The ABC is a member of League of American Bicyclists

and a member of the Palmetto Cycling Coalition
PCC

Tom Lex is a member of the ABC and a PCC Board member. Tom has become very active as an advocate for cycling in the Aiken community.  Click below to see why Tom is a cyclist.
Why Tom Rides

Local Advocacy Activity

Meetings were held with the SC Augusta Regional Transportation Subcommittee (ARTS) on November 19, 2009 and February 4, 2010. The subcommittee includes the Mayors of Aiken, North Augusta and City and County Council members. The purpose of the meetings has been to encourage them to include bicycle friendly initiatives in their transportation planning. I have presented them with a vision for making our area bicycle friendly along with the economic and health benefits that go along with having a bicycle friendly County.

I had a  follow up meeting with them on May 6, 2010 and identified the specific roads in the County that need either bike lanes or bike paths. I also presented specific recommendations for moving forward. The County requested participation by the bike community in the update to the 2003 Bike/Ped plan and I agreed to be the point of contact.

I also found out that within the next year since the area is likely to be designated as a non-attainment area for ozone by EPA there will be an increased emphasis on alternate means of transportation including bicycles. The reason for this is that half the ozone comes from vehicles and future road expansion will be cut back significantly. I will follow up with my DHEC contact to see how we can partner with them and get more emphsis on cycling.

Aiken County is included in the Augusta Regional Transportation Study which is going through its 5 year update. Public meetings were held on February 16 and March 9, 2010 to solicit input. I followed up with the team lead conducting the study and he was appreciative of the input received from area cyclists. The study results should be available later this year and will include recommendations that support bicycling.