Tiger Grant

GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary.................................................................................................1
1. Greenlink: Creating Circuits of Economic Success Overview................................2
1.1 The Initiative.....................................................................................................2
1.2 The Users...................................................................................................5
1.2.1 The Presently Unconnected...................................................................5
1.2.2 The Non Transit-Dependent..................................................................5
1.2.3 Students and Workforce Development..................................................8
1.3 The Challenge............................................................................................9
1.3.1 Access To Employment........................................................................10
1.3.2 Access To Better Health......................................................................11
1.3.3 Funding Challenges............................................................................11
1.3.4 Air Quality.........................................................................................13
1.4 Getting Around Greenville........................................................................13
1.4.1 Infrastructure and Safety....................................................................13
1.4.2 Congestion........................................................................................14
2.

Project Location.............................................................................................15
2.1 Project Metro..........................................................................................15
2.2 Project Components.................................................................................16
2.3 Project Demographics..............................................................................18

3.

Project Parties................................................................................................19
3.1 City of Greenville, South Carolina.............................................................19
3.2 Greenville Transit Authority......................................................................20
3.3 County of Greenville, South Carolina.......................................................20
3.4 Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study...........................................21

4.

Grant Funds and Sources...............................................................................21

GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)
5.

Selection Criteria...........................................................................................21
5.1 Safety.....................................................................................................21
5.2 State of Good Repair..............................................................................22
5.3 Economic Competitiveness.......................................................................22
5.4 Quality of Life........................................................................................22
5.4.1 Create affordable and convenient transportation choices....................23
5.4.2 Provide more transportation choices..................................................23
5.4.3 Decrease household transportation costs............................................24
5.4.4 Reduce dependence on oil................................................................24
5.4.5 Improve air quality............................................................................24
5.4.6 Promote public health.......................................................................25
5.5 Environmental Sustainability.....................................................................25
5.6 Innovation...............................................................................................26
5.7 Partnerships.............................................................................................26

6. Benefit-Cost Analysis......................................................................................27
7. Project Readiness...........................................................................................28
7.1 NEPA / Environmental Review...................................................................29
7.2 Legislative Approvals and Project Sustainability..........................................29
7.3 State and Local Planning...........................................................................29
7.4 Community Support and Partnership Agreements.......................................30
8. Federal Wage Rate Certification......................................................................30

GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Proposed Transportation Network.............................................................4
Figure 2: Greenlink Existing Routes.........................................................................6
Figure 3: Overall Project Map................................................................................7
Figure 4: Project Location Map.............................................................................16

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Greenville County HPSA Designation........................................................12
Table 2: Travel Demand/System Strategies.............................................................14
Table 3: Proposed Transit Stations..........................................................................17
Table 4: Greenville Neighborhoods Below Poverty Level 2013................................18
Table 5: Major Employment Centers......................................................................19
Table 6: TIGER VII Budget Summary Table.............................................................21
Table 7: Funding Sources (Partnerships).................................................................26
Table 8: Summary of BCA Results..........................................................................27
Table 9: Summary of Project Benefits by Criteria Category.....................................27

APPENDICES
A. Project Budget (Excel document)
B. Sectional Project Maps (PDF)
C. State of Air Quality Greenville County, SC (PDF)
D. Memorandums of Agreement/Understanding (PDF)
E. Letters of Commitment/Support (PDF)
F. Benefit-Cost Analysis (Excel document)
G. Benefit-Cost Analysis (PDF)
H. Project Schedule
I. Greenville City and Greenville County Resolutions
J. Pre-Application Budget Update

GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE AT: ftp.greenvillesc.gov
Username: GreenlinkGrant
Password: Gr33n!1nk
2010 Greenlink Transit Vision and Master Plan
2013 Greenville Health Systems (GHS) Community Health Needs Assessment
Connections For Sustainability: Bus Rapid Transit and Transit Oriented Development Study
Connections For Sustainability: West Side Comprehensive Plan
GPATS Long Range Transportation Plan
Swamp Rabbit Trail Impact Study Year 3

GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Greenville, Greenville Transit Authority/Greenlink and Greenville County, South
Carolina are leading a collaborative effort that brings together more than 40 regional partners
including municipalities, private corporations, non-profit organizations, educational institutions
and others to address one of the region’s biggest barriers to economic and workforce development.
Greenlink: Creating Circuits of Economic Success addresses the recognition that limited
public transportation is the greatest obstacle to jobs, educational opportunities, better health care
and healthy living for all Greenville County residents. Long touted as a missing link by those
in the non-profit and social services arenas, a robust public transportation system now is understood to be a critical and key ingredient to the long-term success of existing business, and future
economic development in Greenville County. For example, recent interviews with more than 300
Greenville County manufacturing employers identified two key areas that, if upgraded, would
significantly address the retention and productivity of entry level workers. The first was overall
improvement of basic math and soft skills needed by employers at all levels. The second is the
ability of employees to get to the workplace.
This project is poised to help implement many of the planning efforts completed as part of the
Community Challenge/TIGER II planning grant received in 2010 by the City of Greenville. One
outcome of the TIGER II planning grant was a transit feasibility study which examined the potential for a BRT that would connect the West Side and downtown with the Clemson University’s
International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) via an abandoned railroad right of
way. The study recommended starting in phases and proposed activating the railroad corridor
initially with a greenway and increasing transit ridership in this area by supporting enhanced
routes that utilized Laurens Road. This application proposes an extension of the Swamp Rabbit
Trail which will help activate the railroad right of way and likely begin economic development
along the corridor. Likewise the proposed Gold Line will traverse the Highway 276/Laurens
Road corridor helping to increase ridership in this area and generally throughout the city.
An additional component of the TIGER II planning grant was the development of the West Side
Comprehensive Plan which addresses the high unemployment of the area with recommendations
to improve the transit network and to initiate a trolley route to the West Side. The creation of an
expanded transit network and extension of service times, as proposed, will help West Side residents connect to areas of employment and opportunities for training. The Greenlink project will
also add a circulator bus that serves the West Side helping to connect more residents to the larger
transit network and linking destinations within the West Side.
This TIGER VII application represents an extraordinary cooperative partnership between the
City of Greenville and Greenville County officials to implement a multimodal public transportation network. The City of Greenville laid the groundwork for this collaborative
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
effort when it shouldered operations of Greenlink transit in 2008 under contract with Greenville
Transit Authority. Since that time, the City and County have supported the transit system with
annual apportionments to give Greenlink the stability it needed to improve and expand.
The foundation for multimodal integration has been in place since 2011 when local governments
came together to complete the Swamp Rabbit Trail. This 18.7-mile Rails-to-Trails greenway
begins at Greenville Technical College, crosses the City of Greenville, proceeds through Falls
Park and the campus of Furman University, and ends in the City Travelers Rest. The Swamp
Rabbit Trail Year 3 Findings study published in 2014 documented that the trail attracts 501,000
annual users and delivers a direct economic impact of $6.7 million. The success of the northern
portion of the greenway for transportation, recreation, community revitalization and economic
development has accelerated plans to extend the greenway 4.7 miles from E. Washington Street
at Cleveland Park in downtown Greenville to the Clemson University International Center for
Automotive Research and link it to a heavily-traveled transit corridor.
This project requests $13.61 million in TIGER VII Discretionary Grant Funds to assist with the
creation of north-south and east-west transit express routes that connect the farthest points of
Greenville County. Fed by new neighborhood circulators, existing bus routes and an activated
railroad corridor, Greenville County can revitalize underserved communities and launch new
development for the betterment of all Greenville County citizens.

1. GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS OVERVIEW
1.1 THE INITIATIVE
Greenlink: Creating Circuits of Economic Success will transform Greenville’s existing public transit system into a regional transportation network designed to reach the farthest points of the county
with trunk lines extending from Travelers Rest in northern Greenville County to Fountain Inn in
southern Greenville County and from Greer in the eastern part of the County to the South Carolina
Technology and Aviation Center (SCTAC) in the west, with reduced headways and expanded hours
of service to better accommodate flexible work schedules and manufacturing shift changes.
Served by zero-emission electric buses, two trunk lines – the Gold Line and the Blue Line - create
the core of an innovative transit network that not only makes jobs, education and health care more
accessible to all Greenville County residents, but addresses road congestion, air quality and oil dependency issues. Twenty-four transit stations equipped with electronic pay capability dot the trunk
lines, serving as connection points for town and neighborhood circulators. Transit stations adjacent
to the existing and proposed extension of the Swamp Rabbit Greenway feature bike-share equipment to provide multimodal integration that helps to address transit’s ‘last-mile’ dilemma.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
Running on Greenville’s major transportation corridors, the Gold and Blue express lines will serve
east-west and north-south routes that have the capability to integrate with future high-speed rail
service that could connect Greenville with large metropolitan areas such as Columbia, Charlotte
and Atlanta. For example, the Gold Line makes a direct connection with Greenville’s Amtrak station and follows the route that was the subject of a January 2013 feasibility study for Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) and Transit Oriented Development along the Highway 276/Laurens Road corridor.
This study was a component of Greenville’s HUD Community Challenge Planning & DOT Tiger
II Planning Grant project entitled Connections for Sustainability: Linking Greenville’s Neighborhoods to Jobs and Open Spaces (Connections for Sustainability).
In addition to the BRT/TOeD study, Connections for Sustainability yielded the West Greenville
Comprehensive Plan. This plan used a robust public engagement process to unify components of
previous studies and provide policy, development and infrastructure recommendations for Greenville’s West Side-an area that encompasses three neighborhoods and, unfortunately, struggles
with a high number of residential and commercial vacancies and a disproportionate share of the
area’s economic distress. As a natural extension of the West Side Comprehensive Plan and the
broader Connections for Sustainability project, this project application calls for nine circulator
routes to serve the city’s West Side and other inner city neighborhoods, along with the cities of
Travelers Rest, Greer, Mauldin, Simpsonville and Fountain Inn, touching every municipality and
urban area in Greenville County. For the first time, Greenville’s transportation network will extend to underserved pockets of the county to establish connections to employment, health, commercial and educational centers.
Additionally, this project activates Greenville County’s railroad corridor to extend the Swamp
Rabbit Trail from East Washington Street in downtown Greenville to the Clemson University
Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). Parallel to the Gold trunk line, this activated greenway creates an inextricable, multimodal link to communities such as Arcadia Hills, a neighborhood in a distressed area of the county whose redevelopment was made possible by two federal
HOPE VI grants, as well as Verdae, a master-planned, mixed use development with immediate
access to the greenway and the Gold trunk line. Activation of the greenway will catalyze this
much-studied transportation corridor, which is ripe for transit-oriented development.
The total cost of this project is $24.04 million. The City of Greenville, Greenville County and
Greenlink are requesting that 56.63 percent of this project come from the TIGER VII grant program. Local partners have committed more than $10.42 million to help fund this transformative
project, and both Greenville City Council and Greenville County Council have passed resolutions to increase annual apportionments to Greenlink, the local transit provider, to assist with
ongoing operations of the region’s expanded public transportation system. The complete Project
Budget is attached as Appendix A.
A schematic of the proposed Transportation Network appears on page 4 in Figure 1.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS

FIGURE 1: Proposed Transportation Network

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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
1.2 THE USERS
Presently, Greenlink covers about 227 square miles of Greenville County’s sprawling
785-square-mile footprint. This project will allow public transportation in Greenville County, for
the first time, to help alter what has become a car-dependent community, connecting the unemployed and working poor to educational institutions and major jobs hubs located at the farthest
reaches of the region. A map of Greenlink’s existing system appears on page 6 in Figure 2,
followed by an overall project map of the proposed system on page 7 in Figure 3.
1.2.1 The Presently Unconnected
Ridership of the transformed Greenlink system will include residents from now unconnected
communities such as Greer, Fountain Inn and Travelers Rest who are seeking training or employment at concentrated business and manufacturing centers along the I-385 Corridor, at SCTAC
and in the city of Greer. It also will encompass Greenville’s special emphasis neighborhoods
that when coupled with now unlinked communities and municipalities touches a new population
totaling 57,210.
There also is expected to be an increase in usage of the new transportation system by present
Greenlink passengers. For example, those who cannot use transit to return from jobs or other
destinations because of limited service hours will be able to ride the expanded system until 9:30
p.m. and on Sundays.
1.2.2 Non Transit-Dependent
In addition to low- to moderate-income residents living in areas currently not served by Greenlink transit, ridership of the new transportation network is expected to include those who will
ride by choice. Public opinion surveys conducted for the Greenlink Transit Vision and Master
Plan published in July 2010 show three major factors influencing the use of public transportation by Greenville County residents: Convenience to your home – 68%; Convenience to your
job – 67%; and How often the bus arrives – 60%. This project addresses survey concerns with a
geographical expansion of routes, extended service hours and reduced headways making a transit
commute to work much more practical and convenient. It also includes amenities preferred by
choice riders such as fewer stops, upgraded pay capability and real-time bus information.
Moreover, this project encourages multimodal transportation options for those living and working along Greenville County’s completed 18.7-mile greenway and the five-mile extension proposed in this project. Neighborhoods along the greenway include: Nicholtown, a community of
more than 3,000 where households are largely defined as lower-income and many earning below
$25,000 annually; Arcadia Hills, a neighborhood of 535 residents in a distressed area of the
county where redevelopment was made possible by two federal HOPE VI grants; Southernside,
a community with 36.6 percent of households living below the federal poverty level; and West
Side, an 1,100-member community that is the subject of the West Side Comprehensive Plan.
Located in a more urban setting than its northern counterpart, the southern portion of the Swamp
Rabbit Trail also advances a sustainable connection to nearby retail and education
centers.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS

FIGURE 2: Greenlink Existing Routes

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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS

FIGURE 3: Overall Project Map
(Sectional Project Maps are attached as Appendix B.)

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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
1.2.3 Students and Workforce Development
Greenville County’s new transportation network will underscore a commitment to ladders of
opportunity by providing service to nine colleges, universities and career development facilities
along its trunk lines. Opportunities for advancement include undergraduate and graduate degrees,
as well as certifications for those in occupational transition to quickly obtain skills matching the
needs of local business and industry. Educational options along the proposed trunk lines are
summarized below:
° Northwest Campus of Greenville Technical College near the City of Travelers Rest
which houses core programs including Patient Care Technician, Veterinary Assistant, Professional Grooming and Animal Care, and Culinary programs.
° The Buck Mickel Center for Corporate and Career Development in the city of Greenville, which houses most of the continuing education options offered by Greenville Technical
College. Here, students can change their futures quickly with short-term training options to meet
real industry needs, and employers can design programs to re-certify or advance the skills of
the current workforce. Center enrollees totaled 12,525 in 2014, with 11,509 persons completing
training and/or receiving certifications. More than 363 Greenville area companies were served by
Greenville Tech’s corporate and career development division in 2014.
° Barton Campus of Greenville Technical College in the city of Greenville, which houses
most of the college’s program options, as well as the full scope of student services. The academic head count at Greenville Technical College was 13,457 in 2013, with part-time, commuter
students representing 60 percent of the total enrollment. The Barton Campus also has housing for
more than 100 international students without access to a personal vehicle.
° Brashier Campus of Greenville Technical College in the city of Simpsonville, which
houses core programs including Nursing, Respiratory Care, Welding, Industrial Maintenance/
Mechatronics and Fire Science.
° Benson Campus of Greenville Technical College in the city of Greer, which houses core
programs including Visual and Performing Arts, Physical Therapist Assistant, Occupational
Therapy Assistant, Health Information Management, Personal Training, Pharmacy Technician,
and Massage Therapy.
° South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center (SCTAC), the home of Greenville
Technical College’s large-scale transportation programs. The former Donaldson Air Base houses
Greenville Tech’s Federal Aviation Administration-approved Aircraft Maintenance Technology
program and the Truck Driver Training program.
° Furman University, a private liberal arts institution with approximately 2,750 students,
many of whom do not own personal vehicles. Furman also is home to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute where more than 1,200 senior adults from across Greenville County enroll in courses to further learning, health and well-being, personal connection, creativity and enjoyment. The
Furman campus is open to the Greenville community and is widely used by area residents for
recreation, sporting events and special events.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
° University Center with course offerings from Anderson University, Clemson University,
Furman University, SC State University, the University of South Carolina, USC-Upstate and
Greenville Technical College.
° Bob Jones University, a Christian college with approximately 3,000 students living on
campus and in nearby student housing. Student concerts, plays, art exhibits and seasonal events
are open to the general public, giving members of the Greenville community many opportunities throughout the year to travel to the Bob Jones campus located on Wade Hampton Boulevard/
Highway 29 – an arterial road that is the transportation corridor connecting Greenville to the
cities of Greer and Spartanburg.
° Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research which boasts a global student population representing 17 countries. The 250-acre CU-ICAR in Greenville is midway
between Charlotte and Atlanta on the Interstate 85 corridor. The Center is strategically focused
on automotive and motorsports research and composed of five technology neighborhoods, each
designed for optimizing an innovative and collaborative environment. The CU-ICAR campus
presently serves as a mini-hub for Greenlink and a model for regional transit in the area. A commuter route with hourly service to Clemson’s main campus in Pickens County, a circulator route
connecting CU-ICAR with the University Center and Clemson’s downtown Greenville campus,
and the CU-ICAR/St. Francis Shuttle with service to student housing and medical facilities on
Greenville’s Eastside meet hourly at CU-ICAR. These three routes post an average monthly
ridership of 7,300.
° The Center for Manufacturing Innovation (CMI), a collaborative partnership between
Clemson University and Greenville Technical College to be located at CU-ICAR. This center
will offer dual-credit programs in partnership with Greenville County Schools, bridge programs
allowing students to move from associate’s degree to bachelor’s degree, and workforce training.
° Goodwill Job Connection where unemployed or underemployed Greenvillians can take
GED classes, receive computer training and take advantage of other services to prepare them for
the workplace.
1.3 THE CHALLENGE
Access to almost everything associated with economic opportunity and upward progress —jobs,
health care, healthy foods and schools— relies on the ability to get around in an efficient and
affordable manner. Non profits in Greenville County are increasingly raising this issue as one of
the primary barriers to progress in our area. According to the United Way of Greenville County,
one out of every four participants in programs offered by its member agencies lists transportation
as a major barrier to achieving financial stability and self sufficiency.
The Piedmont Health Foundation, a local philanthropic foundation, recently named public transit
and health and human service transportation in Greenville County as the focus for its research
and advocacy. Foundation officials say that for years its grantees have cited the lack of a comprehensive countywide transit system as the primary obstacle to health care, employment, access
to healthy foods, education, and more. Service providers to the homeless and low
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
income families, in particular, have named the lack of public transportation as the number one
factor that keeps residents in poverty; without access to jobs, which may be located in farther
reaches of the county, people remain in the cycle of dependence.
To address this, Piedmont Health Foundation has hired CDM Smith and Arnett Muldrow and
Associates to conduct a sweeping study of public transit and health and human services transportation. The study is underway and will be completed in Fall 2015. A number of community
meetings and focus groups held as of this writing have reinforced the notion that the lack of a
comprehensive public transit system is the primary barrier to many county residents obtaining
and maintaining employment, including:
° Residents in the rural northern and southern areas of Greenville County that do not own
personal vehicles can take only minimum wage jobs in fast food restaurants and gas stations
within walking distance from their homes.
° Residents in Greenville’s urban core who complete job training through Greenville Technical College may be offered jobs with higher pay in manufacturing facilities located outside of
Greenlink’s service area or on second or third shift, but are unable to accept employment due to a
lack of transportation.
° Many residents with no vehicles and with jobs outside of Greenlink’s service area or hours
use taxis to get to work. At minimum wage pay, they are spending the first half of their day working to cover their commute.
° Some residents have bicycles, but a lack of full connectivity, particularly to lower income
neighborhoods along busy commercial corridors like Laurens Road, prevent them from commuting by bike.
Despite Greenville’s award-winning downtown and its top ranking on lists ranging from ‘Favorite Unexpected Vacation Destination’ to ’10 Best Places To Live in the U.S.’, more than 72,000
Greenville County residents live on incomes below the federal government’s poverty index.
According to the most recent U.S. Census, the poor represent almost 16 percent of the Greenville
County population, with local media accounts routinely citing ‘limited public transportation’ as
one of the reasons many cannot break the cycle of poverty.
1.3.1 Access to Employment
Greenville is widely considered to be the manufacturing center of South Carolina and among the
most influential manufacturing centers of excellence in the country. Local manufacturing covers
a broad spectrum of industry sectors including medical, aerospace, biomedical and pharmaceutical, automotive, film and chemical, and is a burgeoning logistics center. The major concentrations of these companies are located in one of three geographic areas: in and around the city of
Greer; SCTAC; and the I-385 Corridor which includes the cities of Mauldin, Simpsonville and
Fountain Inn. Available jobs range from low-skilled, entry level positions to highly complex,
multi-tiered advanced manufacturing tasks.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
Organizations such as SC Works, Greenville Works and Greenville Technical College offer programs to boost adult basic math skills and the soft skills needed to obtain better jobs and to succeed in the workplace. As a result, many more qualified entry level workers are poised to enter
the Greenville County workforce. Unfortunately, many of these residents currently are trapped in
poverty or in jobs without hope of advancement because they have no transportation options for
getting to work. Resolution of this paradox requires solutions that address both education and access to the workplace. The alternative is a continued environment of high employee turnover and
well-trained entry-level candidates without access to work.
1.3.2 Access to Better Health
AccessHealth Greenville County, a collaborative partnership between Safety Net providers,
community partners, and funding from The Duke Endowment, aims to connect low income,
uninsured residents of Greenville County to a medical facility. The common vision shared by AccessHealth SC partners is to develop and sustain a coordinated system-wide network that results
in better health outcomes and increased access to safe, timely, efficient, equitable, and patientcentered care for low-income uninsured residents.
South Carolina traditionally has seen rates of uninsured well above the national average. While
the Affordable Care Act has made some impact by expanding coverage by private insurance and
by prompting those eligible for Medicare to enroll, the lack of Medicaid expansion by the state
still leaves far too many low income residents without coverage. In addition, death rate trends
tracked by South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) over
the last two decades indicate increasing rates of heart disease and diabetes-related deaths in
Greenville County, higher than both the U.S. rates and peer county rates.
This project will improve access to work, thereby improving access to employer-sponsored
health insurance coverage for Greenville County residents. It also will improve access to health
care facilities, connecting residents with medical facilities to help prevent and manage chronic
diseases. According to Greenville Health System’s 2013 Community Health Needs Assessment,
17 percent of Greenvillians presently have no health insurance and 48 percent are medically
underserved. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 17.52 percent of Greenville adults self-report that they do not
have at least one person they think of as their personal doctor or health care provider, with these
individuals more likely to end up in the emergency room.
It is believed that this project will help reduce the 78.75 percent of Greenville County’s population that is living in an area designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). See
Table 1 on the following page.
1.3.3 Funding Challenges
Like many transit systems across the country, Greenlink operates in an environment of limited
resources. With no dedicated funding source at the local or state levels, significant
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS

TABLE 1: Greenville County HPSA Designation
system expansion is a lengthy process that is unable to keep pace with the region’s growth and
demand. South Carolina presently ranks 43rd in the nation in transit spending per capita, with
state funds representing six percent (6%) of Greenlink’s $5 million annual operating budget. Despite funding challenges, Greenlink has realized the following expansions and improvements:
° In 2008, the City of Greenville began addressing the area’s public transportation needs in
earnest by undertaking Greenlink operations under contract with Greenville Transit Authority
(GTA). Since that time, Greenlink has expanded and experienced a steady increase in ridership.
° In 2010, Greenlink launched a new route serving the cities of Mauldin and Simpsonville,
one of the fastest growing areas of the county. This service expansion was made possible by
State Mass Transit Funds made available to these smaller, rural municipalities.
° In 2011, Greenlink introduced the CU-ICAR/St. Francis Shuttle to link the Eastside facilities
of Bon Secours St. Francis Health System and the campus of Clemson University’s International
Center for Automotive Research. Subsidized by CU-ICAR and Bon Secours Health System, this
route began with a 14-passenger van and was upgraded to a 35-passenger bus in 2013 to accommodate the growth in ridership. Around the same time, Greenlink began the Clemson Connector
to link CU-ICAR with nearby student housing and Clemson’s downtown campus.
° Also in 2013, Greenlink partnered with Clemson University to provide transportation services Monday through Friday from the university’s main campus in Pickens County to CU-ICAR
with a designated stop in Easley, SC. This subsidized service allows Clemson students, faculty
and staff to ride at no charge and members of the general public to enjoy a Clemson-to-Greenville route for a fare. Saturday service was added in 2014.
° In 2014, the procurement of two new trolleys to serve Greenville’s central business district
was made possible by a partnership between Greenlink, the City of Greenville and the Greenville
Drive, Greenville’s minor league baseball franchise. With operations subsidized by city hospitality tax, the popular downtown trolleys provide fare-free service Thursday through Sunday from
Greenville’s Historic West End to the North Main Historic District.
° In 2014, Greenlink added complimentary Wi-Fi service on all routes and implemented automatic passenger counters and bus locator technology.
Despite these valuable and much utilized improvements to the Greenlink system in recent years,
the transformative change required to fully address Greenville County’s immediate
transportation needs cannot be accomplished under present budgetary constraints.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
1.3.4 Air Quality
Another challenge facing Upstate SC (including Greenville County) is the potential to be designated non-attainment with respect to ground level ozone. On December 27, 2014, EPA proposed
“that the current primary O3 standard set at a level of 0.075 ppm is not requisite to protect public
health with an adequate margin of safety, and that it should be revised to provide increased
public health protection.” According to SCDHEC, over the past several years, South Carolina
has steadily improved ground level ozone levels. However, as EPA pursues a 0.065–0.070 ppm
range, the engagement and commitment of additional local limited resources required to respond
to the unfunded mandate could threaten Greenville County’s present position as the economic
engine of Upstate SC and capacity to generate jobs.
According to SCHDEC, “Modeling has shown that South Carolina is “NOx-limited,” which
means that reducing NOx is a much more effective strategy for lowering monitored ozone levels
in South Carolina than reducing VOCs since most of the VOCs in our state are from biogenic
sources.” The TIGER VII: Creating Circuits of Economic Success grant application does precisely that. Greenville County is a part of the Ozone Advance Program (OAP) and the Clean
Air Upstate initiative and will continue working with the Upstate SC Air Quality Coalition,
SCDHEC, and other public/private organizations to curb emissions form mobile sources through
education and transportation initiatives currently under consideration. Two of those initiatives
are included in the TIGER FY 2015 grant: moving people—pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular
traffic—more efficiently by purchasing zero emissions buses and extending the multi-modal
transportation network spine in Greenville County, the Swamp Rabbit Trail (SRT), to connect
low-to-middle income residential, commercial, educational, and health care communities to this
important transportation corridor. This new and connected mode of transportation would provide
Greenvillians the opportunity to begin changing their driving-alone culture, hence, reducing
emissions. A report entitled State of Air Quality Greenville County, SC is attached as Appendix C.
1.4 GETTING AROUND GREENVILLE
Greenville County’s crumbling infrastructure and unsafe road conditions are well documented.
In 2013, for the third consecutive year, Greenville County ranked in the top five in AAA Carolinas’ annual list of South Carolina’s most dangerous counties for collisions. Ranking second in
the state for collisions for three years straight, Greenville County averaged 334.5 crashes per 100
million vehicle miles traveled.
1.4.1 Infrastructure
In a state that has not raised its gas tax since 1987, the price tag to bring South Carolina roads
and bridges up to an acceptable level is estimated to be about $1.5 billion a year or more until
2040, based on SC Department of Transportation’s (SCDOT) estimate that the state has a $42
billion funding shortfall. Some counties in South Carolina have decided to go it alone by raising
their sales tax by one percent for a limited time in order to make local repairs. Greenville County
voters overwhelmingly rejected that approach on November 4, 2014, with many voters saying
they were looking to the state to repair roads. Local business leaders got little trac13

GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
tion in driving home the point that economic growth eventually will be threatened by roads in
such poor condition. As the South Carolina Upstate region, with Greenville at its core, continues
to grow from 1.4 million residents today to a projected 1.62 million in 2030, ensuring proper
transportation and infrastructure that supports business and employment growth while continuing
to get people and freight from place to place is critical. According to data from the GreenvillePickens Area Transportation Study (GPATS), Greenville County residents travel approximately
17 miles daily to work and back. Trips to school and back average 12 miles, with trips to doctor’s
appointments, shopping and other destinations accounting for an average of 10 miles daily.
1.4.2 Congestion
Congestion is an ongoing concern for Greenville County as the region continues to develop as
a business center and grows in popularity as a top retirement area. The Greenville-Pickens Area
Transportation Study’s Long Range Transportation Plan ranks the Top 20 Congested Facilities
in the Greenville area, using congestion intensity and congestion extent as variables. Congestion
intensity typically is recognized as the average delay experienced by travelers, with congestion
extent examining the number of travelers affected.
Three arterial roads proposed as trunk line routes for the expanded Greenville transportation
network rank in the Top 10 on the most congested list - Pleasantburg Drive, Wade Hampton Boulevard (US 29) and Rutherford Road. The GPATS Long Range Transportation Plan lists seven
strategies for Travel Demand Management (TDM) and nine for Travel System Management
(TSM) under congestion mitigation strategies. This project directly and/or indirectly addresses
five TDM strategies and three TSM strategies:

TABLE 2: Travel Demand/System Strategies

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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
In addition to improved and expanded transit, this plan calls for the creation of well-placed parkand-ride facilities to encourage higher transit use and to further support traffic mitigation strategies. Negotiations with project partners has yielded Memorandums of Agreement/Understanding
(found in Appendix D.) for the placement of park-and-ride facilities at each of the project’s four
termini stations, as well as the Midtown Transfer Center at University Center and CU-ICAR. It is
believed that informal park-and-rides will become a natural by-product of this project, developing along trunk lines as well as along the greenway corridor.
Components of this project also are being considered as SCDOT in conjunction with GreenvillePickens Area Transportation Study and Spartanburg Area Transportation Study search for a design/
build partner to construct park-and-ride facilities to assist traffic mitigation on Interstate 85 and
Wade Hampton Boulevard (US 29). This major route connecting Greenville with Spartanburg represents the eastern leg of this project’s proposed Blue Line.
For its part, Greenlink has taken hundreds of cars daily off I-85 with its Clemson Commuter
service from CU-ICAR to Clemson’s main campus in Pickens County. Average monthly ridership for the commuter service is 3,876. Overall in the past five years, Greenlink has experienced
a steady increase in ridership, growing from 734,102 in 2010 to 1,030,000 in 2014. Ridership
increases are attributed to the county’s exploding population growth and the introduction of new
routes – notably the Clemson Commuter as noted above, and Rt. 14 to Mauldin-Simpsonville.
Known as the Golden Strip, these municipalities along the I-385 corridor are home to four of the
five fastest growing zip codes in Greenville County.
2. PROJECT LOCATION
This project effectively covers the public transportation needs of an expansive county by transforming a limited hub-and-spoke system into a regional transportation network that reaches into
nearby Laurens County at Fountain Inn and just shy of the North Carolina border in Travelers
Rest. Route expansion combined with extended hours of service and reduced headways will
create a transportation network that is practical and convenient for many more county residents.
Incorporation of the existing and proposed Swamp Rabbit Trail greenway completes the plan for
a multimodal nexus that is a catalyst for community revitalizations and economic opportunities
throughout much of the county.
2.1 Project Metro
Situated in the northwest corner of South Carolina, Greenville County is located along the megagrowth I-85 corridor between Atlanta, GA to the south (145 miles) and Charlotte, NC to the north
(102 miles). The county seat of Greenville is located 101 miles from the capital city of Columbia
and only 200 miles from the port city of Charleston.
Greenville County is at the center of a region considered to be the economic engine of South
Carolina. Since its beginning as a small farming community in 1786, Greenville County has
grown into a large and diverse metropolitan area and one of the southeast region’s
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF
premier areas for business. Over
the past 35 years, Greenville has
transitioned from the textile capital of the world to an area with a
diverse industry base that includes
corporate offices, manufacturing, and warehousing/distribution
operations. Greenville is now home
to world-class companies such as
Lockheed, Michelin, General Electric, and IBM.
Greenville is the largest county in
South Carolina with a population
of 482,752, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau’s 2014 estimate,
and represents 10 percent of the
FIGURE 4: Project Location
population of South Carolina. By
comparison, Greenville is almost
20 percent larger than South Carolina’s second largest county, which is Richland at 399,256. As
further comparison, Charleston County population is 363,282 and nearby Spartanburg County is
290,929. U.S. Census figures reveal 574.7 persons per square mile occupy Greenville County’s
785-square-mile expanse, with a population that has almost doubled since 1990. At a growth rate
of 46 percent from 1990 to 2011, Greenville County’s population has increased faster than the
Upstate region of South Carolina and the United States, translating into 8,000 new county residents each year.
Greenville is one of the 10 counties that comprise the Upstate region of South Carolina. The
Upstate population has been steadily increasing, growing from 1,220,516 in 2000 to 1,395,624
in 2013 and representing a 1.1 percent annual increase since 2000. Population of the Greenville
MSA - now comprised of Greenville, Anderson, Laurens and Pickens counties - grew from
725,680 in 2000 to 850,965 in 2013, a 1.3 percent increase for the same period.
2.2 Project Components
The proposed multimodal transportation network includes:
° Two trunk lines served by zero-emission, electric buses. Two buses traveling each direction will achieve 30-minute headways designed to move passengers in a timely manner to jobs,
educational opportunities, health care needs and other daily destinations. Trunk lines travel four
quadrants in Greenville County, with termini at the farthest points of the county where the largest
concentration of jobs are located. Trunk line buses will converge for re-charging and transfers at
the Midtown Hub located at University Center.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
° A North-South express line that begins in downtown Travelers Rest and runs adjacent to
the existing Swamp Rabbit Trail through Furman University and Cherrydale Shopping Center.
The Gold Line passes through the West Side community and by the Amtrak Rail Station, on to
the Greenlink Transfer Center downtown, and then through the East Washington and Ackley/
Nicholtown communities en route to the new central transfer station at Midtown/University
Center. From there, it runs along the proposed extension of the Swamp Rabbit Trail to Haywood
Mall, the Verdae Neighborhood, CU-ICAR and through the central business districts of Mauldin,
Simpsonville and Fountain Inn. The CU-ICAR stop will continue to serve as a connecting point
for Greenlink’s existing Clemson Commuter, Clemson Connector and CU-ICAR/St. Francis
Shuttle routes.
° An East-West express line that runs from downtown Greer through Taylors, passing by Bob
Jones University, the TD Convention Center and the Greenville Downtown Airport before meeting with the Gold Line at Midtown/ University Center. The ‘Blue Line’ continues on to the main
campus of Greenville Technical College and the Augusta Road neighborhood, and ends at the
South Carolina Aviation and Technology Center.
° Twenty-four (24) transit stations with shelters, electronic pay equipment and next bus
signage are spaced along each route. Electronic pay capability will speed the boarding process
allowing trunk line routes to achieve maximum express capability. The table below illustrates
station amenities and community connections.

TABLE 3: Proposed Transit Stations.

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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
° Nine new circulator routes served by trolleys or 14-passenger cutaways will be created for
the City of Travelers Rest, West Side Community/Amtrak Station, Haywood Retail Center, Verdae Neighborhood, City of Mauldin, City of Simpsonville, City of Fountain Inn, City of Greer
and Rutherford Road. Circulator routes are designed to serve destinations for daily living and
quality of life in each area.
° Park-and-ride facilities located at each termini station for passenger convenience and to support the region’s traffic mitigation strategies.
° Two EV charging stations for maximum operational efficiency.
° Buses equipped with triple transit racks to complement bicycle travel and achieve maximum
multimodal system integration.
° New bike-share equipment will be located at 14 transit stations located parallel to the existing and to-be-activated portions of the Swamp Rabbit Trail greenway. Designed for multimodal
integration, these bike-shares will complement eight bike-share stations already in use in the City
of Greenville.
° A five-mile extension of the Swamp Rabbit Trail from E. Washington Street in downtown
Greenville to CU-ICAR. Transformation of this 4.7-mile neglected railroad corridor into an
active greenway will connect underserved communities and offer access to the larger transportation network.
° Greenway connectivity will be created to Arcadia Hills, a special emphasis neighborhood in
a distressed area of the county whose redevelopment was made possible by two federal HOPE VI
grants. This connection will serve as a pilot safety program and working model for future community connections to the multimodal transportation corridor.
2.3 Project Demographics
According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, per capita personal income in Greenville
County in 2013 was $40,257 and median household income was $45,818, however 16.1 percent
of county residents had incomes below the federal poverty level compared with 14.1 percent
statewide. Median household incomes for neighborhoods emphasized in this project appear in
the table below:

TABLE 4: Greenville Neighborhoods Below Poverty Level 2013

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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
The Greenville Transit Authority Transit Development Plan 2006-2011 (TDP) provided an assessment of transit markets and transit-dependent populations, including minority, elderly, lowincome, disabled and youth populations. The TDP noted that low-income and minority populations are concentrated west and southwest of downtown Greenville. Elderly populations are
concentrated east and southeast. In addition, clusters of transit-dependent populations live in the
northern part of the county along White Horse Road and in the Berea community.
Greenlink’s service area presently touches many of these areas, with a ridership that is almost
entirely transit-dependent. According to an on-board survey conducted for the Greenlink Marketing Plan 2012-2017, current riders primarily use the Greenlink system to commute to work. The
most prominent secondary uses include accessing medical appointments, school/job training and
shopping. Most riders (71 percent) utilize the service five to seven times per week, and nearly all
access bus shelters and stops by walking.
It cannot be overstated that this project will, for the first time, connect thousands of county residents to jobs, education and training opportunities, better health care options, and recreational
and leisure possibilities. It will link employers in manufacturing clusters at the farthest points of
the county with potential employees living miles away without any means of transportation. It
will help reduce turnover rates for business and industry, and help many county residents break
the cycle of poverty. Major industries to be served by this project are located in three primary
areas of the county. Those areas appear in the table below.

TABLE 5: Major Employment Centers. Source: ESRI Business Summary, D&B 2014.

3. PROJECT PARTIES
3.1 City of Greenville
The grant applicant for Greenlink: Creating Circuits of Economic Success is the City of Greenville, SC. Incorporated in 1831, the city adopted the Council-Manager form of government in
1976. The Council-Manager form consists of an elected City Council, which is responsible for
policy making, and a professional City Manager, appointed by the council, who is
responsible for administration. The City Manager provides policy advice, directs the
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
daily operations of city government, handles personnel functions and is responsible for preparing
the budget.
City Council is comprised of a mayor elected at-large and six council members, two of whom are
elected at-large and four who are elected from their respective districts. The city employs almost
1,000 persons, providing a wide range of services. There are 10 principal functional areas of the
City, which are designed to provide governmental services in an efficient and effective manner,
while promoting quality customer service: Legislative and Administrative; Public Information
& Events; Economic & Community Development; Human Resources; Office of Management &
Budget; Police; Fire; Public Works; Parks & Recreation and Public Transportation.
The city’s FY 2015-16 operating budget totals $168,407,751, with an appropriation of $444,000 for
transit operations which is matched annually by the County of Greenville. The city began operation
of Greenville’s public transportation system in 2008 under contract with Greenville Transit Authority under the brand name, Greenlink.
3.2 Greenville Transit Authority
Greenville Transit Authority was created in 1974 by Ordinances of the City of Greenville and
Greenville County, pursuant to the Regional Transportation Authority Law, originally adopted in
1973 and later amended.
The Greenville Transit Authority is governed by a seven-member board. Two members are appointed by Greenville City Council, two by Greenville County Council, and three by the Greenville County Legislative Delegation. Under GTA’s contract with the City of Greenville, the GTA
Board retains all duties, powers and responsibilities defined in State law. These responsibilities
include the duty to purchase, lease, own, operate or provide for the operation of transportation
facilities and services.
3.3 County of Greenville
Greenville County is organized as a Council-Administrator form of local government, which
combines the political leadership of 12 elected officials—representing 12 single-member districts
to a four-year term —with the professional experience of an appointed local government administrator. Under the Council-Administrator form, power is concentrated in the elected Council,
which hires a professional administrator to implement its policies. The county administrator has
responsibility for preparing the budget, directing day-to-day operations, hiring and dismissing
personnel, and serving as the Council’s chief policy advisor.
Greenville County government is organized into seven basic financial areas of service delivery.
Each group is organized according to its functional area and services provided: administrative
services, general services, community development and planning, fiscal services, public safety,
judicial services, and law enforcement services. Greenville County’s FY 2015 budget totals
$226,846,880, which includes an apportionment of $355,000 for transit operations.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
3.4 Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study (GPATS)
As the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Greenville-Pickens Urbanized Area,
the Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study plans and prioritizes all of the federally-funded
transportation improvements through most of Greenville County and parts of surrounding counties, including the municipalities of Central, Clemson, Easley, Fountain Inn, Greenville, Greer,
Liberty, Mauldin, Norris, Pelzer, Pendleton, Pickens, Simpsonville, Travelers Rest, West Pelzer,
and Williamston.

4. GRANT FUNDS AND SOURCES
Greenlink: Creating Circuits of Economic Success has a total project cost of $24,036,220.
Local entities have signed Memorandums of Agreement to fund $10,425,183 of the total project.
The amount of TIGER VII discretionary funds requested to support this project is $13,611,037 or
56.63 percent of the total cost. There are no past or pending Federal requests associated with this
project. No funds have been provided for this project under other Federal programs. A budget
summary table for this project appears below. A detailed Project Budget with supporting tabs in
included as Appendix A.

TABLE 6: TIGER VII Budget Summary Table

5. SELECTION CRITERIA
Safe driving, convenient and reliable access to the daily destinations, breathing fresh and clean
air, being physically active and avoiding excessive stress are a few of the well-known steps
toward living a healthy life. A multimodal transportation system addresses all of these livability
factors.
5.1 Safety
Bus related accidents have one-twentieth the passenger fatality rates of automobile travel. Moreover, areas with high public transit movement tend to have better overall security and reduced
crime rates, according to the American Public Transportation Association. An expanded transportation network will increase public safety throughout Greenville County by reducing traffic
congestion and the potential for traffic accidents. According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting
System, in Greenville County in 2008, for every 100 million vehicles miles traveled
1.27 fatalities occurred. Exposure to roadway accidents and injury is linked directly
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
to continuing increases in vehicle miles traveled, which, between 1980 and 2000, grew more than
three times faster than the population according to the Highway Statistics Series from the FHWA.
Additionally, this project builds a foundation to combat further urban sprawl by encouraging Transit Oriented Development along greenways and transit stations. These neighborhoods designed for
cycling, walking and transit will provide good connectivity and traffic calming features that help
reduce vehicle use and help control speeds.
5.2 State of Good Repair
This project will accelerate the transition of Greenlink’s fleet from diesel to zero-emission, electric
buses. Not only are electric buses more environmentally friendly, but overall vehicle performance
is improved. In addition to reducing air pollution, electric engines cause far less vibration throughout the vehicle, increasing the life of the bus and reducing maintenance requirements. This new
transportation network also will reduce wear and tear on Greenville County presently neglected
roadways. And it will be a catalyst for a modal shift in Greenville County that encourages the use
of a multimodal transportation network that includes transit and bicycle usage for transportation
and better health.
No one thinks about air sheds as infrastructure that is required for communities to thrive and
increase their local and global economic competitiveness when they are maintained in a ‘state of
good repair’. The proposed transportation modal shifts for Greenville County would be a catalyst
project that is expected to influence people’s commuting habits moving from individual driving
to mass transit use. Changes in driving behavior and using mass transit would assist the county
in light of EPA’s revision to the ground level ozone standard as people move using zero-emission
buses, which could help in maintaining the Upstate SC region in attainment.
5.3 Economic Competitiveness
Once dependent on textile manufacturing and related industries, Greenville County’s economy
has evolved into a diverse mix of domestic and international companies. An expansive multimodal transportation network will further stimulate the Greenville economy by enhancing workforce development, recruitment and retention. This project addresses Greenville County’s immediate and critical need of connecting low-to-moderate income residents with areas of the county
where more than 30,500 jobs exist. And it will lessen the financial burden of many residents by
alleviating the need to purchase, maintain and operate a personal vehicle, leaving disposable
income for better living arrangements, healthy food, and medical services.
5.4 Quality of Life
This project is poised to help implement many of the planning efforts completed as part of the
Community Challenge/TIGER II planning grant awarded to the City of Greenville in FY2010.
The grant funded the Connections for Sustainability project, a three year planning effort focused
on building connections between affordable housing, transportation options, economic development opportunities, and open space for the City with a focus on the City’s West
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
Side. The project undertook a multi-faceted outreach and educational campaign that included
the utilization of a Livability Educator who worked closely with local schools and teachers to
develop the Livability Curriculum which engaged students on topics related to the community,
transportation, and the environment. The discussion was then expanded community-wide with a
monthly movie series and speaker series that focused on ways in which we can live, work, play,
and grow more sustainably.
The Connections for Sustainability project completed a variety of planning efforts including a
Citywide Housing Strategy, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Transit Oriented-Economic Development (TOeD) Feasibility Study, a City Park Master Plan, and the West Side Comprehensive
Plan. The Citywide Housing Strategy provides a road map for increasing housing options for all
income levels, while the BRT and TOeD Feasibility Study addresses the issue of creating a more
equitable and integrated transportation system. The City Park Master Plan evaluated the potential
development of a park within a floodplain just west of downtown, and the West Side Comprehensive Plan focused on improving livability for the West Side of the City, an area which includes
three low to moderate income neighborhoods bordered by underutilized commercial corridors
and plagued with high unemployment rates and poverty. This project utilizes the findings of the
above-mentioned studies to address the following Livability Principles:
5.4.1 Create affordable and convenient transportation choices
Greenville County’s new transportation network will increase peak usage from 17 transit vehicles to 35, with no increase in Greenlink’s present fare structure. A major expansion of routes,
geographic areas of service, and a reduction in headways will make Greenlink a reliable, convenient transportation option for many more county residents.
Focus groups held as part of the Piedmont Health Foundation study now underway in Greenville County have revealed that many county residents with no vehicles and with jobs outside of
Greenlink’s service area or hours use taxis to get to and from work. At minimum wage pay, these
residents are spending the first half of their day working to cover their commutes. The price for
a five-mile taxi ride in the Greenville area presently is $17.05, compared with a one-way fare on
Greenlink at $1.50.
5.4.2 Provide more transportation choices
Not only will this project significantly increase transit options across Greenville County, it also
activates a transportation greenway for bicycle and pedestrian connectivity. The new transportation network creates express bus and circulator access to key destinations including jobs, education and health care facilities. It also offers safe biking and walking options.
For example, this project significantly expands the Greenville bike-share program from eight
stations in the urban core of the city of Greenville to 22 stations throughout the county. Stations
funded through this project will be located at transit stations to help solve “first and last mile”
issues and to help improve connectivity for residents in underserved neighborhoods
along the existing and proposed greenway extension to key locations including gro23

GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
cery stores, the Greenlink transfer center and parks.
5.4.3 Decrease household transportation costs
Transportation is the second largest expense for U.S. households, with Americans spending an
average of 18 cents of every dollar on transportation and the poorest fifth of families spending
more than double that figure. The cost of living index for transportation in Greenville County is
higher than the national average at 104, with driving alone to work ranking as the number one
mode of commuting to work at 79.43 percent. The cost to operate and maintain a car in South
Carolina is $2,186 per year: $368 for repairs; $860 for insurance; and $958 for gasoline, according to figures from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The regional transportation network outlined in this application can help lower transportation
costs for those who cannot afford a personal vehicle by making transit and biking viable options
for commuting to work and other important destinations. For those able to own and operate a
personal vehicle, the new transportation network offers an opportunity for household savings by
taking advantage of a system with greater connectivity, extended hours of operation and a significantly larger geographic reach.
5.4.4. Reduce dependence on oil
This grant proposes 10 zero-emission, electric buses on trunk lines that form the core of Greenville’s new transportation network. These efficiently-designed buses reduce dependency on
oil and fossil fuels in general. A typical diesel bus, for example, consumes approximately 238
barrels of petroleum annually, while a diesel-hybrid results in consumption of about 200 barrels.
The use of battery-electric technology eliminates oil dependency altogether.
5.4.5 Improve air quality
Chronic lower respiratory disease ranks fourth among the top ten leading causes of death in
Greenville County, according to SCDHEC. This project offers a proactive approach to improving
air quality in the region and to helping the region remain in attainment status to meet national air
quality standards. Zero-emission, electric buses will replace diesel buses along Greenville’s most
heavily traveled roads. It also creates an expanded and improved transportation network designed
to take cars off the road thereby reducing auto emissions.
The all-electric vehicles referenced in this proposal produce zero tail-pipe emissions. In fact,
there is no tailpipe and there is zero impact on local air quality. Even when emissions from energy generation are considered, these buses help reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by more
than 180,000 lbs. (CO2 equivalent) when compared with CNG buses and 174,000 lbs. when
compared with conventional diesel buses, assuming average U.S. mix for energy generation, according to Argonne GREET Fleet Footprint Calculator 2012. That is a reduction of more than 65
percent, which will continue to improve as the U.S. power grid becomes more environmentally
friendly with more energy being generated through renewable sources.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
5.4.6 Promote public health
The percentage of adults who are either overweight or obese in Greenville County is 64.9 percent,
according to the GHS Community Health Needs Assessment. Directly related to this rate are the
80.4 percent of Greenville County adults consuming under five servings of fruits and vegetables
daily and the 27.5 percent of adults engage in no leisure-time physical activity. The multimodal
transportation network outlined in this grant application addresses the critical need for lowincome residents, senior adults and disabled individuals in Greenville County to gain access to
important services and activities that improve public health. It also encourages transit-friendly,
walkable communities that reduce reliance on motor vehicles and promote higher levels of
physical activity.
5.5 Environmental Sustainability
On November 25, 2014, EPA announced that it is proposing a new Ozone standard within the
range of 0.065 ppm to 0.070 ppm with a final Ozone standard determination to be made on
October 1, 2015. In its announcement, EPA noted that “climate change has the potential to cause
increases in summertime O3 concentrations over substantial regions of the country, with increases tending to occur during higher peak pollution episodes in the summer, if offsetting emissions
reductions are not made” (Environmental Protection Agency, 2014).
According to the 2011 emissions inventory from SCDHEC, the three highest contributors of on
road NOx and VOC emissions were Greenville County (NOx: 8,402 tpy and VOC: 3,611 tpy),
Spartanburg County (NOx: 6,786 tpy and VOC: 2,513 tpy), and Anderson County (NOx: 4,412
tpy and VOC 1,659 tpy). The highest sources of on road NOx emissions were diesel heavy duty
vehicles at 50 percent and gasoline light duty vehicles at 45 percent share of total on road NOx
emissions. The highest sources of on road VOC emissions were gasoline light duty vehicles at 84
percent and diesel heavy duty vehicles with 10 percent share of total on road VOC emissions.
Anticipating a more stringent ozone standard, public and private organizations, non-profit, businesses, and industries in the Upstate region of South Carolina decided to renew discussions to
keep the region in attainment status. Collaborative efforts such as the Clean Air Upstate forum,
discussions and a multimedia public education campaign have increased awareness of air quality
issues and improvement efforts concentrated on ways to reduce emissions from mobile sources
through a no idling campaign. Other strategies recommended by the committee to reduce on road
mobile sources are synchronizing or adapting traffic lights with traffic flow; allowing right turns
on red lights; using public transportation; avoiding running errands during rush hours; trip chaining errands; carpooling to school, work, and entertainment; maintaining vehicles in good condition; and avoiding driving with under inflated tires.
This project is a proactive approach to keep the Upstate region of South Carolina in attainment
status by accelerating Greenlink’s move to zero-emission, electric buses. With zero tailpipe emissions and zero direct local impact on pollution, emissions per bus will be reduced by 146,400
pounds annually, even when considering power generation. (Source: Average US
fuel source mix for electricity, 2012 Argonne National Labs GREET model.)
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5.6 Innovation
In addition to zero-emission, electric buses offering lighter-weight composite-bodies and fastcharge capability on trunk lines, this project includes innovative transit improvements that will
help speed service and sustain the new transportation network. To achieve a more express service, transit stations will feature electronic pay equipment that eliminates the use of cash when
boarding. All transit vehicles in the network will be equipped with automatic vehicle locators and
computer aided dispatch systems to keep users better informed and to achieve better management
of data and resources for future planning. This project also contributes to technology partnerships
that exist throughout the county by increasing access to areas where this innovative work is being conducted. The International Transportation Innovation Center (ITIC) at SCTAC is a one-ofa-kind testing facility that serves as an international hub for clean transportation and advanced
vehicle communication.
5.7 Partnerships
The entities appearing in the table below have signed Memorandums of Agreement/Understanding to provide cash or in-kind matching funds for this TIGER VII application. Copies of MOAs/
MOUs are found in Appendix D. Letters of Commitment/Support are found in Appendix E.

TABLE 7: Funding Sources (Partnerships)
Discussions are underway with a number of other local partners, including CU-ICAR, regarding
in-kind and cash matches for this TIGER VII project. Several commitments are pending board
and corporate approvals but could not be obtained prior to the application deadline.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
6. BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS
The benefit-cost analysis was conducted for the Greenlink: Creating Economic Circuits of
Success project for submission to the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) as a requirement of a discretionary grant application for the TIGER VII program. The analysis was
conducted in accordance with the benefit-cost methodology as recommended by the U.S. DOT
in the Federal Register (79 FR 11854) and conducted for a 20-year analysis period following the
opening year of operations in 2018 and concluding in 2037. The costs and benefits of the project
are summarized in Table 8 over the analysis period, is expected to be $60.1 million when discounted at 7 percent, and $85.6 million when discounted at 3 percent. Benefits from this project
are estimated to be $102.8 million when discounted at 7 percent, and $161.9 million with a 3
percent discount rate. The Benefit-Cost (B/C) ratios for the 7 and 3 percent discount rates are 1.7
and 1.9, respectively.

TABLE 8: Summary of BCA Results
The beneficiaries of the project include existing and new users of the bus system and trail extensions, respectively. The bus user benefits are derived from service expansion and higher bus
frequency that decrease the generalized costs of travel for both existing and new users. The
improvements and extension of the Swamp Rabbit Trail will increase safety, travel time and connectivity for existing and new cyclists. As shown in Table 9, the improvements to the regional
bus network accounted for $77.6 million in benefits and the trail extension accounted for $25.3
million. This table also shows the breakdown of benefits by criteria category. The complete
Benefit-Cost Analysis for this project is included as Appendix F and Appendix G.

TABLE 9: Summary of Project Benefits by Criteria Category

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7. PROJECT READINESS
This project was developed after considering the recommendations of a number of feasibility
studies and plans including the Greenlink 2010 Transit Vision and Master Plan, the Connections
For Sustainability Study Management Plan for Bus Rapid Transit and Transit-Oriented Development (2013), the Greenville West Side Comprehensive Plan (2014), and the GPATS Long Range
Transportation Plan. Once a TIGER Grant Agreement is executed, Greenlink is ready to develop
procurement and specification documents to purchase buses, equipment, materials, and design
and construction of the stations.
Purchased in 1999 with local public funds, the GCEDC railroad right-of-way is ready to be
transformed into a pedestrian/bicycle greenway that will connect CU-ICAR to downtown Greenville via the Swamp Rabbit Trail at Cleveland Park. In February 2015, the GCEDC received
approval from the Surface Transportation Board to abandon the 3.29-mile of railroad line extending between mileposts AJK 585.34 and AJK 588.63 in Greenville, SC. GCEDC and Greenville
County are in the Notice of Interim Trail Use (NITU) negotiation period and Greenville County
has filed a statement of willingness to assume full responsibility for the management of the trail.
In January 2014, Upstate Forever, a local nonprofit organization that promotes sensible growth in
Upstate South Carolina, partnered with the GCEDC and contracted with a local planning and design engineering company to develop preliminary engineering drawings to build the greenway on
the 3.29 mile right-of-way. Additional preliminary engineering drawings will be needed for the
approximately 1.30-mile segment between E. Washington and S. Pleasantburg Drive, which was
abandoned in the late 1989 by CSX Transportation under Docket No. AB-55 (Sub-No. 261X). It
is expected that these drawings will be completed in a timely manner.
As part of the GCEDC/Upstate Forever partnership, Upstate Forever also initiated discussions
with property owners along the abandoned 1.30-miles segment to donate a portion of their respective property to reassemble the right-of-way to connect the GCEDC corridor to Cleveland
at E. Washington Street. Property owners signed Statement of Intent and Consent forms indicating that it is their intent to work with GCEDC and to close the transaction and “donate 50 feet of
land closest to the former railway” subject to the completion of several steps, including surveys.
Greenville County has surveyed this segment and identified seven properties that will be feasible
in reassembling the right-of-way.
What has been done thus far in preparation of reactivating the approximately five-mile railroad
right-of-way into a multimodal transportation corridor, having properties donated for the new
Gold and Blue bus lines’ stations, and additional efforts provided as cash and in-kind matches
provides this project with an advantage as far as being “shovel ready” to make sure that TIGER
funds are obligated and spent within the TIGER grant schedule and statutory requirements.
All elements of this plan are technically feasible, with proper procurement guidelines in place to
proceed as indicated in the Project Schedule, which is included as Appendix H.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
7.1 NEPA / Environmental Review
Phase I of an environmental assessment is underway to identify potential contamination on the
3.29-mile greenway corridor identified in this project between CU-ICAR and S. Pleasantburg
Drive. This environmental study is being funded by the City of Greenville’s Brownfield Assessment Grant. An additional Phase I ESA will need to be performed on the portion of the former
railroad right-of-way between E. Washington (Cleveland Park) and S. Pleasantburg Drive (approximately 1.30 miles of right-of-way that was abandoned in the late 1980s) with the authorization of property owners. This study will initiate upon execution of a TIGER Grant Agreement to
ensure timely completion of the project and compliance with the grant requirements.
The Phase I Environmental Site Assessments are being completed as part of the larger Environmental Assessment that is being initiated by the City of Greenville and will cover the extent of
the project. The City will complete consultation with all outside agencies and ensure that the
project meets all statutory and regulatory requirements following the execution of a TIGER
Grant Agreement but initial review indicates that the project will likely have a finding of no significant impact when the Environmental Assessment is concluded.
Regarding the bus termini and transfer stations, it is expected that no environmental assessments
will be required due to the fact that park-and-ride facilities will take advantage of existing lots
that only require resurfacing and striping. Greenlink’s standard stations will remain in the public
rights-of-way of SCDOT and other jurisdictions. Project mapping and development of checklists
for environmental assessment of each of the 24 proposed transit station sites has been initiated.
7.2. Legislative Approvals and Project Sustainability
Under Resolution No. 2015-20, this grant application was unanimously supported by the Greenville City Council. The resolution supports a $2.5 million match commitment toward sustainable long-term operations and management of the proposed regional multimodal transportation
network.
Under Resolution No. 1537, this grant application was unanimously approved by Greenville
County Council for sustainable long-term operations and maintenance of the projects funded
under this TIGER VII grant application. The resolution supports: a cash match of $1.5 million;
in-kind match that includes the value of the abandoned railroad corridor and staff time and equipment to extend the multi-modal SRT transportation corridor; ongoing maintenance to the Swamp
Rabbit Trail transportation corridor; and support to Greenlink’s operating budget for its expanded
transit system. City and County Resolutions are included as Appendix I.
7.3. State and Local Planning
This regional transportation network is endorsed by letters of support from the Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study and the Greenville Transit Authority Board of Directors, respective to the GPATS Long Range Transportation Plan and the Greenlink 2010 Transit Vision and
Master Plan.
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GREENLINK: CREATING CIRCUITS OF ECONOMIC SUCCESS
Future project planning includes an application for funding from the GPATS Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) to support safe pedestrian access to the Midtown Station at University
Center. Transportation planners also will work with SC DOT officials on signal prioritization for
Gold and Blue Line routes.
7.4 Community Support and Partnership Agreements
The grant application has received numerous letters of support from local, state and national
elected officials, as well as corporations, business owners, human service agencies, business and
professional organizations, municipalities, educational institutions, health organizations and others with a vested interest in improving Greenville’s multimodal transportation network. Letters
of Commitment/Support are found in Appendix E. Memorandums of Agreement/Understanding
are found in Appendix D.

PLEASE NOTE: The Project Budget in this final application has been changed since the preapplication submission. Detailed information to justify the change is included as Appendix J.
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