Why Dover’s “Senator Bikeway” is important
In 2015 the Dover City Council committed to creating a more bicycle-friendly Dover when it adopted the Dover Bicycle Plan. That plan called for the construction of the Senator Bikeway as its #1 priority. An east-west bike route through the heart of Dover, the Senator Bikeway would connect neighborhoods with schools and businesses so that travel by bicycle could be a safe option for people of all ages and abilities.
Phase I of the Senator Bikeway was completed just a few months ago. The planners of the Senator Bikeway initially hoped to route the bikeway through both Wesley College and William Henry Middle School and to avoid Division Street (State Route 8). The alignment through Wesley College worked perfectly but, unfortunately, the railroad tracks (the purple line in the map above) prevented an alignment through the William Henry campus. As an alternative, a small section of Phase I was built on Division Street:
DelDOT and Century Engineering carefully designed and built this part of the Senator Bikeway using best-practice standards, including “delineators” (plastic posts) separating the car and truck traffic from the two-way bicycle traffic. (See video here of what it’s like to ride this section of the Senator Bikeway.)
No travel lanes were removed on Division Street for the Senator Bikeway. Nevertheless, there have been complaints by some drivers who have reacted negatively to the “feel” of a narrower roadway. (Those plastic posts make traveling that section of Division Street a slightly different experience for drivers.) It is easy for a driver- sitting inside his climate-controlled piece of heavy equipment – to think that only their mobility counts. But that is false. Safe mobility is a civil right that belongs to all of us (even if we don’t have the wealth and privilege necessary to own a motor vehicle).
More of the Senator Bikeway will be constructed in the years to come, to the west along Route 8, and to the east along Kings Highway NE. When all parts of the bikeway are completed, it will allow a 12-year-old child to travel safely on her bicycle from her home in east Dover all the way across town to Dover High School.
One final comment. I love trails. Over the last few years, I have ridden with enormous pleasure on the Castle Trail, the Lewes-Georgetown Trail and the Markell Trail. But cities like Dover and Wilmington usually don’t have room in their urban centers for trails and pathways. To make cycling a safe and convenient mode of transportation for people of every age and ability in Delaware’s cities and towns, we will need to create more infrastructure like the Senator Bikeway, which is really the first example of protected “on-street” infrastructure for bicycle travel anywhere in Delaware. The Senator Bikeway is important for Dover. But it’s even more important as an example of how we can improve cities and towns in Delaware so that they are better places to raise families and build stronger communities.
Chris Asay has lived in Dover for 26 years. He is an advocate for safer cycling and walking in Dover.
