COLUMBIA, S.C. — Motorists in the Earlewood area of North Main and River Drive should notice there are changes coming to River Drive as South Carolina Department of Transportation is adding buffered bicycle lanes along River between North Main and Sunset Boulevard.
The addition of the bike lanes comes at the recommendation of the City of Columbia's Walk, Bike Columbia Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan. South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) began resurfacing River Drive in February as part of their regular maintenance schedule and is now installing the buffered bicycle lanes.
Once completed, the bike lanes will be an integral part of connecting neighborhoods in north Columbia, Broad River Road and the Three Rivers Greenway with the under-design Vista Greenway. River Drive will feature 11-foot-wide traffic lanes and 5-foot-wide bicycle lanes on both sides, with the vehicle and bicycle lanes separated by 2-foot-wide striped buffers.
After the bike and buffer lanes are complete, according to SC Code 1976, § 56-5-3425, motor vehicles may not block the bicycle lane and shall yield to a bicyclist in the bicycle lane before entering or crossing the lane. Bicycles are required to ride in the bicycle lane except when necessary to pass another person riding a bicycle or to avoid an obstruction in the bicycle lane.
Learn more about the City of Columbia's Walk, Bike Columbia Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan and planning efforts at planninganddevelopment.columbiasc.gov
