Who is advocating on-road safety in Delaware, Part 2

The second of a 4 part series, we now take a look at the many on-road projects undertaken by the Delaware Bicycle Council.

The Delaware Bicycle Council is tasked to represent the needs of all cyclists in this state by advising state agencies and otherwise promoting bicycling throughout Delaware - from road to trail, novice to expert, recreational to transportation. The Council works on behalf of  bicyclists of all stripes, and believes that by working on the LAB’s five E’s (engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation and planning) we will make our state bike friendly. As it has for decades, the DBC strives to achieve progress in all of these areas. Although it takes a substantial amount of time to build a foundation in some of the five E’s, the DBC has accomplished much over the past five years.

The following are just some of the achievements that the DBC has been solely or partly responsible for since 2008. Some are with support and assistance from the White Clay Bicycle Club:

• Vulnerable Users Law
• Three Foot Passing Law
• SB120, which validates right turn only lanes as through shoulders for bicyclists
• Driver’s education curriculum which has been accepted by Delaware’s public schools
• Creation of a motorist awareness video stemming from the Vulnerable Users Law
• Updates to the driver’s manual
• Bike lanes on the St. George’s Bridge
• Bicycle memorial in the Smyrna Rest Area Memorial Garden

Based on DBC efforts, we can expect to see the following improvements over the next year:

• Bicycle awareness taught in driver’s education classes throughout the state
• Motorist awareness (video) promoted/distributed throughout Delaware
• Bicycle education included in DE State Police cadet training
• Bicycle facilities included in multiple pave and rehab projects
• Bicycle facilities, the result of a survey that was compiled and forwarded to Sec. Bhatt
• Signal detectors that recognize bicycles in bike lanes
• Bicycle safety messages on variable message boards

Also based on DBC efforts, we can reasonably expect to see the following over the next year or so:

• An updated vulnerable users law that will allow the DE State Police to apply the law under more circumstances
• Improvements to the application of tar and chip
• Legal pathway connection between Churchman’s Road and the Christiana Mall for bicyclists and pedestrians (joint DBC-Bike DE goal)
• Additional on-road routes
• Support B.E.S.T. - Bicycling Education and Safety Together committee

Because most of the present (and future) advocacy efforts above rarely see coverage from Bike Delaware, and DBC's webpage is not blog based, advocates at 1st State Bikes are eager to fill the void. Spread the word, and tell your friends to like us on Facebook!

Related: Who is advocating for on-road safety in Delaware (Part 1)