COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Dozens rode their bikes over to Earlewood Park in Columbia Sunday afternoon to celebrate the completion of a project that intends to make roads safer in the capital city. The whole family was able to ride along the River Drive Buffered Bike Lanes on Sunday, which now are some of the first of their kind in the Midlands.
“This is what matters; it’s not just about me loving to ride bikes, it’s about trying to make more access in our community for more people,” said Regan Freeman, Director of Advocacy & Development for the Cola Town Bike Collective.
Data from Smart Growth America ranked The City of Columbia as the 12th most dangerous city in the country for people to walk and bike. Many cyclists who came out to Earlewood Park Sunday were itching to ride along the newly painted bike lanes that create a barrier between traffic and cyclists and aim to make some of the roads here safer.
The addition of the 5-foot-wide bike lanes with a painted buffer stretches for roughly a mile and a half, providing connections for cyclists between the Vista Greenway extension, Bull Street District, and Three Rivers Greenway.
The goal of the project is to create more vibrant, accessible streets. Freeman feels the new bike lanes will help the entire community get around.
“We still have the two lanes but it’s now safer.” Freeman said, “The speed limit; people are now better able to follow it because the lane is thinner, but there’s […]
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