Senate District 5 covers the far northeastern corner of New Castle County, including Claymont and the Ardens (Arden, Ardentown, and Ardencroft). (If you are not 100% sure whether you live in Senate District 5, you can search here using your address.) If you live in this district your choice on November 3 to represent you in the Delaware Senate is between Brent Burdge, Carolyn Frank and Shay Frisby. Using a multiple choice format, we asked these three candidates to share their views on five statements related to traffic safety in Delaware. Ms. Frisby did not respond but Mr. Burdge’s and Ms. Frank’s answers are here:
1) I voted for, or agree with, the Truth in E-Bike Marketing Act (HS 1 for HB 439), which prohibits commercial sellers from advertising high-speed electric motorcycles using terms like “electric bicycle” or “e-bike” and requires clear written disclosures regarding a vehicle’s legal classification, power, and licensing requirements.
Burdge: Strongly Agree
Frank: Agree
2) I voted for, or support, the recently passed HB 363, which allowed the default speed limit on streets in residential districts to be lowered to 20 mph.
Burdge: Agree
Frank: Agree
3) Single-vehicle run-off-the-road crashes account for over a third of Delaware’s fatal crashes. To address this, I would support legislation complementing HB 363 that lowers the default speed limit on low-volume rural roads (e.g. “tar and chip” roads) below the current 50 mph threshold.
Burdge: Neither Agree or Disagree
Frank: Agree
4) To further reduce traffic crashes on rural roadways, I support making Delaware’s rural road network more “self-explaining” using road surfaces and roadside design that convey a continuous visual message to drivers, providing more effective guidance than intermittent signage alone.
Burdge: Agree
Frank: Agree
5) To reduce crashes at intersections, I support the use of single-lane urban roundabouts and engineering those roundabouts to be slow speed junctions, keeping vehicle speeds under 20 mph at all potential collision points.
Burdge: Agree
Frank: Agree
6) Is there anything else about your record as an elected official, your experience or your views that you think is relevant to improving traffic safety in Delaware for the people you wish to represent in the 154th General Assembly?
Burdge: I’m a lifelong cyclist, including tandem cycling with my wife, and I support measures that increase the safety of our roads. There are always practical and cost considerations to be addressed – we can’t immediately change the configuration of all rural roads, but we can deliberately move in a better direction with the guidance of well researched traffic options that suit our varied situations and needs.
Frank: I am not a politician. I am a home health nurse running for state senate to actually represent the people of Delaware in Dover. I spend much of my time navigating the roads ways in northern Delaware. I will work toward making the roads safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.
