Category: Aaron Holly

“If you don’t like what is being said, then change the conversation”

One of my favorite T.V shows over the past couple of years has been Mad Men, a show whose intricate plot unfolds while following a set of characters working for an advertising agency in Manhattan. In one of the earlier seasons, the main protagonist Don Draper offers a bit of advice to a client saying, “If you don’t like what is being said, then change the conversation.” I like to think that one of the goals of sustainability is to change the questions that people are asking, to change the conversation. Instead of where do I shop, where is my food coming from? Instead of where I can I throw this away, can this be composted or recycled? Instead of where can I park, how can I get there?

Photo via Post & Courier
Photo via Post & Courier

That last conversation is something that I am quite passionate about. As a cyclist, I am in favor of promoting not only cycling, but also other forms of public transportation. With the population in the Charleston area set to grow significantly over the next 25 years, dealing with how we are going to transport ourselves from one place to the other is going to be, if it isn’t already, a serious issue. And for a region that’s already cramped for space, adding more parking spaces and highway lanes isn’t the answer. Last night Gabe Klein, the former Director of Transportation Systems in Chicago and Washington D.C., gave his follow up presentation on his findings and suggestions for ways that Charleston can begin to address its growing transportation needs for the near, immediate, and distant future. His suggestions ranged in scope from bringing back sections of the old Charleston streetcar network (which used to be fairly extensive) to upgrading the city’s parking meters and raising the price of parking to increase revenues for other transportation initiatives.

In regards to my personal favorite mode of transit, biking, Klein mentioned that Charleston is in the “awkward adolescent stage” when it comes to commuting by bike, and I would definitely have to agree.  There are enough cycling commuters to be noticed, but not enough of a mainstream cycling culture for cyclist to begin policing themselves to start following the rules of the road. Klein spoke of tensions that exist between different commuters and those who commute by different modes, and in Charleston, there is definitely a tension between drivers and cyclists. But these tensions are often artificial and are indicators of successful changes in transportation mode shares. A recent local example is the new bike parking available on King Street.

Hopefully many of Klein’s recommendations will come to pass. I realize there are barriers to accomplishing these goals, not the least of which is funding. Regardless, the fact that he was doing work in Charleston means that we’re beginning to realize that we don’t like what’s being said, and that we’re changing the conversation.

-Aaron Holly, Graduate Assistant

Bike CofC bike share is about more than adding bikes to the roads.

I have always been an avid biker. Ever since I was a kid, terrorizing suburban Georgia on my mountain bike, biking has always been my preferred mode of transportation. I have always tried to bike as much as possible, and since moving to Charleston from Atlanta, where biking is a little less safe due to busier roads and the lack of a prominent bike culture, biking has become my go to method of movement.

Since joining the ranks of bikers in the Lowcountry, I have been greatly impressed with what I have seen. Aside from a few malcontents on both sides, I have noticed a general willingness to share the roads and to let each and all transport themselves as they wish. However, I have noticed a few issues with how bikers comport themselves en route to their destination. Speeding through red lights, weaving around traffic, passing cars on the right, not properly signaling turns, and careening recklessly in the opposite direction of a one way street are some of the most frequent examples of bad biking behavior. I’m no hypocrite. I have been guilty of some of these at various times for various reasons. Sometimes it’s just too tempting on a not so crowded intersection to blow through a red light, but I know it’s wrong and something I need to work on in order to set a good example for my companions that choose two wheels instead of four.

Sometimes it’s hard for bikers to realize that we don’t get special privileges because we didn’t hop in a car that morning. I believe that often times, bikers either forget, or don’t realize, that while on the road we have to behave like we also have four wheels. I feel like this is a necessary step in raising awareness for bikers in the area and helping to increase accessibility. As a biker, I know we must look at ourselves as well as others because being a predictable biker is not only safer, but gives a better impression of bikers, and makes drivers more willing to share the road.  It only takes one biker with improper road etiquette to set a bad example and leave a lasting impression. For example, take this comment from a reader responding to a recent Charleston City Paper article,

“I will never yield to a cyclist until they follow the same traffic laws as the rest of us… Which is, by the way, the LAW! If I see you run a red light because it’s just too much effort to stop, I’ll go out of my way to crowd you, and, I could care less if you scream and yell. As a matter of fact, that makes it more fun!”

This is obviously on the extreme side of the biker/driver divide. But it’s this attitude, and the bad biking behavior that fuels it, which must be addressed. I personally feel that the onus is on us as bikers to follow the rules of the road, and show drivers that we can commute safely and responsibly.

This is one of the hopes of the Bike CofC bike share program, and one of the many reasons that I’m so proud to be working on it as we prepare for a Fall 2013 launch. To not only provide biking opportunities to students, staff, and faculty, but also to educate them on proper biking and bike safety. Learning how to ride properly is almost as important as having the opportunity itself and in doing so it can only increase the accessibility of bikers everywhere.

We live in such a great city for biking, and hopefully the Bike CofC bike share program is a small step towards a safer, more accessible city for anyone who wishes to bike and share the roads with our four wheeled brethren.

Library has new high-tech way to reduce paper usage!

Higher Tech – Lower Impact

by Aaron Holly

Lacking a personal printer or scanner, I frequently find myself at the library computers printing off documents and watching my balance of free copies shrink down to zero. I try to not print whenever possible, but sometimes these things are unavoidable. So it came as an exciting piece of news to find out that the Addlestone Library now has a new, state of the art document scanner known as the Knowledge Imaging Center, or KIC (see picture below).

The KIC, located in the first floor copy room next to Java City, can scan all types of documents which can be saved to a USB drive or sent directly to your email. Scanned files can also be read on the KIC electronically, eliminating the need to print them out. The scanner is capable of scans up to 17 X 24 inches, or, should you ever need to scan anything really small, down to the size of a postage stamp. Scans can also be made in color or black & white. Documents can even be saved in audio format, which can be played back on any digital audio device; now if that’s not cool I’m not sure what is.

By storing your documents digitally, you can have a lower impact by reducing the amount of paper you use. Just think, if every one of the 10,558 students attending the College used their 300 sheets of printing, we use 3,167,400 sheets of paper PER SEMESTER (which=6,335 reams=633 boxes)! And that’s just students. Imagine how the faculty and staff would add to that. So next time you find yourself in the Library, think before you print, and take advantage of the KIC and all that it can do.

kic

More info about the KIC here!