Piedmont Health Foundation makes recommendations for improving mobility and transportation options in the area

Philanthropic organization releases results from nine-month study considering those without access to vehicles

 

Mobility that will allow residents access to good jobs, education, health care, and more cannot be improved by simply expanding the service of our current bus system, according to study results released today by the Piedmont Health Foundation. That is the conclusion from its nine-month research project aimed at improving mobility in Greenville County for those who cannot or do not use their own cars.

“We were not surprised to learn that a lack of transportation is a key barrier to residents’ ability to access basic needs that contribute to quality of life. However, now that the study is complete, we understand that expansion of the current bus service is not necessarily the panacea, either.  Mobility is affected by land use, sidewalks and bus stop infrastructure, and it is supported by a wide array of transportation modes,” Executive Director Katy Smith told a group of community leaders gathered at Hughes Library this morning to hear the study’s results and recommendations. “Making improvements must be a collaborative process with strong communication between stakeholders and innovative thinking about how people can travel.”

Key findings from the study:

• Lack of mobility is a primary obstacle for residents’ employment, mental and physical health, education and more. Through focus groups and survey responses, the study found that a lack of transportation means residents are unable to secure jobs or move to higher paying jobs, unable to attend drug, alcohol or mental health treatment, and other critical activities.
• Car ownership is not necessarily an indicator of mobility. For residents with lower incomes, affording gas and car repairs is a challenge; one quarter of survey respondents who own a car survey  reported being unable to drive a few times a month or more because of this financial issue.  Older adults also reported owning a car but being unable to drive because of changes in health or ability.
• Greenlink, Greenville County’s public transit system, is not relied upon for transportation as often as getting a ride from a friend or relative or borrowing someone else’s car. More than 1/5 of survey respondents use Greenlink, but say that its lack of geographic reach, its one hour wait times, and its days and hours of operation mean it doesn’t meet their mobility needs.
• Greenlink lacks essential operational data, including how many riders enter and exit the buses throughout the day and week at its more than 550 stops, which is necessary to know which stops and routes are working and which need to be redesigned.
• Health and human service transportation is operated by nonprofit agencies or brokered with for-profit transportation providers in Greenville County. The geography and demographics served as well as hours of operation revealed that there is both overlap — suggesting multiple vehicles are traveling in the same areas of the county — and significant gaps for individuals in need of assistance but ineligible for a particular program and outside of Greenlink’s service area.
• Infrastructure in Greenville County makes mobility without a car extremely difficult. Many suburban neighborhoods are sparsely developed and don’t have sidewalks, meaning it’s difficult for a fixed route bus to efficiently serve the area or for a rider to access the bus. Furthermore, the vast majority of Greenlink stops are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, meaning people with mobility or other impairments cannot access the stops or board or disembark from them, thus requiring them to ride a paratransit van, which is far more costly.

Based on the study’s findings, the report recommends improving mobility in the community in a manner that is far-reaching, comprehensive, sustainable, and takes a multipronged approach.  Several areas of recommendation include:

• Supporting planning and Infrastructure to improve connectivity between transit, residential and commercial areas and to address compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Improving public transit by first securing data on ridership, routes and stops to allow Greenlink to retool its routes, and then reducing wait times and expanding service hours and geography, potentially using innovations in service such as call-a-ride, checkpoint, or flexible routes.
• Better coordinating health and human services transportation through mobility management efforts.
• Identifying costs of system that most effectively and appropriately meets Greenville County needs and identify sources of revenue for these services.

The Piedmont Health Foundation will invest funding to support these activities in 2016 and will continue to facilitate a task force of lead organizations to implement these recommendations.

Dean Jones, Director of Greenville County Workforce Development, said he anticipates the study will lead to improved economic success because of improved mobility.  “The mission of Greenville County Workforce Development is to help residents obtain and keep employment.  A lack of transportation is the top complaint we hear from our customers: they cannot get to training or once they’ve completed training they cannot get to work.  Improvements in mobility in Greenville County will help our members become self-sufficient and able to contribute to our community.”

The study was funded in large part by the Piedmont Health Foundation, with additional support from Hollingsworth Funds, the Graham Foundation, Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, Greenville Health System, United Way of Greenville County, Community Foundation of Greenville, and the Greenville County Department of Social Services.  The work is guided by a task force comprised of representatives from local and state government, health care, education, and the nonprofit sector.

Corinne Donahue, AICP, is the project manager for the study with CDM Smith. She said, “Transit studies such as this are successful when multiple stakeholders are a part of the process and when the focus of the study is aimed at realistic results.  I believe the team assembled here and the process we’ve mapped out will result in positive benefits for Greenville County.”

“We welcome the leadership of the Piedmont Health Foundation in tackling this issue,” said Mark Rickards, Greenlink Director.  “The process has been collaborative, soliciting input from thousands of residents and bringing best practice ideas to the table.  We look forward to working with the foundation and task force on implementing the recommendations.”

Residents can visit www.piedmonthealthfoundation.org to learn more about the research, or www.gettingtheregreenville.org to provide input.

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About the Piedmont Health Foundation:

The Piedmont Health Foundation is a private, philanthropic foundation whose mission is improving health in Greenville County by identifying critical issues, catalyzing community action, and supporting organizations’ health related programs.  Established in 1983, the foundation has $2.8 million in assets and has awarded more than $3.6 million in grants in its 32 year history. 

About CDM Smith:

For more than 50 years, highly experienced transportation planners and engineers from CDM Smith have assisted clients in addressing critical transit planning needs.  CDM Smith provides lasting and integrated solutions in water, environment, transportation, energy and facilities to public and private clients worldwide. As a full-service engineering and construction firm, we deliver exceptional client service, quality results and enduring value across the entire project life cycle. 

About Arnett Muldrow and Associates:

Arnett Muldrow & Associates, Ltd. is a Greenville, SC based firm that focuses on City Planning and Community Marketing.  The firm has worked in over 300 communities in 34 states on downtown master plans, neighborhood plans, community engagement, and branding and marketing for small and medium sized communities.  Arnett Muldrow assisted CDM Smith on the study with community engagement, background research, and processing community surveys.