department of parks and
recreation
Bikeville
Bikeville is the City of Greenville’s bicycle friendly community initiative to
educate and empower every bicyclist and motorist to Share the Road. The goal is
to provide safe bicycling facilities and useful educational resources about
bicycle safety issues in our community.
Download Bicycle Safety
Brochure
Background
The City of Greenville’s Bicycle Friendly Community Initiative began is 2006 by a
City Council Resolution. The goal of a Bicycle Friendly Greenville is to
provide infrastructure, education, and outreach to increase the number of trips
made by bicycles. This will be achieved by improving our roads to accommodate
bicyclist and the creation of programs that encourage alternative
transportation.
Bicycle Friendly
Community
The League of American Bicyclists has honored Greenville with its prestigious
Bicycle Friendly Community award. The League of American Bicyclists’ mission is
to promote bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation and work through
advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. Greenville was granted
the bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community designation for four years and the
League of American Bicyclists will provide the City with feedback on what it can
do to make Greenville even more bicycle-friendly. Announcement of the Bicycle
Friendly Community designation comes at an ideal time as the City plans to begin
a comprehensive Bicycle Master Plan study in January 2010.
The City submitted its Bicycle Friendly Community application in August 2009.
The application was carefully reviewed and scored by a committee, which also
consulted with local cyclists in the Greenville community. Communities are
judged in five categories, which the League of American Bicyclists refers to as
the Five Es: Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement and Evaluation &
Planning. A community must demonstrate achievements in each of the five
categories in order to be considered for an award.
According to Bill Nesper, director of the Bicycle Friendly Community Program for
the League of American Bicyclists, the award is presented only to communities
with remarkable commitments to bicycling and is a national recognition of the
City’s “tremendous efforts to create a truly Bicycle Friendly Community.”
View a slide show
of some of the Bikeville initiatives
Bicycle Maps
The following links utilize Google mapping technology and are intended to help
guide bicyclists along bicycle friendly routes. The hope is that you will use
the interactive maps to discover which network elements are most convenient to
your home, work, or frequented destinations. Our goal is to provide a convenient
tool that can be used to discover our bicycle friendly community. Each map link
will display a specific network type such as Bicycle Lanes, Greenway Trails,
Bicycle Routes, and Mountain Bike Trails. Maps can be viewed without a Google
account, however if you already have a Google account or decide to create one,
you can Manage and "Save" each map in the "My Maps" section of Google Maps. We
will be adding to these maps, so check back frequently to get the latest
information.
If you have any problems with the following links or maps, send an email to
bikeville@greenvillesc.gov.
Please remember to ride safe, wear a helmet and follow the rules of the road.
Current Bicycle Lanes Map
Current Greenway Trails Map
Current Signed Bicycle Routes Map
Current Mountain Bike Trails Map
Overall Bike Network Map
View Greenville County's "signed Bike Route" maps
County Swamp Rabbit Trail Map
Greenway
Bicycle Ride
What: Lunch time Greenway Bicycle Ride
When: Third Friday of Each Month @ 12:00 p.m.
Where: Various locations along the Swamp Rabbit Trail
Who: Anyone with a bicycle and a helmet
Join Brian Graham, the City’s Greenway Planner, and Ty Houck, Greenville County Recreation District, for a bicycle ride along the Swamp Rabbit Trail. This is a great opportunity to get out of the office, enjoy some fresh air and get some exercise on a Friday afternoon. All level of bicyclists are encouraged to attend - the pace will be easy and no one will be left behind. We’ll meet at 12 noon at different locations each month and ride for about 30 minutes. A longer ride may be available for those who don’t need to make it back to the office in such a timely manner. All participants are encouraged to wear a helmet. All rides are rain or shine, heat & humidity or temperatures near freezing, so please dress accordingly.
All participants are encouraged to wear a helmet. This ride takes place on
the 3rd Friday of every month, so mark your calendar’s in advance. For more information,
please contact Brian Graham at 467-4350 or
bgraham@greenvillesc.gov.
Download informational
flyer on the Greenway Bicycle Ride
Download the 2010 Ride Schedule
Bike Month
Events
Each May, the City organizes annual events to celebrate National Bike Month.
There are so many ways to join the festivities in May.
View Bike Month 2009 Schedule
Bicycle Friendly Greenville Updates
On Tuesday, July 15th, 2008, the City of Greenville hosted a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) Workshop with the BFC
Director for the League of American Bicyclist.
View the
Presentation
View the Workshop
Results and Action Step Recommendations
Summary
of Action Step Recommendations as determined by the workshop attendees:
- Start a BFC Committee and set the goal of applying for the BFC application and
reaching Gold by a certain time. To volunteer for the BFC Committee,
email Andrew Meeker.
- Set up a League Cycling Instructor seminar to certify instructors who can teach
children, adults, an motorists. Start regular class for each of these groups.
- Create a plan for improved signage (bike lanes, yield to bikes/pedestrians,
share the road, bike parking) – start implementation on most traveled roads
first.
- Expand the bicycle network and increase network connectivity through the use of
bike lanes, shared lane arrows and signed routes. This will provide a broader
range of facility choices for users of various abilities and comfort levels.
- Facilitate the creation of a stronger, more centralized advocacy group that will
take the lead on education and encouragement program. Work with the PCC to
launch this initiative
- Create a bicycling website for Greenville that will act as a central hub for
bicyclists and potential bicyclists to gather education tips, local bike routes,
people to ride with, and news about events and other cycling-related activities.
This site will also act as a place for bicyclists to comment on current bicycle
projects and to report facility maintenance issues, etc.
- Expand public education campaigns to promote the "share the road" message and
the rights and responsibilities of all users. Develop public service
announcements for TV, radio, and in print.
- Adopt a Complete Streets policy in the community.
- Develop a series of short (2-5 mi.) loops rides around the community and provide
appropriate way-finding signage. Integrate these rides into a local bike map.
- Improve marketing and education of bike rack and bus bike rack use. Ensure that
drivers are educated as well.)
- Fill out BFC application!
The following is a list of BFC initiatives already underway:
View examples of some infrastructural improvements
that you may see around town.
Downtown Bike Plan
In 2005, City Staff and members of the
Greenville Spinners Bicycle Club collaborated to
develop a
Master Plan for bicycle infrastructure improvements. This plan was then
presented and approved by Greenville City Council in 2006. Although much has
changed in the years since the plan was originally developed, it is still used
as a framework for a network of on-street bicycle friendly streets.
Bicycle Parking
The City's
Bicycle Parking Ordinance is designed to encourage
development projects to include alternative parking methods that accommodate
bicycle travel. The Ordinance requires that any new development which provides
vehicular parking areas, provide bicycle parking at a rate of 10% of the
proposed vehicular parking. It also allows projects to substitute a percent of
required vehicular parking by providing additional bicycle parking, thereby
reducing parking lot areas. This Ordinance ensures that Greenville will continue
it's efforts to meet the needs of it's citizens and visitors while protecting
the environment.
The City has recently installed Bicycle Racks throughout downtown.
See plan for locations. For additional information on types of
Bicycle Racks and other Bicycle Parking Guidelines,
click here.
Rack
n Ride
All
GreenLink
buses now have the capacity to carry 2 bicycles. Bicycles ride for FREE. Loading
the bikes is easy, just follow the directions on the rack., or view an
instructional video now.
H3006 Summary of Bicycle Law Revisions
History was made for cyclist’s safety in South Carolina in June 2008. Governor
Mark Sanford Signed into law The Bicycle Safety Act, which amended Article 27,
Chapter 5, Title 56 of the 1976 Code. The Act is designed to provide greater
safety for bicyclists on South Carolina roads and to bring South Carolina
statutes into greater conformity with the Uniform Vehicle Code. This effort was
spearheaded by the PCC (Palmetto Cycling Coalition) and was supported by cycling
advocates statewide. Review a
Summary of the H3006 Revisions.
Complete Streets
The new
Complete
Streets Policy is an important step in the City’s Bicycle Friendly Community
campaign. It also reinforces the City’s commitment to improving travel
conditions and travel choices for people of all ages & abilities. The City of
Greenville is now committed more than ever to providing appropriate
accommodations for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders…while promoting
safe operation for all users.
Planning for and accommodating all roadway users makes everyone safer, including
motorists. Complete Streets have across-the-board benefits like improving air
quality and public health while providing transit options. The
Complete Streets Coalition cites one study that “found
that 43 percent of people with safe places to walk within 10 minutes of home met
recommended activity levels, while just 27 percent of those without safe places
to walk were active enough.”