Reimaginegvl

08/10/2026

All the outrage we feel about teens weaving on e-bikes and scooters would be better spent figuring out how to keep massive motorized vehicles away from all other road users

08/07/2026

www.friendsofcarfreekeywest.org

08/05/2026

Main Street: Past, Present, and Future

Some time ago, Chris from Chris | Greenville Threads suggested that I make a video showing the transition from the Greenville Main Street of the 1970s to the vibrant downtown we have today. No doubt, the improvement has been dramatic.

The old 4-lane highway with narrow sidewalks and no trees signaled that downtown was a space to drive through quickly, not a place to stop, linger, and enjoy. It’s fun to look back at those old pictures to realize just how far we’ve come, but I can’t help but think about the next big step.

It took true vision and political courage for Mayor Max Heller and others to give Main Street a road diet, widen the sidewalks, and plant street trees in the late ’70s. We saw that same vision and courage from Mayor Knox White and City Council in the early 2000s when they tore down the old Camperdown Bridge to create a pedestrian-only bridge over the falls that became the jewel of our city.

So, what is the next big, bold vision for our downtown?

Pedestrianizing Main Street and restoring electric trolley service seems like the logical progression.

When cities around the world transform central commercial corridors into car-free pedestrian zones, the data is overwhelming:

Foot traffic typically increases by 20% to 40%.

Retail sales and restaurant revenue jump between 10% and 30%.

Commercial vacancies drop as foot traffic replaces pass-through vehicle traffic.

Removing cars creates an inviting, human-scaled environment where people want to stay, explore, and support local shops.

Greenville’s success has always come from taking ambitious, visionary steps. What do you think? Is a fully pedestrianized Main Street the future? Share your thoughts in the comments.

07/20/2026

Greenville County Council will vote on this tomorrow (July 21). Send a message to let them know you support better public transportation in Greenville County- https://letsfundtransit.com/

🧳 Greenville has fast become a tourist destination. Let’s use that to fund our transit system.

🚍 A penny tax with 5% for transit means Greenville County County can take transit off the annual budget and the property tax bill. If passed by voters, that would mean $3.5M of breathing room in the budget. Those funds can be used to support public safety, Sheriff Deputy raises, and other places that need county funding.

💸 A penny tax that supports transit would shift a significant portion of transit funding to visitors, 35% according to the SCDOR.

🫵 Want to support a penny tax that funds transit? Go to LetsFundTransit.com to email your Greenville County Council member and make the case for lower property taxes.

06/25/2026

Greenville wasn't always entirely dependent on cars.

On January 11, 1901, our city's electric trolley era officially began. Operated by the Greenville Traction Company, the streetcar network connected downtown Greenville with surrounding neighborhoods, textile mill villages, and emerging “streetcar suburbs.”

One of those routes extended north from the "Belt Line" to the Sans Souci neighborhood. Running along what is now North Franklin Road, the line terminated at the estate of Governor Benjamin F. Perry, which would later become the Sans Souci Country Club. 

More than a century ago, Franklin Road served as a transit corridor that connected people to jobs, recreation, and downtown Greenville. Residents could travel without owning a car because the streetcar provided a reliable transportation option woven directly into the fabric of the community.

The reimagined design in this image features streetcar tracks, protected bike lanes, and tree-lined pedestrian paths. Far from being a radical idea, transit along Franklin Road would restore a function the corridor once served: moving people efficiently between the Sans Souci neighborhood and downtown.

Let's stop building streets to move cars through our neighborhoods and start building them to move people to them.

 

06/03/2026

Join the Spinners and Bike Walk Greenville for our next community roll this Saturday! This route will highlight a number of new and upcoming safe streets projects in the City of Greenville, and during this roll we will discuss some local initiatives and projects that we are excited to support for better biking and walking in our community.

Get more information and register to reserve your spot at bit.ly/june6roll

05/13/2026

Horizon 2050 is a 25-year plan for highway, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian projects in the GPATS coverage area. You can attend a virtual public meeting, as well as take the online survey on their website at https://gpatshorizon2050.com/

We need your input! Use the QR Code below or go to https://gpatshorizon2050.com/ to help shape the future of transportation.

05/11/2026

May is National Bike Month, and this week (the 11th through the 17th) is Bike to Work Week. To celebrate, let’s reimagine one of Greenville’s worst stroads as a vibrant place where people can walk and ride bikes without the constant threat of speeding automobiles.

Currently, Haywood Road near the mall functions primarily as a conduit for fast-moving cars, not as a community space. Instead of a destination, this stroad and others like it act like a high-speed pipe cutting off neighborhoods from major destinations.

What if we redesigned this area with people in mind? In this reimagined view looking south near the intersection with Woods Crossing, we transformed the stroad into a true Complete Street featuring:

🚶‍♀️ Widened sidewalks: Reclaiming excess asphalt creates room for robust outdoor dining and active storefronts.

🚴‍♂️ Protected cycle tracks: A curbed, green bike lane makes it safe for families to take quick neighborhood trips without getting in a car.

🌳 Mature street trees: A robust canopy provides shade, softens the architecture, and creates a comfortable outdoor room.

Traffic calming isn't just about safety, it’s also great for local business. When city streets are treated as destinations rather than drive-throughs, people walk further, linger longer, and spend more time at local businesses.

So yeah… maybe this one is a stretch, but would you spend more time on Haywood Road if it looked like this?

04/14/2026

A neighborhood’s main street should be its living room, a space designed for the people who live there to gather, connect, and support local shops. But right now, Augusta Street functions primarily as a thoroughfare, and a dangerous one at that. 

The wide, fast-moving asphalt prioritizes moving commuters through the area as quickly as possible. Instead of bringing the community together, it physically divides the neighborhood and makes it uncomfortable to walk, dine, or just be there.

What if we flipped the script and designed this space for the community?

In this reimagined view of the intersection at Faris, we add life back to the edges:

Raised brick intersections: This naturally calms traffic, visually signaling to drivers that they are entering a pedestrian-first "living room."

Widened sidewalks: Reclaiming excess asphalt creates room for robust outdoor dining and active storefronts.

Protected cycle tracks: A curbed, green bike lane makes it safe for families to take quick local trips without having to get in a car.

Mature street trees: A robust canopy provides shade, softens the architecture, and encloses the street to make it feel like a comfortable outdoor room.

Traffic calming isn't just about safety, it’s also good for local business. When streets are treated as destinations rather than drive-throughs, people walk further, linger longer, and spend more time in their own neighborhood.

Would you spend more time on Augusta Street if it looked like this? 

04/08/2026

Welcome to the next chapter: !

If you’ve been following along, you know the goal here has always been to envision a more human-scale Greenville. While the name reflected a desire to reduce car dependency, it sometimes made people defensive. It didn’t fully capture the real mission: de-prioritizing cars as the default mode of transportation, rather than eliminating them entirely (though I still strongly believe Main Street should be fully pedestrianized!).

Moving forward under this new name, the focus is all about visualizing how we can transform our streets to prioritize people, connection, and vibrancy. The idea is to be collaborative and focus on adding life to our streets, not just removing cars.

And there is no better place to start this new chapter than by addressing the downtown moat.

For decades, Academy Street has acted like a high-speed asphalt barrier, cutting off the walkable core of downtown from surrounding neighborhoods.

What if we stitched the city back together?

This reimagining transforms a hostile corridor into a true Complete Street. By putting Academy on a road diet, we could make room for:

🚋 Dedicated light rail on a green track

🚲 Protected cycle tracks to safely connect our trail networks

🌳 Wide, shaded sidewalks for people

We should also reclaim the massive surface parking lots, swapping them for beautiful mixed-use buildings or vibrant public plazas.

It’s time to stop building roads through our city, and start building streets for our city. Which part of this transformation would you want to see built first?