She Said Greenville Doesn’t Need Bike Lanes

I haven’t ridden any new trails lately, but I have one in the works and plan to revisit a few this summer.  I’ve found my cycling pattern has changed quite a bit over the last year.  I’ve gone from a couple of long rides a week to several short rides throughout the week.  I’ve also found myself more on streets and less on greenways.  I’m still reconciling how I feel about this change.  I do like starting the day off with a bike commute, but I love the greenways so much that I’m going to make a point of hitting them more and setting a more aggressive schedule for visiting new ones.

So today’s post isn’t about trails, but instead is about a bike lanes in Greenville.  Thanks for indulging my little stand on the soap box, and I'll get back to writting about trails soon!

She Said Greenville Doesn’t Need Bike Lanes

A friend at work bought a bicycle, and he asked me about the Swamp Rabbit Trail.  He lives in Anderson, rides his neighborhood, but doesn’t feel safe riding beyond that.  I suggested he bring his bike to work one day, and we’d hop on the Rabbit that evening.  We were finalizing plans in the break room when another colleague interjected “I don’t know why we have bike lanes. Nobody uses them.”  We weren’t talking bike lanes, she was wrong, but luckily I heeded my Momma’s advice and bit my tongue.  

“I don’t know why we have bike lanes. Nobody uses them.”  Boy, I stewed on those words for days.  People are in the bike lanes daily.  I’m one of those people!  I see other people.  Just this morning on my ride in to work, I passed three other cyclists in a mile on the

E. North St

bike lanes..  Four of us on a random Tuesday morning.   Of course people use the bike lanes.  As more bike lanes are added, we see more people using them.  We have data from year one of the Swamp Rabbit Trail that shows the vast majority of people drive to a trail head to bike.  Year three is shaping up differently.  Sit downtown on a given day, and you’ll notice people using the bike lanes.  Come downtown on a weekend, and you’ll see people riding into town for lunch and a ride on the Swamp Rabbit.  It’s getting to the point where more and more people are comfortable riding a few miles to the trail instead of loading the bikes on the car.

My colleague was wrong about bike lane usage, but she did have a point worth discussing.  Why have bike lanes?  I see two main reasons.

1) City Planning should be proactive not reactive (Maybe that’s why it’s called ‘planning’) Infrastructure has to be in place before people use it.  I have several friends who ride recreationally, but they’re not ready to use a bike for daily trips because they don’t feel comfortable on busy roads.  Once the infrastructure is in place, they will have the option of biking to the drug store, to school, to restaurants, and to work.  But the infrastructure must be in place FIRST.

2) People want bike lanes and cycling paths.  Greenville is a fiscally conservative city.  Our Council and Mayor have done a tremendous job managing our budget while also building for the future.  They understand that soft projects contribute to quality of life, attract businesses, attract talented people, and attract visitors.  Projects like a walkable

Main Street

, Falls Park, and the Swamp Rabbit Trail bring money to town.  But, this is not just government driven.  The people have told their Council Member that they want a livable, walkable, bikeable community.  The neighborhood associations and business organizations have asked for this.  Greenville’s Bikeville committee is citizen driven.  Polls and surveys confirm the public’s desire.

 

Greenville is taking public input and planning a better town.  I’m proud to call this great community home, and I love to see more and more neighbors have a choice on how they get around.