GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – One North Carolina group is working to make Pitt County a better place for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The official start to the BikeWalk North Carolina Transportation Summit is Friday, but the group already began pre-summit activities on Thursday. It is BikeWalk NC’s 11th annual summit, and it is the group’s first time in Greenville. Greenville Mayor PJ Connelly was part of the Walk Audit of local streets.

BikeWalk NC’s Executive Director Terry Lansdell said this summit raises awareness about active mobility.

“You could be walking, you could be running, you could be biking,” said Lansdell. “We have to have opportunities for active mobility and choices that make it safe to release the burden of automobile ownership.”

BikeWalk NC said one way to make people more actively mobile is through educational tools like traffic gardens that teach people how to share the road.

“Kids, adults, parents with their children can go there and practice cycling skills, walking skills, classrooms can use this as a resource to make sure kids know how to use crosswalks safely, cross railroad tracks, ride their bikes in bike lanes, handle intersections, all that stuff,” BikeWalk NC Vice President Steven Hardy-Braz said.

The Town of Winterville’s traffic garden will be the first of its kind in Eastern North Carolina and was put in place with help from BikeWalk NC using grant money from the American Association of Retired Persons.

Those with the town said they were looking forward to having this learning area.

“I think the traffic garden is much well-needed because, you know, cycling is very important. Anybody with kids knows how important it is,” said Winterville Mayor Ricky Hines.

The Transportation Summit welcome ceremony is Friday at 8:30 a.m. at the East Carolina Health Institute, located at 115 Heart Dr. in Greenville.

The Winterville Traffic Garden ribbon cutting will be Saturday at 2:15 p.m. at Hillcrest Park, located at 2418 Carmon St. in Winterville.

Click here for more information on the NC BikeWalk Transportation Summit.