SCDOT updated their Engineering Directive 22 to lay out how bike lanes are built into roads during repaving opportunities. This Directive specifically enables more opportunities for 4' shoulders on the Interim East Coast Greenway route (until off road sections are made) and the 6 South Carolina cross state bike routes, and bike facilities from Council of Government approved Bike Master Plans. The SC/GA Coordinator of the East Coast Greenway, Brent Buice, helped us advocate for this!

SCDOT made a new Traffic Engineering Guideline (TG-38) that expands opportunities for improved crosswalks. SCDOT listened to PCC and other members of the SC Livable Communities Alliance, as we pushed for more mid-block crossings and better, safer crosswalk design ("ladder crosswalks"). Keith Benjamin, City of Charleston Transportation Director, helped us advocate for this!

Equity is a critical part of transportation & recreational biking and walking. This is key at PCC, because we are mission driven to achieve safer and more accessible biking and walking for EVERYONE, whether you are a bike enthusiast, utilitarian walker or bicyclist, or parent wanting safe walking access for your kids in the neighborhood (to name just a few reasons).

What is transportation equity? It is achieving the fair distribution of the transportation resources, benefits, costs, services, and programs. No group should get a significant & unequal burden of unsafe roads. Unfortunately, unequal burdens DO exist for biking & walking in South Carolina AND nationally.

We worked with the SC Livable Communities Alliance to successfully lobby for inclusion of Transportation Equity into the SCDOT Departmental Directive Policy for Complete Streets. Many equity partners in South Carolina contributed to that at SCDOT, including (but not limited to!): Omar Muhammed of Lowcountry Alliance of Model Communities, Tiffany James of National Action Network of Columbia, Monty Robertson of the Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina, and Sheree Muse of AARP. Sheree and Monty also serve on the health equity committee of Alliance for a Healthier SC. We are grateful for this leadership, and we continue the work.

If you love bike touring, the East Coast Greenway Alliance has a new ECG greenway mapping tool here.

"While the rest of the developed world has made progress in reducing the number of pedestrians killed by vehicles, America continues to move in the wrong direction. Author Angie Schmitt talks about root causes and solutions." Read here.

Listen here to the Boyd Cycling story and how they launched their business in South Carolina.