Charleston Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan
Posted by Chad Norman July 10th, 2008 .
Seeking out alternative transportation is a great way to reduce your impact on the environment and save a few bucks. Jen has been blogging about riding the bus and driving abstinence, and I’ve been rocking the hybrid - but are always looking for ways to go farther.
We would like to integrate cycling into our plan, but find it difficult due to inadequate infrastructure (unless you like riding down LongPoint Road inches away from cars going 50 mph). Charleston Moves was a big proponent of the pedestrian lane on the Ravenel Bridge, and is working hard to get a bike lane down Coleman Blvd. in Mount Pleasant. Major Joe dedicated the East Bay Bike and Pedestrian Path last month. These are all good things, but more work needs to be done.
Enter Brian Graham, a Clemson University graduate student who is creating a “Bicycle & Pedestrian Action Plan” for Charleston. As part of his work, he is documenting all the bicycle rack locations within the city - and needs your help. If you know of a bike rack, please add a marker to the interactive Google map. You can also add a marker to request a rack be placed at a certain location. At the close of the project, a more formal map will be created and submitted to the City of Charleston.
But your involvement doesn’t need to stop there. Brian is looking for your help in identifying places that need bike lane striping, sharrows, or bike paths. He has 5 questions for Charleston residents to answer regarding local bicycle and pedestrian issues. Check them out after the jump, and either leave your feedback in the comments section, or email them directly to Brian.
- What roads seem ideal for re-striping to create bike lanes or should have sharrows? (These roads should be wider than others and have well maintained pavement).
- Are there specific roads, that do not have sidewalks that, in your opinion, need them?? (Especially outside of downtown.)
- Where would you suggest that bicycle and pedestrian activity be counted to document a demand for facilities (streets and intersections)?
- What type of bicycle/pedestrian/motorist education programs would you like to see the City of Charleston support?
- How should the city encourage and market bicycle and pedestrian activities be encouraged?
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1 and 2) LongPoint Road, Whipple Road, Coleman Blvd., Rifle Range, Hungry Neck.
3) At the base of every bridge, as they are really the nodes that connect the city. MUSC, the market, and north of 17 would also be good areas to monitor.
4) I think motorist education is important, but also providing maps (like a bus route map) that shows how to get around.
5) The city should encourage cycling by actually building up the infrastructure and by providing ample bike racks.
1. Isle of Palms Connector 517, Rifle Range Road, Coleman Blvd, Hungryneck blvd.
2. Long Point Road, Hwy 17
3.Isle of palms Connector, Ben Sawyer, Arthur Ravenel and around Town Center in Mt. Pleasant
4.Anything to help children understand the importance of biking vs. driving.
5.Bike paths that are in good condition, set away from auto traffic. Maps, and continuous bike paths with easy access to destinations. Crosswalks with functioning lights for pedestrians and ramps. Bike racks. (I have locked my bike in many funny places!)
I’d love to see bike lanes on all our major arteries in the Low Country: Hwy 17, I-526, etc. In addition to promoting a more environmentally and healthy lifestyle, we’d be promoting safety as well.
I’ll add Park West Blvd. to the list. We have a number of cyclists in the community, and they could certainly use a bike lane.
The upper part of West Ashley recently got a bike path lining 61 that runs from Bees Ferry to the northern entrance of the Village Green subdivision. While this is great, the area south of the bike path is seriously in need of some sort of paving for walkers/bikers. Every day I see people walking along this area in the grass in order to get to and from work, and it is not well-maintained or safe given how close to the road it is and the ever growing weeds and trees that push people even closer to the road to avoid them. I know because I’ve run down that way and know how much of a hassle it truely is.
It is definitely a fact that once the bike path went up, out of nowhere people started riding their bikes more, jogging, and walking to the local stores. Without a doubt, there is a story here for getting more pedestrian friendly access along our main roads.
I also agree with Jennifer about the bike racks. There isn’t much motivation to ride your bike to a local store if you’re in the store constantly worrying if someone is going to steal it because you couldn’t secure it.
I am a James Island resident and feel that we need more bike lanes in our area, not only Mount Pleasant. I returned from Sweden a week ago and was almost embarrassed to return home after seeing the great transportation system they have over there and their emphasis on “thinking green”. They offer bike lanes along the side of pedestrian lanes throughout the city and even suburban areas where you can commute by bicycles anywhere. They have a wonderful bus and tram system as well. You don’t see many cars on the streets and if you do they are generally hybrid, smart cars or some type of smaller car. The James Island area also needs better biking lanes leading into the city via James Island Connector. Harborview Road and Folly Road is horrible and quite dangerous. If we utilize these other types of transportation, we will be sending a greener message to our children. I think it is a good idea to put some of the bike racks closer to the Carta stops so one can ride there bike to a bus stop and lock their bike up until he or she returns. This helps someone who travels longer distances to and from work, such as leaving James Island to work in Mount Pleasant. I agree that we definitely need more bike lanes and racks in the ENTIRE Charleston region.
all the way down to folly beach!