have what is commonly referred to as a "critical mass" of cyclists- most notably NOT the kind in Lycra/Spandex. Portland, Oregon and Davis, California are two common examples.

It can definitely happen in South Carolina. Having not spent much time in Greenville over the past few years I'll defer to the locals on how that movement is progressing. As far as other cities are concerned, Charleston, IMO probably stands a good chance at reaching platinum if it tries. It has a large tourism base to work with, two urban college campuses with many students who bike, and a street grid that supports a strong bicycling network.

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That is certainly an ambitious goal. I hope Greenville can succeed. One thing that will have to change for any of South Carolina's cities to move forward is the culture around cycling as a means of transportation, rather than recreation. If you look at other cities across the nation with Gold and Platinum designations, they have what is commonly referred to as a "critical mass" of cyclists- most notably NOT the kind in Lycra/Spandex. Portland, Oregon and Davis, California are two common examples.

It can definitely happen in South Carolina. Having not spent much time in Greenville over the past few years I'll defer to the locals on how that movement is progressing. As far as other cities are concerned, Charleston, IMO probably stands a good chance at reaching platinum if it tries. It has a large tourism base to work with, two urban college campuses with many students who bike, and a street grid that supports a strong bicycling network.

I was actually encouraged that 6% of surveyed riders on the Swamp Rabbit trail were using it for transportation to an actual destination. I didn't expect it to be that high for the trail in 2010. I wonder how 6% compares to riders who actually use the bike lanes on streets..?

I wonder how able Charleston is to adding bike lanes, given that its streets are typically rather narrow on the peninsula? I'm not sure how it exists now, or the problems or ease they've had with that. Anyone have info on that?

I would think Columbia would have the best opportunity for bike lanes, given its wide streets. I think a comparison of bike infrastructure and implementation between South Carolina's two extremes would be interesting (Chas. and Cola).

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Bike lanes are only one part of becoming a bike-friendly city. In terms of infrastructure, you can have signed routes, sharrows, loop detectors for bikes, bike/ped paths that allow them access between subdivisions (but not cars). The list can go on and on. In Charleston, you can bike in mixed traffic and feel comfortable with it because the traffic has to go very slow on most streets. That's why one major concept of bicycle planning is traffic calming. Providing bike-friendly routes through streets with slower traffic is much easier than widening a street for bike lanes.

For example, in Charleston, I would not want to ride my bike in mixed traffic on Savannah Highway. In that situation, bike lanes would be a better tool. However, knowing that there is a rail line nearby I would rather take the rail-trail route to move around West Ashely.

Another major part of becoming a "Bike Friendly Community" (and even the "Walk Friendly Community" designation that is coming soon) is the ability to have access to most of your daily needs within an easily bikeable or walkable distance- 1-2 miles. When you opt to bike or walk, your world becomes geographically smaller, and you shouldn't have to go very far for what you need. You don't want to sit in the car 30 minutes to go to the mall when you have other clothing stores that are closer to home. Downtown Charleston, for example, has 2-3 grocery stores, pharmacies, clothing stores, etc, that serve the residents on the peninsula. You can easily not own a car there because you literally don't need one for day to day things. Point being, it's that kind of development patterns that ultimately changes the culture. Since Charleston already has the basics in place, I think they can more easily achieve the higher-level recognitions in South Carolina. That said, other cities can do it too, it's just going to make more work, IMO.

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There is a great article in the Charlotte Observer today about York County's very own Baxter Village. Baxter is located near Ft Mill and it is a truly wonderful example of how new urbanism can work in a greenfield situation. It has not only created a new, well designed, community; it has created businesses in the area to serve those residents.

Observer Article

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I would think Columbia would have the best opportunity for bike lanes, given its wide streets. I think a comparison of bike infrastructure and implementation between South Carolina's two extremes would be interesting (Chas. and Cola).

True, but DT Columbia is also a bit hilly in spots. I know I'd have some really strong calves if I had to bike up and down Assembly or even Hampton every day, LOL.

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Some cities, like Seattle and San Francisco, have streets where on the uphill side there are bike lanes, and sharrows on the downhill side. Columbia could/should do routing similar to other hilly cities, at least within its core, and direct bikers along the least hilly paths (like Main St).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Greenville is looking to tighten its smoking ban. This comes three years after the City's law was upheld by the state Supreme Court. Among the changes include:

-specific smoking prohibitions wherever there’s drinking, not just dining,

-on playgrounds with children’s equipment,

-beside fuel pumps,

-at city events and

-in private clubs.

:thumbsup:

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Great! It was just a few years ago that people were "outraged" by Greenville's smoking ban. It seems like most people like it. North Carolina has banned it in all buildings that are open to the general public. I haven't found anyone that's complaining, and it really makes going out to dinner a better experience over all.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

More excellent news for the "Green" economy in Greenville.

"The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE, will have a first-of-a-kind conference at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville."

"More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the conference March 4 to 8, 2012. IEEE chose Greenville over Austin, Texas; Detroit; San Francisco; and Washington D.C. for its 2012 International Electric Vehicle Conference."

Link to article:

http://www.gsabusiness.com/news/40354-international-electric-vehicle-conference-comes-to-cu-icar?rss=0

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More excellent news for the "Green" economy in Greenville.

"The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE, will have a first-of-a-kind conference at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville."

"More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the conference March 4 to 8, 2012. IEEE chose Greenville over Austin, Texas; Detroit; San Francisco; and Washington D.C. for its 2012 International Electric Vehicle Conference."

Link to article:

http://www.gsabusiness.com/news/40354-international-electric-vehicle-conference-comes-to-cu-icar?rss=0

This is indeed exciting to have in South Carolina! (especially after what GE should announce tomorrow)

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A Brooking's spokesperson person pointed to the research going on at USC as laying the groundwork for what will prove in the future to boost South Carolina's importance and contributions to the green economy. A few years ago one to two thousand attended the hydrogen fuel cell conference at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. These conferences are really putting this state on the map. Green building has helped, also.

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This is indeed exciting to have in South Carolina! (especially after what GE should announce tomorrow)

Very exciting for Greenville. :thumbsup: From everything I'm hearing, the GE announcement should be pretty sweet. Any idea what time they will announce? Will it be from the GE campus?

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  • 1 month later...

The "Greening of Greenville" program will include 25 charging stations around the city, along with numerous other investments that will lessen GV's carbon footprint. http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/15104546/greening-of-greenville-annoucement

I'm not sold on this whole electric car thing, and especially a government body paying for charging stations. I don't care who is installing them. The problem with cars is not "just" the pollution they produce. The true problem is that they continue to promote an auto-centric lifestyle, and they make it "ok" because you're "helping the environment" too. To truly impact the environment we need to have a more compact development style and is supportive of walking and biking as dominate modes of travel. The only place in the Carolinas that is even remotely successful at this is downtown Charleston, and that's due to it's age more than an "intentional" design. At any rate, if you want to help the environment, get rid of your car or at least don't commute with one.

[/rant]

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