Easley Will Soon Become More Bike Friendly

The city of Easley is about to become even more bike and pedestrian friendly with two new projects slated to begin early next year.

The city recently created bike lanes on South 1st Street and East 1st Avenue and will soon add additional lanes on North A Street. A second project will create a multi-use path along Couch Lane on the southeast side of town.

The city hopes to receive bids on the North A Street bike lane project by Jan. 27 and a decision by the time city council meets in February. The project will transform the 4-lane street into a two-lane street with a center turn lane and bike lanes on either side. There will also be a landscaped median along sections of the road, according to City Administrator Fox Simons.

City officials had hoped to have the project underway already, but expects it could now begin sometime in March.

"We ran into quite a bit of problems with DOT and the landscaping, that's what the delay has been," Simons said during the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee meeting Thursday morning.

City Council members Brian Garrison and Chris Mann told the committee they haven't received any new complaints about the existing bicycle lanes. In July the city held a public meeting to discuss issues with parking in the new bicycle lanes. Garrison told the committee he would like the lanes to be more identifiable.

"We don't seem to be having any issues and I haven't been approached, but I would like to see some more markings," Garrison said.

Simons said the city has requested additional bicycle lane markings from the Department of Transportation but the work has not been done yet.

The Couch Lane project has gotten underway beginning with utility companies preparing to move utilities lines back away from the construction area. None of the work will extend beyond the city's right-of-way into residential properties.

"We don't need to acquire any right-of-way but we need to get permission from landowners to get on their property from time to time," Simons said.

The construction is expected to begin on Couch Lane in April once the city receives final approval from the S.C. Department of Transportation.

Easley was awarded a $380,000 from the Pickens County Transportation Commission, or "C" Fund, to construct the Couch Lane path in order to increase safety along the road.

The multi-use path will be an 8-foot wide path extending approximately 1/8 mile from McAlister Road to Crestview Road on the east side of Couch Lane.

The bicycle lane project on North A Street will also be funded by a grant from the "C" Fund. City officials expect it to cost approximately $400,000.