Last week, my children and I had a wonderful time riding the Dash around the Charleston Peninsula. I had studied the route map earlier in the morning and figured with three young ones in tow we’d be lucky to catch a ride. It wasn’t luck that helped us, it was the fact that it’s so easy to use!

We trekked through the South Carolina Aquarium and observed the penguins eating their breakfast. Afterwords, as we walked around the fountains, up drove the Dash. The driver was friendly and accommodating (of course, this is Charleston,) he answered my questions and assisted me with the stroller. We were the only passengers. The boys loved the ride to the Visitor’s Center, then we played at the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry.

The bus stops around the Visitor’s Center are outfitted with benches and shaded by shelters, there are also fountains for entertainment. A posted map might be helpful, but we waited with enthusiasm. This stop was busy with tourism. We then boarded another Dash, another friendly driver greeted us with a cool ride to Waterfront Park, then one more Dash back to the aquarium.

That afternoon, my three year old drew a picture of us riding on the “trolley” through downtown. It truly was easy and fun. The fare was $1.50 for myself, which is definitely worth an air-conditioned ride from site to site while relaxing and chatting with my kids and visiting families (instead of focusing on narrow roads, cyclists with no lanes, sink holes, parking, college kids, let alone tourists!) Thanks CARTA, we will ride the Dash again and again.

When Whipple Road was given a make-over, we thought this important vein in Mount Pleasant would have state of the art design. Sharrows for cyclists, a wide pedestrian path, etc. I gotta say, we’re a bit disappointed. The lanes are just wide enough so that SUVs can whiz past cyclists straddling the asphalt/concrete line. The sidewalk is right next to speeding traffic. Badly engineered ramps and crossings fill with giant puddles when it rains.

I know the goal of the project was to add a center turn lane and stoplight, but you’d think a more progressive attitude for pedestrians and cyclists would be present. It’s clear this project was not about how people use the road, but how the machines do.

I want our city to become sustainable in every way, including about ability to leave our cars parked. It’s National Bike Month, so get out there and pedal around this amazing city. Support local groups like Charleston Moves, and read Nikki Seibert’s blog. Learn the cycling laws in our area, and get out there an explore.

Check out these great stats from this blog post:

• More than half of cars trips made by Americans would take less than 20 minutes on a bike, but ninety percent of all trips of between one and three miles or less are taken by car.  Likewise, fifty-nine percent of trips less than one mile are made by car.
• Increasing the bicycle and pedestrian share of trips between one and three miles from the current level of 4 percent to about 10 percent would avoid approximately 21 billions miles of driving.
• In 2007, less than half of all Americans met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendation of at least 30 minutes of modest physical activity on most days.
• Americans spend some $33 billion a year on weight-loss products and services.
  
• Modest increases in bicycling and walking for short trips could provide enough exercise for 50 million inactive Americans to meet recommended activity levels, erasing a sizable chunk of America’s activity deficit.

Wow, we can do better! How can we get our city to be more progressive?

Many cities have built high-occupancy vehicle lanes that allow carpoolers to use special lanes on the far left. This is a great incentive that encourages ride-sharing, and one that may work well here in the Lowcountry. Any way we can keep cars off the roads, and get others thinking about their own driving habits, is a positive step towards a more sustainable future.

SCDOT is wondering what you think about HOV lanes, and have opened a public survey to find out. Please take the survey before they close it on October 22nd, or visit their website for more information. Public meetins are also being held on the issue, so it’s not to late to get involved.