Delaware 2013 Bicycle Friendly State “Report Card”
Between May of 1997 and March of 2008 (over 10 years), Delaware’s unemployment rate was between 3 and 4%. But for the last four years, unemployment has stubbornly...
We know what we want. And it all comes back to the “Bike and Pedestrian Improvements” program authorization for the Delaware Department of Transportation. We...
by Melissa Nann Burke The News Journal February 15, 2013 Relatively few Delaware workers commute by bike, but they might reconsider when cyclists are whizzing...
Photo Credit: WILLIAM BRETZGER/THE NEWS JOURNAL
By Mike Chalmers
July 7, 2012
Published in The News Journal
Only about 0.2 percent of Delaware workers commute to their jobs by bicycle, one of the lowest rates in the nation.
But a big boost in the new state budget aims to get more people out of their cars and onto a bike seat by connecting existing trails into a recreation and commuting network.
The First State Trails and Pathways Initiative will get $13.25 million this year, up from $7 million in last year’s budget.
“It’s a huge opportunity for the state” to make cycling safer and more popular, said Carol Ireland, president of the White Clay Bicycle Club and secretary of Bike Delaware, a nonprofit advocacy group.
Ireland was riding with her friend Robert Wheeler late last month when he was struck by a car and killed at Marsh Road and Baynard Boulevard in Brandywine Hundred. Wheeler, 80, was one of the founding members of the White Clay Bicycle Club about 40 years ago and rode almost every day, Ireland said.
“He could still beat me up hills. The only time I was able to keep up was when he was under the weather,” she said. “It’s really shaken up the whole biking community.”
Improving the safety of bicycling is one of the state’s biggest hurdles in getting more people to commute or run errands by bicycle, said Jim Westhoff, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
“If you were to ask 10 people why they don’t ride their bikes to work, nine of them will say it’s not safe,” Westhoff said. “That may not be reality, but we need to change that perception.”
Andrea Trabelsi, 29, of Pike Creek,commutes by bicycle a few times a month to her job north of Wilmington as managing director of Delaware Greenways, a nonprofit group that promotes natural resources and sustainable development. It takes her about an hour to ride 10 miles, including about a mile on a trail and stretches on Limestone Road and Del. 141.
She doesn’t recommend it to the faint of heart.
“There are some jerks out there who will get right up behind you and show their annoyance at you,” Trabelsi said.
Read entire front page article in The News Journal HERE>>>
RELATED:
• 16% of Traffic Fatalities in Delaware Are Pedestrians and Bicyclists
• VICTORY FOR CYCLING: Delaware General Assembly Votes $13.25 Million for Walking and Bicycling (2012)
• Walkable, Bikeable Delaware Wins National Recognition
• Delaware Trails and Pathways
• Delaware General Assembly Votes Millions For Bicycling (2011)
• 2011 Bike Friendly Elected Official
• Delaware House and Senate Pass “Walkable, Bikeable Delaware” (2011)
Recent Articles
“When I first saw the headline, I figured either LAB had gone crazy or else I had.” – recent comment by Bike Delaware reader Just a few...
The City of Wilmington, Bike Wilmington and its supporters/sponsors are proud to hold the third annual Bike-to-Work Day (May 17th). Bike-to-Work Day is a National...
Cross-posted from Systemic Failure Each year there are tens of thousands of fatalities on the nation’s highways. A disproportionate [number] of those...
The most cost-effective way to increase bicycling in Delaware
We need a lot more bicycling in Delaware. You can make that happen by supporting Bike Delaware.
Copyright © 2013 Bike Delaware. All rights reserved.
1 Comments
Way to go…. very proud of those who worked to make this possible… elected officials, Vol. Groups, helath businesses, and dedicated individuals…. amazing what can be done when people work together for a positive need