Bike Walk Greenville was founded in 2013 to promote the health and vitality of Greenville County by advocating for safe, accessible infrastructure for active modes of transportation.
Jasmine Vanadore, who became executive director in May 2024, said the nonprofit provides a voice for all road, sidewalk and trail users, to ensure that local transportation initiatives meet their needs.
“We don’t physically do infrastructure work,” she said. “We act as the bridge between stakeholders like neighborhood associations, municipalities and decision makers.”
Bike Walk Greenville recently collaborated with the Sans Souci Neighborhood Alliance and others to give input on proposed improvements to Old Buncombe Road between West Blue Ridge Drive and Buncombe Road.
“We were involved in the SCDOT meetings about improving the safety of the road,” Vanadore said. “The existing four small lanes had a high crash rate. The new plan includes a road diet, going from two lanes in each direction to one lane in each direction with a center turn lane. We helped advocate for that, and after the work is done, we’ll keep the data to use for before and after comparison.”
Vanadore said data collection and analysis are critical to Bike Walk’s advocacy efforts.
“We have a great volunteer team … who are really interested in data,” she said. “They put that information into maps showing where pedestrian deaths occur. It may sound morbid, but it’s so important.”
The nonprofit brings together communities to understand their concerns with safe access and consider how to address issues with sidewalks and bus stops.
Bike Walk Greenville’s tech squad members collect data to support advocacy efforts.“We recently held a walk audit with Trees Forever and SSNA to look at the tree shading along Old Buncombe Road,” Vanadore said. “When there are more trees, people drive safer, and tree shading affects pedestrians in hot weather.”
Bike Walk Greenville raised funds for the installation of two trail counter displays on the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail, highlighting the popularity of trail infrastructure. The nonprofit also organized cleanup efforts along the trail after Hurricane Helene.
“We’re so proud that we were able to clear away the fallen trees and debris, so the trail was accessible again. Our absolutely wonderful volunteers came to the rescue,” Vanadore said. “We think of the Swamp Rabbit Trail being used for recreation, but it’s also used for transportation to work, school and other places people need to go. We learned how important the trail is when people told us, ‘I really need this for my mental health,’ and ‘it’s the shortest way for me to get to work.’”
To do its work, Bike Walk partners with Duke Energy, Greenville Connects, LiveWell Greenville, United Way of Greenville County, Upstate Greenways and Trails Alliance, and municipalities such as Greenville and Travelers Rest.
“Bike Walk Greenville raised funds for trail counters that highlight the popularity of trail infrastructure.”The Community Foundation of Greenville awarded Bike Walk Greenville a 2024 Capacity Building Grant.
“The grant from the Community Foundation of Greenville helped fund our new strategic plan and website,” Vanadore said. “We’re so excited about moving forward and the work we can do to support our community”
For more information, visit bikewalkgreenville.org.
Visit cfgreenville.org to learn more about the Community Foundation of Greenville.
