Councilman Mann called the meeting to order at 8:19 a.m.

The current projects are: SC 135 and Couch Lane

• SC 135: Have had discussions with SCDOT, had a couple of issues with Upstate Cardiology concerning landscaping island in front of their office, those have been resolved. We will be advertising for bids in January. The bids will be open on January 27, 2012.  Then have something on the agenda for the February Council meeting.
• Couch Lane:  Met with Clint Link on Monday, the right of way has been staked.  Working on getting permission from land owners to get access their properties, coordinating with the utilities.  Construction plans should be done by next week and they can be submitted SCDOT for approval.  After the approval construction can be bid out in mid February with construction beginning in April and should take 4-6 months.

No new news on the Brushy Creek Greenway.  This is an ongoing 10-15 year project.

Things seem to be going well with the churches parking in the bike lanes.  Brian requested follow up on markings for the lanes with public works and SCDOT.

Christine sent email with some information concerning a contest to win $10,000 for a community project. It can be used for Brushy Creek Greenway or Kings Park.  The winners will be announced in April.  The winning employee would blog on the progress of the project.

The city donated 68+ bikes within the community to needy children during Christmas.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Councilman Watson announced the Spring Fling for March 24th, coordinating with the YMCA for a run/bike event.

Councilman Garrison commented on the good job the recreation dept. is doing on keeping Old Market Square clean since they took it over.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:36 a.m.

On Monday, November 15, 2010, at 6:00 pm, a public meeting was held to discuss the planned Brushy Creek Greenway. The meeting was held at the Larry D. Bagwell Gymnasium located at 201 People’s Drive in Easley, SC.

This meeting was an opportunity for the public to receive a briefing on the proposed Greenway and to provide their comments and suggestions. During the meeting community members sat together in teams and studied the proposed route for the Brushy Creek Greenway. Alta Planning collected comments and feedback from each group as they presented their ideas.

Keep checking back for the latest information.

The Brushy Creek Greenway could run between downtown Easley and the future Easley High School, or possibly to the County line. The purpose of the feasibility study is to identify opportunities and constraints, to lay out an ideal route, and to determine the cost to build the greenway. The City of Easley, with consultants from Alta Planning + Design and Seamon
Whiteside + Associates, will host a public meeting on Monday, November 15, at 6:00 PM, to discuss the Brushy Creek Greenway Feasibility Study and to hear input from local residents.

Members of the public are encouraged to attend and offer feedback. The public meeting will be held at the Larry Bagwell Gymnasium at 201 Peoples Drive, Easley, SC 29642, adjacent to the baseball fields.

Story and Photos courtesy of the Easley Progress

by Candice Harper, The Easley Progress

EASLEY – Students, teachers, parents and community members gathered at East End Elementary School Wednesday to celebrate International Walk to School Day put on by Safe Kids Upstate.

The group, including Easley Mayor Larry Bagwell, City Administrator Fox Simon and several Easley councilmen, walked from East End Elementary to Easley First Baptist Church where an assembly was held for the students on how to be safe while walking or biking. They were escorted by an Easley fire truck and policemen and were met at the church by the Easley High School Marching Band.

Several East End Elementary Safety Patrol members gave important safety tips to their classmates on walking and biking.

“We must all remember that while walking and biking are very healthy, it is important for us to stay safe while participating in these activities,” said Cortni Nations of the Pickens and Oconee County Expansion of Safe Kids Upstate.

Nations spoke with the students about the advantages of walking and biking in the community – it promotes healthy living, improves air quality and creates safer routes for walking and biking.

Christine deVlaming, of the Bike Easley initiative also walked her bicycle with the group.

For more information on Safe Kids Upstate, please visit www.safekidsupstate.org.

[Show as slideshow]

The City of Easley’s Bicycle Committee met on Friday, September 10th, with Alta Planning to begin the process of a feasibility study for the development of the Brushy Creek Greenway. The Greenway is a top priority under the City’s Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan and would extend approximately 3 miles (5K) from downtown Easley through the Red Owens Recreation Complex and on to the newly planned Easley High School.

L – R Maya Agarwal, Designer, Alta Planning; Fox Simons, City Administrator; John Cock, Regional Manager, Alta Planning; and Phil Kearns, Bicycle Committee map the route along Brushy Creek for a planned greenway trail.

The team boarded a city bus and followed the proposed route, mapping it out as a preliminary step. Alta Planning has said that they expect the study to take about 6 months to complete. This would be the first of several trips to the site. The feasibility study will confirm the layout of the route and identify potential challenges and solutions for the bicycle and pedestrian path. This includes confirming easements and looking for any permitting issues. Since the route would cross 123, the study will consider preliminary options for a bridge or tunnel, which may be the focus of a future detailed engineering study and implementation.

Phil Kearns shows the team where a proposed bridge would cross a beautiful rock feature on the planned Brushy Creek Greenway trail.

Alta Planning and the City of Easley will host a community meeting in mid-November to communicate progress and get input from residents.

Easley’s Bicycle- Pedestrian Master Plan is posted on www.BikeEasley.com and is also linked on the City of Easley’s website.

The City of Easley is making progress in the effort to become bicycle friendly. After approving its new Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan in December of 2009, the City has been fast at work to implement the plan in stages. The first step has been the re-striping of lanes downtown to incorporate bicycles.

On Friday, July 16th the bicycle symbols will be painted onto the new bicycle lanes beginning on East 1st Avenue at Russell Street at 8:30 A.M. John Cox of Land Planning Associates, Inc., Easley will be supervising the markings which will be installed by JAT Markings of Travelers Rest. Terry Trippe with JAT has said that it will take about half a day to put the 23 symbols down.

John Cox notes, “The symbols will go from Pendleton Street to HWY 93 (Main St) on East 1st, Russell Street, East East 2nd Avenue, East 3rd, and South B (all partial roads that tie in together).”

In addition says John, “The City has also submitted documentation to the DOT to explore a ‘road diet’on Highway 135 from North Main to Fleetwood Drive, on the way to the Palmetto Baptist Hospital. The comprehensive Master Plan shows other road diets, but this one is the easiest to complete.”

Easley has also begun the process of a feasibility study for its planned Brushy Creek Greenway after funds were recently made available through Greenville Pickens Area Transportation Study (GPATS).

For more information about the Bicycle Friendly Community effort, and to see Easley’s Bicycle, Pedestrian Master Plan, go to www.bikeeasley.com.

Written by Christine deVlaming
City of Easley Bicycle Friendly Committee
Reprinted with permission of the City of Easley

EASLEY, SC JUNE 21, 2010

Greenville Pickens Area Transportation Study (GPATS) approved funding today for its Unified Planning Work Porgram for 2011. The program total od $715,000 for Greenville and Pickens Counties includes $20,000 for the City of Easley to use to further progress under its Easley Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan. The City will match the funds with 20% or $5,000 as required for a total of $25,000.

The City of Easley plans to use these funds on a feasibility study for the development of the Brushy Creek Greenway. The Greenway is a top priority under the master plan and would extend approximately 3 miles (5K) from downtown Easley through Red Owens Recreation Complex and on to the newly planned Easley High School.

The feasibility study will confirm the layout of the route and identify potential challenges and solutions for the bicycle and pedestrian path. This includes confirming easements and looking for any permitting issues. Since the route would cross under Highway 123, the initial plan is to complete the trails on each side of Highway 123 and then at a later stage, work on the tunnel.

More Information:

 Easley’s Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan is posted HERE.

Download this press release as a PDF file HERE.

Police Officer David C. Garrison, and Police Officer D.L. Brinston

Police Officer David C. Garrison, and Police Officer D.L. Brinston described their typical bicycle patrol. “The police cars are fitted with bike racks. We usually park outside of a neighborhood and take our bikes off to patrol. We are checking property; homes, cars, and garages, ” said Garrison. “During the day, we often have kids greet us and it gives us an opportunity to speak to them and let them know we are there to help make the neighborhood safe. It helps when kids learn not to fear the police.”

Brinston patrols on bicycle nearly every night if the weather permits. He will ride during the 7 pm to 7 am night shift for 3-4 hours, moving from neighborhood to neighborhood by car and then parking to do a cycle patrol around the community. Brinston said, “In more distressed neighborhoods the bicycle allows us to come up on issues without being noticed. We always work in pairs when in these areas. Officer safety is a proirity. If we have an arrest, we call in a backup car.”

Brinston is originally from Mississippi, where his family is in law enforcement. “Drug use is the source of most of the crime,” he said. Garrison is from Easley, He rides about 4 or 5 days per month. “The use of the bikes depends on the number of calls we have,” noted Garrison.

Each of the two policemen looked cool enough wearing uniform issue shorts, but under their shirts they wear bullet-proof vests for safety. Each officer wears a heavy belt full of police gear and a radio that crossed over onto their chest. The two make it look easy onb a bicycle, but this is still a tough job.

DOWNLOAD Press Release – Easley’s Bicycle Patrol>>>

The first public workshop for the Easley Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Was held Monday, June 15, 2009 at the Kimberly Hampton Memorial Library

Attendees caught a glimpse of the emerging plan from a slideshow presentation and question and answer session.  Existing conditions were discussed, as well as opportunities and constraints for future bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

Draft Goals/Objectives: 

Easley will. . .

• . . .be known as a fitness-friendly, bicycle-friendly, and walkable community–a community with strong neighborhood feeling and a place for families.
• . . .have a complete network of pedestrian-and bicycle-friendly infrastructure for all abilities and user types (runners, walkers, families, cyclists of all types) throughout the City and into the region.
• . . .support education, awareness, and positive attitudes for bicycling, walking, wellness and physical activity.
• . . .ensure that the next generation of pedestrians and cyclists feels safe.

Downloads:

•  Download Workshop Slideshow Presentation (1.66MB)
•  Download Summary of Notes from the Public Workshop (14KB)

By Julie Howle • April 24, 2009  

A master plan is in the works as part of Easley’s push to become more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly.

Easley City Council has unanimously voted to award a $71,000 contract to Alta Planning and Design to develop a bicycle and pedestrian master plan.

“We were very impressed with what they brought to us, their willingness to really get involved,” City Councilman Chris Mann said. “They had the experience we were looking for. They’ve done this for cities large and small.”

Mann said Alta also offered to write two grant proposals for the city as part of the package and said they could help the city get needed money to implement items in a finished master plan.

City Administrator Fox Simons said Easley received 12 proposals for the contract, which is being funded through a $60,000 grant from the Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study that requires a $12,000 match from the city.

He said the master plan will look at a variety of issues, including bike lanes and sidewalks, needed education efforts and funding opportunities to help implement the plan.

Work on the master plan can start immediately, according to Simons, and he said he thinks the plan could be completed in early 2010.

Implementing the plan will be a long-term project, Simons said.

Mann said city officials have to find ways to “do everything and pay for everything” and said the city could look at public-private partnerships.

He said the master plan will include gathering public input to see what residents want. 

“There is quite a large population of cyclists out there,” Mann said. “It’s making sure people are aware that cyclists are out there and sharing the road with them.”

(Source: Greenville News – Greenville, SC)