[B’ Spokes: My thoughts on reading this are: Will Delaware fall into the same traps that Maryland has or will they avoid them? Trails are great but when Maryland starts getting 1.5 mile trails in the middle of nowhere, I really have to question are they fulling their mission? Delaware by listing viable projects (vs MD just saying it wants “network of bicycle and pedestrian trails” but has no real plan backed by funding to do so) along with getting some funding concessions may very well leapfrog Maryland.]
by James Wilson
Continuing a string of recent victories in Delaware, the Secretary of Delaware’s Department of Transportation received a standing ovation at Friday’s Delaware Bike Summit (October 14, 2011) after signing (above) a Memorandum of Agreement with his counterpart at Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources to “Create and Maintain a Statewide System of Bicycle and
Pedestrian Pathways and Trails that Will Support Non-motorized Travel and Recreation Opportunities within the State of Delaware.” The two Secretaries also released a list of 19 proposed projects, including bikeways connecting Delaware’s largest cities in all three of Delaware’s counties:
Pedestrian Pathways and Trails that Will Support Non-motorized Travel and Recreation Opportunities within the State of Delaware.” The two Secretaries also released a list of 19 proposed projects, including bikeways connecting Delaware’s largest cities in all three of Delaware’s counties:
1) Wilmington/New Castle (6 miles)
2) Wilmington/Newark (~ 14 miles)
3) Dover/Smyrna-Clayton (~14 miles)
4) Lewes/Georgetown (~17 miles)
as well as the C&D Canal Trail connecting the Delaware River to the Chesapeake Bay:
5) Delaware City/Chesapeake City (~22 miles)
Click HERE for a complete list of
projects.
projects.
Governor Markell (the only Governor to ever speak at a National Bike Summit) explained the state’s initiative:
“My goal is to make Delaware walkable and bikeable, so more of us can enjoy the great Delaware outdoors. We can create a network of bicycle and pedestrian trails by building on existing pathways and trails. We create jobs and connect communities across the state and at the same time, expand recreational and transportation opportunities for Delawareans and visitors….[we can]
1) Build a world class interconnected pathway network
2) Support creation of local
jobs
jobs
3) Link communities internally to support local sustainable economies, and externally to grow connections between neighborhoods, towns and cities
4) Develop sustainable practices in the creation of the network, such as supporting native landscaping and natural habitats
5) Support healthy communities by providing affordable, active transportation choices
6) Re-establish Delaware in the Top Ten of Bicycle Friendly states (we’re at #17 right now)
7) And, develop strategies for the ongoing maintenance and upgrades of existing facilities”
This commitment by the state builds on recent victories:
APRIL: Executive Order #26
To learn more, visit us
at https://www.bikede.org/.
at https://www.bikede.org/.
James Wilson
Executive Director
BIKE DELAWARE
BIKE DELAWARE
As far as I’m concerned, Delaware has already leapfrogged Maryland. Their methods for street striping is head and neck above what Maryland does. I don’t have to guess where I’m suppose to be when passing through an intersection with a right-turn-only lane. The path is striped to go straight, if that is what I’m attempting to accomplish. It also gives motor vehicle traffic notice as to where to expect a bicycle to be positioned in relation to the right-turn-only lane.
iodaniell
Maryland advocates need to be concerned about channelizing and pedestrian refuge, because SHA has no bicycle-friendly offset policy – or so it appears. I lived in Elkton from 1996 thru 2003 and commuted east on Rt.40 into Delaware with an uninterupted shoulder for tht entire period. Sometime in the last few years, they built a Wal-Mart and with it a giant concrete channelizing island which forces a bike to jump into the lane (55 mph) or exit into their parking lot and come back out again.
All they had to do was leave 5′ of shoulder "offset" between the island and the white line. 5′ still isn’t great that close to highway speed, but it’s a compromise. In Delaware (I live in Newark now) we made the case to DelDOT and they re-wrote their design guidelines to guarantee at least 5′ in all but impossible situations, and never less than 4′. Without it, we could not be installing bike lanes or riding through intersections safely today without cutting back the concrete.
I spoke to Michael and he is aware of it, but I think someone in Maryland should really take up the cause before it’s too late.