No time to backpedal

The tragic death of Dr. Mitchell Hollon while bicycling on the James Island Connector has served as a sad reminder of how far the area has to go to accommodate bicycles and pedestrians safely.

There is still no safe way to cross the Ashley River on a bike, or the Wappoo Cut. And there are still many roads that bikers who commute must use but which are too scary to bike on.

The frustration of bikers is understandable. Progress seems to move as slowly as a bicycle with flat tires in deep sand.

But public input has spurred more progress, albeit slow, than you might think.

And to do more, it's worth taking your ideas and energy to the city of Charleston's Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting today at 5:30 on the third floor of 75 Calhoun St.

Public pressure has helped encourage Charleston County and North Charleston to work together on a plan that would build a protected bike/pedestrian lane down the center of the North Bridge over the Ashley River, connecting Charleston and North Charleston.

The county is also working with the city of Charleston to see if one lane of the T. Allen Legare Bridge crossing the Ashley River from West Ashley to the peninsula can be used solely for bicycles.

With encouragement and support from neighborhoods, improvements have been made to the West Ashley Greenway, formerly a rail corridor parallel to Savannah Highway. Construction design is under way to resurface more of the greenway for better recreational and commuter biking.

Progress is being made elsewhere, as well. Goose Creek has provided seven miles of bike paths with the help of SCDOT, and is studying more. Summerville has its Sawmill Branch Trail and plans to add to it.

The best example of a public campaign for cycling was for the bikeway on the Arthur Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River. Its continuing success should encourage cycling advocates to do more.

Bicyclists now can access the bridge by using a lane along East Bay Street from Calhoun to Columbus Street, and soon they will be able to continue up Morrison Drive on a lane now under construction.

Advocates for safe bikeways can make and have made a difference. But there are miles for them to go before they can sleep knowing the Lowcountry is as friendly to bikers as it is reputed to be to visitors -- and is safe enough to make biking deaths a rarity in the Lowcountry.