Friday, October 25, 2019

"Share the Road" makes a comeback in Delaware

This modified W11 Bicycle "Share the Road" sign is found along Churchmans
Road just south of I95. Others have been reported in the DE City vicinity.
Brand new "Share The Road" signs are appearing along various Delaware roads. We have received several emails from our followers, one with the photo evidence seen at right. The signs appear to be showing up with repave or reconstruction projects, which contradicts Bike Delaware's commitment to ending "Share The Road" (oh, the horrors), not only from roadway signage but in all other DOT contexts and vocabulary. The photo at right was recently taken on Churchmans Road, SR58 in New Castle County, where the latest little piece of the East Coast Greenway (parallel bike path) was added.

According to Bike Delaware's IRS Form 990 for 2018: "Bike Delaware partnered with DELDOT in campaigning to end “Share The Road” signage in Delaware". Bike Delaware did indeed make the push to end "Share The Road", though not everyone agreed with the idea and most didn't believe it was a priority if given a choice of other advocacy pursuits. Upon the retirement of STR, Bike Delaware -- off the backs of former and non-member Advocates -- went on to take credit for the design and implementation of a replacement sign. With DelDOT's generosity and willingness to act immediately, The W11 In Lane sign replaced STR and became an instant hit, used primarily in lane-only configurations.

What is 1st State Bikes position on STR? There is nothing intrinsically wrong with sharing the road, or "Share The Road" on a sign. That said, we did not argue with the technicality used to justify its removal, as long as a suitable replacement was found. The average travel lane in Delaware is substandard width (11'-12' in most cases), therefore, it is impossible for a bicyclist and most cars to fit within the same lane - abreast - when factoring in the 3' Passing Law. Regardless, the fact that Bike Delaware made the removal of this sign and phrase a priority (and fissures now appear in its oversight) shows the length they will go to win over the support of Delaware's road bicyclists while secretly pushing a much bigger agenda.

"Share The Road" sign on Casho Mill Road in Newark, similar to those used by PennDOT (Oct 21, 2019)

W11 sign with "Share The Road" plaque found on Apple Road in Newark (Oct 21, 2019)

1 comment:

  1. Interesting, my experience in N. Wilmington is the opposite.

    In the last few months I've noticed 2-3 of the W11 IN LANE signs from your 2015 post; I don't remember seeing these signs when I came back to Delaware last August so I think they are newly installed.

    One sign in on Shipley Road just south of Weldin Rd; there is another sign on Naamans Rd (DE 92W) just east of Rt 202.

    Bicyclists do need to ride in the lane at these locations (narrow lanes, no shoulders on Shipley; right and left turn lanes on Naamans Rd). Since these locations have good sight lines, I've never had issues here, even before these signs were put up.

    ReplyDelete

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