Path to vitality
Citing how bridge boosts activity, group urges more bike-ped routes
By David Quick
The bike and pedestrian lane on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge has changed Virginia Huff's life.
The Post and Courier
Samuel Jones bikes to work past runners and walkers Thursday afternoon on the Ravenel Bridge. Jones works in Mount Pleasant at Water's Edge and uses the bikeway regularly.
"I had become a couch potato, gained a hundred pounds and was short of breath," said the 82-year-old Mount Pleasant resident. "One day, I decided this is it. I've got to do something."
On Nov. 17, 2007, Huff started walking the bridge, four to six times a week, despite having to use a walker. Since January 2008, she has logged nearly 600 miles, lost 42 pounds and become an icon for what the bridge represents to so many people: a place to regain health and vitality.
Now a College of Charleston study finalized in February, offers statistical evidence for that statement.
The study, conducted from January to July 2007, included a survey of 393 bridge users, 67 percent of whom said their activity levels had increased since the opening of the bridge in July 2005. Also, 85 percent of blacks indicated their activity levels improved. Ten percent used the bridge for commuting by bike.
By the numbers
The College of Charleston study found:
• 67% indicated that their activity levels had increased since the opening of the lane. • 85% of blacks reported increased activity levels versus 64% of whites. • 72% drove to a parking area near the bridge to use the lane. • 10% are using the bridge to commute to work.
On Thursday, a local bike and pedestrian advocacy group used the report to urge transportation officials to include bike and pedestrian facilities in all future projects.
"What we have (with the study) is a great set of facts that tell us what we've seen with our eyes," said Tom Bradford, president of Charleston Moves, during a press conference at the foot of the bridge. "We're very enthusiastic about the results."
Dana Beach, executive director of the Coastal Conservation League, said bike and pedestrian facilities are "not ornaments or frivolous add-ons."
"It is the transportation system. It's a healthy, clean and efficient way for people to get around. It ought to be part of every single thing we do in transportation today, both new and retrofitted projects."
An undertone of frustration was evident at the press conference, where speakers not only recalled their struggle to convince state transportation officials to put the bike-pedestrian lane in the bridge plans in the late 1990s, but also in subsequent road and bridge projects.
The study
Don Sparks, who played a lead role in the effort, said the way bridges and roads are built has a "profound impact" on quality of life and that transportation officials still don't seem to get it.
"Over the last 10 years, we've seen other bridges built in the region ... that don't accommodate cyclists and pedestrians very well," said Sparks, pointing to the current Ben Sawyer Bridge replacement. That project does have a larger, combined bike-pedestrian lane on one-side of the bridge, but Sparks said it doesn't provide sufficient facilities for bikes.
Transportation Department spokesman Pete Poore responded, noting that 3 percent of federal stimulus package funds, or about $14 million, is earmarked for "enhancements," which transportation officials call sidewalks and bike lanes, in South Carolina in the coming year. He adds that most will be sidewalks.
Reach David Quick at dquick@postandcourier.com or 937-5516.
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Comments
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
I'm all for exercise and all that, but saying that because people walk the Ravenel doesn't mean that they will walk any bridge that's built. You can put the nicest pedestrian/bike path in the area across turkey creek, but you won't need a parking lot for the walkers/bikers to park in. You can use Yellowstone to justify that we should have camping and buss tours at all of the local parks in Charleston, but that's not really gonna work at Hampton park.
Remember, these people are advocates of their pastime. Football fans will call for new stadiums without regard to the cost to their neighbor, people who believe everyone should own a home will push for free houses without a thought to what it costs you to provide it, people who think sand flies are important will sue for years to prevent you from owning a home where one lives, and people who enjoy walking and biking will have a walking/bike path on every road and lane in the nation without a second thought to whether you can afford to provide it for them.
March 27, 2009 at 7:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kreader (anonymous) says...
No, you're missing a vital point, majorjohnson. The Ravenel is an essential thoroughfare for getting across the harbor. There's no other way to go from Mt. P to Chuck on a bike. As we see fuel prices go back up sooner or later, a lot of us will choose the healthy option.
Unfortunately I am stuck with no way to take my bike over the Holt.
March 27, 2009 at 7:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
counterpoint (anonymous) says...
Ben Sawyer.
March 27, 2009 at 8:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
My point is that they will use this to say that putting walking/bike paths every single place they can will work, and they have no concern for the cost of it. In some places it will work, but people with access to the Ravenel also have access to even more walking space on the battery, and they don't use it. A large part of the attraction of the Ravenel is the view. The battery has a great view too, but less usage, and other bridges just won't get the use to justify the cost. Ben Sawyer Blvd has a bike path along it and is used. Will putting a million dollars into it actually get enough MORE people using it to justify the cost? I doubt it, but we already have counterpoint advocating something there without even having considered the cost to the rest of us. You're advocating a bike path over the Don Holt, but how many will use it and how much will it cost? If it costs $2,000,000 why do you care if the rest of us have to pay for it?
March 27, 2009 at 9:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ReasonSpeaks (anonymous) says...
majorjohnson, what we've got is a study showing a measurable benefit. That's called evidence. It can been used to justify decisions for the next project.
What you've got is an opinion. That's called speculation. Evidence beats speculation in decision-making everytime.
What you need to justify your position is a study showing a new walk/bike path installation that has gone unused. That would show that the cost outweighs the benefit. Until then, the evidence is in favor of providing access for walkers, runners, and bikers on bridges.
March 27, 2009 at 10:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kreader (anonymous) says...
Wow! I did not know you could read minds!
I do care what things cost. My opinion is that a bike/walk lane is such a small incremental cost WHEN the bridges are built, and it's a shame that such foresight was missing when the Holt was built. The result is that those in Cainhoy, Wando, and DI are kinda stranded for transportation alternatives to the automobile, especially since Carta doesn't come out there.
March 27, 2009 at 10:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wjhamilton3 (anonymous) says...
If the Don Holt pathway connected the new walkable communities being developed in N. Charleston with the walkable communities on Daniel Island, through a fully connected, bicycle friendly landscape, it would certainly see usage.
Pedestrian/Cycle usage on the Ravenel continues to grow. So does CARTA transit usage, up over 20% last year.
Gas is back up over $2 nationally this week, up 14 cents in the past 2 weeks. The national auto fleet is down by over a million vehicles. Miles driven in the US fell by over a billion last year. It's pretty clear the handwriting is on the wall for the private car for an awful lot of people.
Areas which don't prepare to a transition where the Auto is no longer the only travel option aren't going to survive the coming economic transition. If you think all that offshore oil coming from under two miles of water drilled by remote control robots is going to be cheap, ask yourself why they're not drilling now at $50 a barrel on all the deep water leases they already have? Why is all that expensive equipment sitting in drydock now? They just want to sucker the US into remaining committed to petroleum so we won't have any choice but to buy that oil when they're pumping it up at 150 dollars a barrel.
Think of all the terrorism and Islamic fundamentalist schools our friends the Saudis can support when we're paying them $150 a barrel for Oil.
March 27, 2009 at 10:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kreader (anonymous) says...
Great comment WJ.
March 27, 2009 at 10:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SandDollar (anonymous) says...
The bridge is a fantastic resource. Unfortunately, we have a number of people ignoring the well posted signs that insist on taking their dogs with them on the bridge. We need more enforcement against these dog walkers on the bridge. Dog owners = You are not special = keep your dog off the bridge.
March 27, 2009 at 12:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
counterpoint (anonymous) says...
WJ - nicely put!
March 27, 2009 at 1 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
newsreader74 (anonymous) says...
I have driven over the bridge at all hours of the day and night, there is always someone using it. I used to use my bike to commute on Fridays back from downtown to Mt Pleasant. I could routinely outpace my average time in a car during afternoon rush hour. Everywhere there is a bike or pedestrian path people are using it. It's refreshing to have the freedom to choose and increases our quality of life. Charleston is perfect for pedestrian and bike travel, it's flat and the weather is generally nice. I encourage officials to include pedestrian and bike access into road projects.
March 27, 2009 at 1:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
thomasbradford (anonymous) says...
Major Johnson doesn't get it.
I'm sure he assumes he has the right to walk anywhere and by extrapolation, the right (and I do mean right) to pedal his bicycle anywhere, just as he has a right to drive his car anywhere. For him, perhaps walking or bicycling is a "pastime" but for many others, they are essential modes of transportation -- not trifling ways to while away time. People actually use these modes of transportation to go places they need to go. Streets and roads are made for the use of people, not just people in automobiles.
March 27, 2009 at 2:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
PalmettoDP (anonymous) says...
wj -
They're not drilling on those leases for several reasons: One is that there's not any oil under many of them. The areas with oil were off limits until last year. Another is that there was a long waiting list for new drilling rigs and almost a hyperinflation in construction equipment costs. For domestic drillers, lower oil prices have given some breathing room to allow them to play catch up.
I do agree we need more bike/pedestrian lanes. Unless I'm biking through a neighborhood, I feel safer when I'm separated from traffic. I just disagree with your assessment of the energy situation.
March 27, 2009 at 2:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
smp (anonymous) says...
I am all for new bike and pedestrian lanes. $4.00 per gallon gas illustrated it is a need not a want. I think all new roads and bridges should be built with these paths.
Peace out
March 27, 2009 at 4:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jeffmiller (anonymous) says...
kreader & counterpoint ... your "nicely puts" were nicely put!
March 27, 2009 at 5:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wjhamilton3 (anonymous) says...
"Another is that there was a long waiting list for new drilling rigs and almost a hyperinflation in construction equipment costs. "
This is patently untrue. I inherited stock in one of the companies which leases this equipment. The stock tanked last fall and hasn't come back up. The company says it expects revenue to improve when conditions in the oil market improve. At the moment, very little of their equipment is in use. These are massive deep water drilling rigs. They're very expensive to lease and operate. Even when oil was way up, a lot of this equipment wasn't leased because nobody believed it would stay that high for long. The stock price followed oil up last spring and summer.
If there was a "long waiting list" for deep sea drilling equipment now, my stock would be worth something.
You are more than welcome to take a look. The stock symbol is RIG, Transocean LTD.
Hit 160 last summer, when Oil was above $100 and began falling with the price of oil in September. Currently at $60. Since I would have to pay gains, I'm waiting it out. All that expensive equipment has to be worth something. It takes years to build it and oil will go back up sharply when the global economy comes back.
Or did you assume Liberal don't own stock. Goodness knows, this liberal wishes he didn't.
However Oil is up today and RIG is too.
"For domestic drillers, lower oil prices have given some breathing room to allow them to play catch up."
Apparently you haven't spent a lot of time in an economics class. Domestic drillers aren't looking for "breathing room." They're quite happy when the price of oil is high and that is when the investment to drill promises returns which cover it's risk. This isn't the homeless shelter that they're running. They're in it for the money.
Oil companies are not our friends. They want to make as much money as possible and last year they did. We paid a lot for Gas and everyone could buy as much as they wanted. There were no lines at the pump and if you really needed it, you could get it. That was hard, but not as hard as the 1970s when you had to wait in line for it and couldn't take the risk of long distance travel.
However the Saudis learned that while they made a killing on Oil, it killed their investments in everything else. Life is complicated.
March 27, 2009 at 5:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MsSun (anonymous) says...
WJ Hamilton 'their in it for the money' Imagine a company that wants to make money-how evil. 'Areas which don't prepare to a transition where the Auto is no longer the only travel option aren't going to survive the coming economic transition'
What coming economic transistion? You mean the one that the federal government is driving us toward-the European economic life-you know pay 50% in income taxes, live in a small flat, bike to work. Well you know we Americans have been spoiled too much because our parents and grandparents worked very hard to give us a good life-what were they thinking?
My fear is that many of us are not going to survive the economic transition. Its probably easy to think we should all scale down our lavish lifestyles, do what we can for the Earth or fellowman. It easy to think this way until you have to do it forever. I for one find it upsetting that the future generations will not enjoy the standard of living we have enjoyed. Are we taking away the American dream?
Do you walk/bike to work? To the courthouse? To a deposition?
Are these people on the bridge biking and walking to work? I used to walk to work it was great. Since I live 20 minutes from work and have to be at my job at 7:00 in the AM-it would be a little hard not to use the Auto. Since I teach students all day they probaly wouldn't appreaciate the stinky sweaty bike-riding teacher.
Sorry if I sound short but I really get tired of other people trying to tell me and all of society how to live as if individuals like you know what is best. This post wasn't about economics or the green lifestyle it was about a healthy lifestyle. Good for you walkers and bikers!!!
March 27, 2009 at 7:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nurenberger (anonymous) says...
I understand fully what you just said MsSun.We have alot to learn and a long way to go,let's hope we figure it out sooner or later,better sooner than to LATE.Peace Ya'll!
March 27, 2009 at 8:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
The number of people who are going to bike from Daniel Island to work in North Charleston probably wouldn't take one hand to count. Most of the year the folks headed to their air conditioned office from their air conditioned home would have a stroke from the heat, and who the heck wants to arrive at work soaked in sweat?
The majority of people on the Ravenel are there for recreation and view. They could just as easily run/walk the battery but they didn't and don't, and the walk added $10's of millions to the cost of the bridge. They complain about the possibility of paying parking fees to use the bridge, but have no problem with the taxpayers forking over millions so they can walk with a view. Charge the people who use it to pay for it and they either scream bloody murder or just don't use it.
No one who uses it for their recreation cares about the cost, just like football fans don't care how much a football stadium costs and swimmers aren't concerned about the cost of a municipal pool and the people who want a black history museum downtown think that any cost is cheap. Those few South Carolinians who use it think it's cheap at any cost and we need more of it.
March 27, 2009 at 9:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
WhatMeWorry (anonymous) says...
"The majority of people on the Ravenel are there for recreation and view."
Not me. I'm there because it's the only decent hill within 100 miles of Charleston. Makes for a better workout.
March 27, 2009 at 10:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
So that's worth millions of dollars whatmeworry? That's exactly the kind of attitude I'm talking about. The people who benefit think it's worth any cost to the rest of us. Every one of you has looked at the cost of something that you really don't have an interest in that is paid for by taxes and said that's not worth the cost, my taxes shouldn't go up for that, blah blah blah. Then when it's something you want any cost-benefit analyses goes out the window.
March 28, 2009 at 1:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JustJennings (anonymous) says...
We need to have safe sidewalks and bikepaths all around the city. The sidewalks in Charleston are the most dangerous I have seen in any city I have visted in the US, Europe, or the Carribean. People are not going to walk if they can't do it safely, and people walking more would cut down on pollution and promote better health. Instead we spend money on an aquarium which might be nice but should be a lower priority than safe sidewalks.
April 1, 2009 at 6:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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