Author Archive: James

  “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 years ago, Delaware’s “Bicycle Friendly State” ranking by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) was somewhere in the 30s among the 50 states. In 2011, we were [...]

Newark: May 9, 2013 After a long wait, sharrows have finally landed on Main Street in Newark! Wilmington installed the first sharrows in Delaware on its Market Street downtown in 2010 and Lewes installed some on Bay Avenue last summer. City of Newark Principal Planner (and chair of the Newark Bicycle Committee) Mike Fortner fought hard [...]

“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood…Make big plans, aim high in hope and work.”  - Daniel H. Burnham US architect & city planner (1846 – 1912)  The Cross Bayou Bridge, part of Florida’s Pinellas Trail Although not in Governor Rick Scott’s proposed budget, Florida lawmakers agreed last week to [...]

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 stayed above 7%. Today, it is 7.3%. And, if you look at the data, that number is not coming down. It looks stuck. If you are older [...]

The Broad Creek Byway Bike Tour on June 1 is sponsored by the Laurel Chamber of Commerce located in historic Laurel Delaware. Explore the Western Sussex Scenic and Historic Byway This is a quiet adventure starting on Central Avenue along the banks of the historic Broad Creek in Laurel. Tree lined streets in Laurel give way [...]

Give me a minute to explain the article title. There were a lot of great takeaways for Delaware at the National Bike Summit held in Washington, DC last week, including women-friendly bike shops and more bike chic. But for the summit, taken as a whole, I think there were 3 major lessons for us: Lesson [...]

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 know what we want because, at Bike Delaware’s Strategic Vision 2013 conference in November and in online voting through December 31, the result was overwhelming. “State Authorized Funding for Bicycling [...]

The City of Newark has submitted an application for funding under the federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) for sharrows for its Main Street. If approved, the sharrows on Main Street will connect the Pomeroy Trail to New London Road. The “sharrow” (or “shared lane”) pavement marking is a relatively recent pavement marking that was introduced [...]

Great article about the Wilmington – New Castle Greenway (aka the Industrial Track Trail) in Friday’s News Journal by reporter Melissa Nann Burke. If you haven’t read it yet, check it out! If I have a caveat about the article, it would be that it might convey the impression that the Wilmington – New Castle [...]

“All professions are conspiracies against the laity.” – George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw had a way of tartly describing the world around us in ways that encouraged people to look critically at things we usually take for granted.  Shaw probably did not really believe that doctors and lawyers and engineers actually get together in [...]

What do we normally think about when we think about “politics”? Well, we might think about political campaigns, like the recent presidential campaign between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney with its, literally, billions of dollars of television advertising, 24-hours a day cable news coverage, daily polling and millions of phone calls to individual voters. Or [...]

Looking north towards Wilmington from near New Castle on the Wilmington – New Castle Greenway   The Wilmington-New Castle Greenway (also known as the “Industrial Track” because it follows an old railroad right-of-way) will, when complete, be a six-mile long “bicycle highway” connecting the cities of Wilmington and New Castle.  It is already mostly done.  The [...]

Nobody understands momentum better than cyclists. The physical concept of momentum – the product of an object’s mass and velocity – can be a bit abstract to many people, but cyclists understand momentum in our bones.  (Or perhaps I should say we understand it in our thighs.) Even a strong cyclist can only produce about [...]

In his 2012 State of the State speech, Governor Markell said we could “make Delaware one of the most walkable and bikeable states in America.”  Last Thursday in his 2013 State of the State speech he said “in the years to come, Delawareans will be able to walk and bike to work because of the investments we [...]

If you want to travel from point A to point B in Delaware, doing so has become increasingly safe…as long as you are traveling as an occupant in a motor vehicle. Traffic fatalities for occupants of motor vehicles have fallen almost every year for the past 10 years in Delaware.  That is a cause for [...]

It’s a place thousands of miles away with its own language, culture, history and traditions, so we try hard to not sound like a broken record always going on and on about the Netherlands. But for anyone, including us, who thinks bicycling is cool, the Netherlands is a model and an inspiration. A few months [...]

Can we keep it there in 2013? With your support, we can. Please consider a donation to Bike Delaware to help us sustain – and build on – our incredible momentum. July 7, 2012:

2012 Look Back: This article was originally published on April 3, 2012.  It was the most viewed Bike Delaware article of 2012. Source: convoy.tumblr.com via Randi on Pinterest

2012 Look Back: This article was originally published on May 30, 2012.  It was updated between May 30 and June 19 as events progressed.  It was the 2nd most viewed Bike Delaware article of 2012. Tuesday, June 19 Over 10 million dollars for cycling.  More than $10 for each man, woman and child in Delaware. [...]

2012 Look Back: This article was originally published on May 14, 2012.  It was the 3rd most viewed Bike Delaware article of 2012. Who is telling the truth? Is it this one, claiming that 7% of bicycle-related accidents are hit from behind, or this one, saying cars run into bicyclists from behind only 3.8% of [...]

2012 Look Back: This article was originally published on July 1, 2012.  It was the 4th most viewed Bike Delaware article of 2012. Senator Robert Venables (left), Governor Jack Markell (center) and Representative Helene Keeley (right)   Both the Delaware House and Senate voted unanimously Saturday evening to approve a capital budget for the state [...]

2012 Look Back: This article was originally published on February 21, 2012.  It was the 5th most viewed Bike Delaware article of 2012. But a 100 years ago they were. Starting around the 1920s, streets were taken away from children (and then from the rest of us as well).  There are very few people alive [...]

2012 Look Back: This article was originally published on September 20, 2012.  It was the 6th most viewed Bike Delaware article of 2012. This time, an i-Phone ensures that justice is served. Adventure Journal | Cyclists have been harassed by drivers for years with little to no recourse, but thanks to technology and changing attitudes [...]

2012 Look Back: This article was originally published on May 5, 2012.  It was the 7th most viewed Bike Delaware article of 2012. This has to be seen to be believed. At last week’s Walkable, Bikeable Delaware Day in Dover, Governor Markell announced the launch of the Delaware Trails and Pathways web site.  The site [...]

2012 Look Back: This article was originally published on February 1, 2012.  It was the 8th most viewed Bike Delaware article of 2012. In 2007, the year after the visionary urban activist Jane Jacobs died, the Rockefeller Foundation launched the Jane Jacobs annual award to honor her work. This medal reaffirms the Foundation’s commitment to [...]

2012 Look Back: This article was originally published on June 9, 2012.  It was the 9th most viewed Bike Delaware article of 2012. By Karl Hassler –   Can you imagine what it would be like if the Wilmington Riverfront‘s potential to be the premier cultural, recreational and residential hub in the Mid-Atlantic region was [...]

2012 Look Back: This article was originally published on August 28, 2012.  It was the 10th most viewed Bike Delaware article of 2012. From Charlie Emerson, Newark Parks & Recreation — Please join the City of Newark and project partners DelDOT, Delaware State Parks, University of Delaware, University Courtyard Apartments and DART for the opening [...]

Bike Delaware is joining with DelDOT to co-sponsor site licenses in Delaware for an important national webinar: Wayfinding Options for Cyclists Wednesday, December 19 | 3:00 to 4:15 p.m. | Dover and Newark *** Register Here  *** Bicycle wayfinding signs are different than other signs placed in the right of way because they are part of [...]

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE 15 June 2007 Daily Mail When George Thomas was eight he walked everywhere. It was 1926 and his parents were unable to afford the fare for a tram, let alone the cost of a bike and he regularly walked six miles to his favourite fishing haunt without adult supervision. Fast forward to [...]

Complete Streets is a phrase to conjure with. The idea that streets are places that should serve many users (and not just car and truck traffic level-of-service) is popular.  And, indeed,  Delaware has an official policy that is called “Complete Streets”, whose name invokes this idea. Despite the name, however, Delaware’s actual policy is more [...]