Delaware Bicycle Council Meeting

March 10, 2010

The Delaware Bicycle Council held an interim meeting on March 10 at the DelDOT building in Dover.  Among the items discussed:

1. Upcoming Events:
   April 14 - Chase (Wilmington) Earth Day
   April 17 – NCCo Safe Kids Day
   May 6 – Maple Lane Elementary School Health Fair
   May 21 – Delaware Bike Summit
   June 5 – St. Jones Trail Day
   June 12 – Kent Co. Safe Kids Day
   
   There is a rolling media tour from Bethany to Wilmington during the week prior to the Bike Summit.
2. The Delaware Complete Streets Policy was signed by Governor Markell and should be posted on the DelDOT website.
3. LAB Traffic Skills Course – Traffic 101, a 2-day, 9-hour course taught by the League of American Bicyclists will be available in Dover during the summer and in Newark in the fall.  A previously scheduled class in Seaford was cancelled for lack of participation.  This course is a pre-requisite for LAB Instructor certification.
4. The DBC is urging Congressman Castle to sponsor HR4722, the Active Community Transportation Act of 2010 (ACT) to establish a competitive grant program to help communities build safe and convenient bicycle/pedestrian networks.  NCCo would be the primary beneficiary of such legislation.
5. Bicycle Legislation:
   The 3-foot passing law that would require motorists to give bicycles a 3-foot clearance when passing is still in the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee.
   A vulnerable users law is under discussion.  Vulnerable users include cyclists, pedestrians other non-automobile driving users of roadways.  If the law is changed, police would not have to prove a driver’s “intent” to harm a vulnerable user in the event of an accident.
   Rolling stop/Stop Sign as yield is still under discussion.
6. St. Georges Bridge:  The bridge is currently being resurfaced and the Army Corp of Engineers is resisting efforts to have the new surface striped with bicycle lanes.  As of now, the new surface will consist of one extra-wide lane in each direction (fed from two lanes on Route 13) and a shoulder.
7. DNREC is exploring some very preliminary plans to extend the trail from Gordon’s Pond in Rehoboth to Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes but cautioned that upgrading the surface to permit bicycle travel (not pavement) would be expensive and given the current economic climate, would not be completed soon.
8. The DBC voted to forward a letter to the Insurance Commissioner urging inclusion of bicycle-related education as part of defensive driving classes for adults.
9. The next regular meeting is scheduled for April 7.