Greenville has already made progress building infrastructure that supports healthy alternative forms of transportation such as biking and walking, but in order to continue building a healthy, sustainable community, Greenville County must pass the Complete Streets Resolution. The Complete Street Resolution simply states that Greenville County will implement policies that support infrastructure for biking, walking, and public transportation in new road construction and reconstruction.

This resolution has already been presented to the County Council, but despite numerous supporters, a small but vocal group opposing the resolution has delayed the vote.

That's why we need your help-- Sign this petition today and tell your County Council members that you support Complete Streets--Streets that support all modes of transportation!!

Greenville County’s proposed Complete Streets resolution is very flexible, acknowledging that “all streets are different” and “user needs must be balanced” and that polices can be carried out only when funding is available.

Here are some facts about the benefits of Complete Streets from completestreets.org:

-Complete streets can offer many benefits in all communities, regardless of size or location.

-Complete streets make economic sense. A balanced transportation system that includes complete streets can bolster economic growth and stability by providing accessible and efficient connections between residences, schools, parks, public transportation, offices, and retail destinations. -Complete streets improve safety by reducing crashes through safety improvements. One study found that designing for pedestrian travel by installing raised medians and redesigning intersections and sidewalks reduced pedestrian risk by 28%.

-Complete streets encourage more walking and bicycling. Public health experts are encouraging walking and bicycling as a response to the obesity epidemic, and complete streets can help. One study found that 43 percent of people with safe places to walk within 10 minutes of home met recommended activity levels, while just 27% of those without safe places to walk were active enough.

-Complete streets can help ease transportation woes. Streets that provide travel choices can give people the option to avoid traffic jams, and increase the overall capacity of the transportation network. Several smaller cities have adopted complete streets policies as one strategy to increase the overall capacity of their transportation network and reduce congestion.

 -Complete streets help children. Streets that provide room for bicycling and walking help children get physical activity and gain independence. More children walk to school where there are sidewalks, and children who have and use safe walking and bicycling routes have a more positive view of their neighborhood. Safe Routes to School programs, gaining in popularity across the country, will benefit from complete streets policies that help turn all routes into safe routes.

-Complete streets are good for air quality. Poor air quality in our urban areas is linked to increases in asthma and other illnesses. Yet if each resident of an American community of 100,000 replaced one car trip with one bike trip just once a month, it would cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 3,764 tons of per year in the community. Complete streets allow this to happen more easily.

 -Complete streets make fiscal sense. Integrating sidewalks, bike lanes, transit amenities, and safe crossings into the initial design of a project spares the expense of retrofits later. Jeff Morales, former Director of Caltrans, said, “by fully considering the needs of all non-motorized travelers (pedestrians, bicyclists, and persons with disabilities) early in the life of a project, the costs associated with including facilities for these travelers are minimized.”