The Most Bicycle Friendly State East of the Mississippi River
DelDOT Secretary Shailen Bhatt and DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara preparing to announce Delaware’s Bicycle Friendly State ranking at the 2013 Walkable Bikeable Delaware Summit.
Dover – May 1, 2013 – At the Walkable Bikeable Delaware 2013 Summit in Dover this morning, DelDOT Secretary Shailen Bhatt and DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara announced Delaware’s new Bicycle Friendly State ranking. In the sixth annual assessment by the League of American Bicyclists, Delaware achieved a #5 ranking nationally, while placing #1 among all states east of the Mississippi River.
You read that right: We are officially the most bicycle-friendly state east of the Mississippi River.
Delaware was ranked #18 in 2011 and #10 in 2012. It has advanced ahead faster than any other state in America by making progress due to a supportive state government administration and legislature. A combination of state and federal funds have been used to invest $20 million over the last two years in projects such as the Castle Trail at the C&D Canal, the Wilmington-New Castle Greenway (final phase in design) and the Georgetown-Lewes Trail (also under design). Concept planning for a bikeway connecting Wilmington and Newark is also underway.
In 2010, Governor Jack Markell became the first governor in the United States to address a National Bike Summit in Washington DC. Three years later, he is still the only sitting governor to have done so. In his last State of the State speech, he declared that
“in the years to come, Delawareans will be able to walk and bike to work because of the investments we are making today… Our First State Trails and Pathways Initiative is connecting neighborhoods, parks, and downtowns throughout our state. The Pomeroy Trail connects Newark to White Clay Creek State Park. We’re linking Lewes, Rehoboth and eventually Georgetown with a series of interconnected trails. We’re enhancing and expanding recreational access to the Nanticoke River and Broad Creek.”
Click to view the report card PDF.
“We’re connecting Delaware City to Chesapeake City and extending the Milford Riverwalk. In Dover, we are expanding the Capitol City Trail along the St. Jones River. The Delaware Bayshore Initiative is protecting the Thousand Acre Marsh and expanding the Ted Harvey Wildlife Area. Projects like these improve our quality of life and make our state a magnet for talented workers.”
Having breached the top 5 among all states in the United States, Delaware will now face stiff competition to advance further against Minnesota (#4), Oregon (#3), Colorado (#2) and Washington (#1).
To even keep our new #5 ranking – not to mention improving it – we will now have to step up our game. Check out the feedback about how to do that in Delaware’s Report Card from the League of American Bicyclists, which outlines a strategy for how we can keep our momentum and keep moving forward.
RELATED:
• 2013 Bicycle Friendly State Report Card for Delaware
• “Whatever you do, don’t lose your momentum”
• Will the Delaware General Assembly Vote For Bike and Pedestrian Improvements This Year?
First State Trails and Pathways Plan Georgetown to Lewes Trail Markell Newark Wilmington Pathway Wilmington-New Castle Greenway
5 Responses
[…] seeks to heal the divisions between cyclists and motorists. And the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, Bike Delaware, BTA Oregon and Bike Kansas analyze their states’ bike-friendly rankings, released by the […]
Thanks for posting the actual report card. It explains how Delaware can rate so high in spite of my Delaware cycling experience being much worse than when I rode regularly in the South Bronx and other parts of New York City in the 1990s. When I first saw the headline, I figured either LAB had gone crazy or else I had. But none of the rating items is actually a measure of cycling *experience* or real conditions on the ground, so the divergence is perfectly understandable. And I realize that I live in a particularly bike unfriendly part of the state. Anyway, keep up the good work Bike Delaware! Change is slow.
Jonathan: Thanks for this comment. It inspired a long article in reply. See here:
http://www.bikede.org/2013/05/17/lab-had-gone-crazy/
A total fallacy. no bicyclist made this decision. I lived in Claymont and had a vacation home in Millsboro for 11 years. I am “two Wheel Tavi” and used to own a shop. Your state has 3 trails that are dedicated. I have ridden everything delaware has to offer, and now I live in New Albany,In., where our riverfront trail, which crosses the pedestrian bridge to Louisville, has more to offer any cyclist than all of de. combined. across the bridge is Louisville’s riverfront park with trails and a cyclocross venue that attracted the World Championship this year. I can find dedicated trails within 20 minutes of my house in any direction. Delaware, Pennsylvania and Jersey combined do not have as much to offer as this area. Please inform your contact at The Leaugue of my statement. I was one of their supporters back when they first formed and now can see their political side and it stinks. I also helped form the Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition,so I understand how things work on the east coast. you are not, I repeat NOT the friendliest east of the mississippi, and do not have the kind of supportive humans to make it so. I have ridden in ten states in the past 2 years and feel that Mississippi has more than Delaware.
Thank You Bike Delaware! I am a road cyclist from Northern Virginia and on a recent trip to Bethany Beach, DE found I could ride all over southern and central Delaware and feel safe, you definitely cannot do that where I live. Love the bike lanes and share the road signs! Keep up the good work!
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