Delaware House of Representatives: Brookside

State Representative Ed Osienski and Gregory Wilps are running to represent the residents of Brookside (just east of Newark) – extending from Library Avenue (in the west) to Harmony Road (in the east) and from Capitol Trail (in the north) to I95 (in the South) – in the Delaware House of Representatives on November 3. Bike Delaware sent a short (just 3 questions) survey to them and asked for their views:

1. “Delaware’s three-year-old law permitting safe yielding at stop signs by people using bicycles (HB 185 in the 149th Delaware General Assembly) eliminated a difficult (and sometimes controversial) enforcement issue for the police and has been accompanied, during the same period, by a disproportionate reduction in crashes involving bicycles at stop sign-controlled intersections in Delaware. I will support the extension of this law in 2021.”
2. “I voted for, or agree with, Walkable Bikeable Delaware (SCR 13 in the 146th Delaware General Assembly) which called for strategic investments by the Delaware Department of Transportation in infrastructure for walking and cycling.”
3. “I voted for, or agree with, the Healthy and Transit-Friendly Development Act (SS 2 for SB 130 in the 148th Delaware General Assembly), which established a mechanism in Delaware state law (Delaware State Code Title 2, Chapter 21) for State and local governments to coordinate transportation investments and land use regulation in order to encourage the development of walkable, bikeable and transit-friendly communities.”

Here is how they answered:

State Representative Ed Osienski (Incumbent)
Candidate for State Representative (24th District)
Party: Democratic • Web Site
Survey Answers: Strongly Agree • Strongly Agree • Strongly Agree
Survey Comment: “I was the House prime sponsor of SS2 for SB 130, co-sponsor of SCR 13 and I voted YES on HB 185. As a avid cyclist and the Chair of the House Transportation, Land Use and Infrastructure Committee, I will continue to advocate for bicycle and pedestrian safety measures, and expanding walkable bikeable infrastructure.”

Legislative Record:
Walkable Bikeable Delaware: Co-Sponsor
Healthy and Transit-Friendly Development Act: Co-Prime Sponsor
See also:
Longhurst and Colleagues Fought for Trail Network Funding
McDowell, Bonini, Osienski and Keeley Introduce Bicycle-Friendly Economic Development Bill

Mr. Gregory Wilps
Candidate for State Representative (24th District)
Party: Republican
Survey Answers: No reply

Our elected representatives in Dover are the people who – among other things – approve (or don’t) the funding to build major trails like the Markell Trail (aka the Wilmington-New Castle Greenway) and the Lewes-Georgetown Trail; establish the laws that influence whether future development of our communities will (or won’t) be friendly for transit, cycling and walking; make the rules that govern the operations of influential state agencies like the Delaware Department of Transportation; and decide what Delaware’s Rules of the Road should be. Check out the rest of Bike Delaware’s Voters Guide, which contains informations on dozens of other contested races for seats in the Delaware Senate and Delaware House of Representatives. (If you are not sure which Delaware Senate and/or House District you live in, you can look that up very quickly by simply typing in your home address in the “Who is My Legislator?” box right here.)