PACE of the Midlands
PACE stands for our objective, Pedestrian And Cyclist Expressways. We are a group of citizens from the Columbia, South Carolina area working to improve transportation alternatives for pedestrians, cyclists, skaters, the disabled, and anyone who wants a more human-scaled city.
State Recreation Plans Public Workshops
The S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism invites you to attend one of the following workshops being conducted in your area.The workshops are designed to seek the most important issues effecting outdoor recreation areas, programs, and projects. These will be used to determine outdoor recreation needs, prioritize expenditures and focus resources. Results will be included in the 2000-2001 update of the State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP).
# 1 General Public-Upstate
Monday, November 20, 2000, 6:30pm-8:00pm,
Appalachian Council of Governments
30 Century Circle, Greenville, SC
Directions:
If traveling I-385 North towards Greenville, take Exit 40-A (North Pleasantburg Drive). If traveling from downtown Greenville I-385 South, take Exit 40-B (North Pleasantburg Drive). Turn Left onto Century Drive at light (notice Steak & Ale Restaurant). Turn Right onto Century Circle. First building on the left, past Century Plaza (30 Century Circle).
# 2 General Public-Midlands
Thursday, November 30, 2000, 6:30pm-8:00pm
Lexington County Recreation Center
108 Park Road, Lexington, SC
Directions:
Take I-26 West from Charleston and take I-26 East from Spartanburg. Take Exit 111 (U.S. Hwy. 1) towards Lexington. Follow U.S. Hwy. 1 into Lexington. You will reach a stoplight where a Wachovia Bank is on the right. Take a left at the light to stay on U.S. Hwy. 1. Take a right at the next light onto Park Rd. The Leisure Center is on the right.
# 3 General Public-Coastal
Wednesday, December 6, 2000, 6:30pm-8:00pm
Red Cross Building, Suite 309
5290 Rivers Ave.,
North Charleston, SC
Directions:
From I-26 toward Charleston: Turn onto I-526 toward Mt. Pleasant. Take the second Rivers Ave. exit (exit 18B). Take the first right at the 5-story building with a big red cross on the side. 5290 Rivers Ave. Suite 309 on the 3rd floor.
From US Highway 17 from Myrtle Beach and Beaufort: From Myrtle Beach take US17 into the Town of Mt. Pleasant, turn east onto I-526. From Beaufort take US17 toward the City of Charleston, turn west onto I-526. Take exit 18B onto Rivers Ave. Take the first right at the 5-story building with the big red cross on the side (located at the base of the intersection). 5290 Rivers Ave., Suite 309 on the 3rd floor.
All workshops are free and open to the public. Please call if special accommodations are required. For more information, call Matthew Hall (803) 734-1009 or Tony Bebber (803) 734-0189. If you cannot attend a workshop but would still like to submit some comments, please use the attached survey.
Moving Forward
Check Out the Press Release from our Big Conference held Feb. 9th, 1999
MOVING FORWARD: Reconvening of the Walkability Conference
It was pretty cool - we had about 35 participants, including a lot of new folks from the law enforcement, public health, disabled-advocacy, and natural resources management . . . things are really are moving forward.
Some Columbia-area projects & successes:
SHARE THE ROAD SIGNS Together with the Palmetto Cycling Coalition, Carolina Cyclers, SC DOT, the various MPO's across the state, we helped get Share the Road signs for South Carolina. The first signs in the Columbia-area have already been installed, and they look great!!
RIVER ALLIANCE GREENWAY The River Alliance, working with government & community groups in the Columbia three-rivers corridor, has installed the first section of the new Three-Rivers Greenway. When this multi-use path is completed, it will provide an excellent transportation & recreation link for cyclists, pedestrians & skaters in the Midlands.
BIKE LANE ON BLOSSOM STREET BRIDGE This project, promoted by COATS, our local metropolitan planning agency, tackles one of the big obstacles to cyclists in the Midlands -- getting across the river. Though the Blossom Street bridge has always been open to cyclists and pedestrians (and of the three Saluda/Congaree River crossings it has always been the safest), getting DOT to add bike lanes helps cyclists in two ways: -It is a major step forward in recognizing that cyclists do have a legitimate place on the road, and that SCDOT is responsible for accommodating cyclists and -It opens up the bridge to the many students who have the option of commuting across the river to school, but may have felt unsafe doing so until now.
RICHLAND COUNTY PLANNING This past summer PACE got actively involved in the initial phases of Richland County's comprehensive plan process. Our members attended focus group meetings throughout the county, making sure that the voice for alternative transportation and human-friendly development was heard. As it turned out, in most or all areas, the other citizens in the focus groups shared our goals and often were actively promoting the same approach as we were!
We're keeping close tabs on this one as the Richland County Land Use Plan is finalized in the next several months. We're also getting involved in Lexington County's planning process as well -- now there's an area of need!
Some continuing PACE projects in the works:
COMMUNITY EDUCATION: We're putting together some resources, including brochures and a slide show, that we can share with interested individuals and groups. If you have resources to contribute, or would like PACE to visit your organization, just contact us.
BIKE LANES, GREENWAYS, AND ROAD MODIFICATIONS: We are working with SC DOT, Parks & Recreation, and various local government planning agencies to make sure pedestrian and cyclist interests are represented in the planning and implementation of transportation infrastructure development and maintenance. That means we're working for things like wider outside lanes on the roads, bike lanes where appropriate, good sidewalks, greenways, and multi-use paths.
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY: One of the big products of MOVING FORWARD is a directory of individuals and organizations interested in PACE-type issues. Contact us to be included in the next edition of the Community Directory, or to nominate someone else.
If you would like to get involved in any of these projects, or become a member of PACE (it's free!) e-mail us at the address below, and we'll add you to the distribution list for our newsletter.
Find out why South Carolina really needs to improve it's transportation situation (Hint: We've got the highest rate of aggressive driving deaths in the nation . . .)
Last updated 11/17/00
Copyright © 2000, PACE