Delaware Senate: Brandywine Hundred
State Senator Catherine Cloutier and Kyle Evans Gay are running to represent the people of Brandywine Hundred in the Delaware Senate on November 3. Bike Delaware sent a short (just 3 questions) survey to them and asked for their views:
- “Delaware’s three-year-old law permitting safe yielding at stop signs by people using bicycles (HB 185 in the 149th Delaware General Assembly) eliminated a difficult (and sometimes controversial) enforcement issue for the police and has been accompanied, during the same period, by a disproportionate reduction in crashes involving bicycles at stop sign-controlled intersections in Delaware. I will support the extension of this law in 2021.”
- “I voted for, or agree with, Walkable Bikeable Delaware (SCR 13 in the 146th Delaware General Assembly) which called for strategic investments by the Delaware Department of Transportation in infrastructure for walking and cycling.”
- “I voted for, or agree with, the Healthy and Transit-Friendly Development Act (SS 2 for SB 130 in the 148th Delaware General Assembly), which established a mechanism in Delaware state law (Delaware State Code Title 2, Chapter 21) for State and local governments to coordinate transportation investments and land use regulation in order to encourage the development of walkable, bikeable and transit-friendly communities.”
Here is how they answered:
State Senator Catherine Cloutier (Incumbent)
Candidate for State Senator (5th District)
Party: Republican • Web Site
Survey Answers: Strongly Agree • Strongly Agree • Strongly Agree
Comment: “I have held a bike rodeo for safety awareness and would like to continue that as we go back to our new normal society. I am extremely supportive and would like to continue to expand ways our community can bike and walk safely.”
Legislative Record:
Walkable Bikeable Delaware: Co-Primary Sponsor
Healthy and Transit-Friendly Development Act: Co-Sponsor
Bicycle Friendly Delaware Act: Co-Sponsor
Ms. Kyle Evans Gay
Candidate for State Senator (5th District)
Party: Democratic • Web Site
Survey Answers: Strongly Agree • Strongly Agree • Strongly Agree
Comment: “My husband and I chose to live in Brandywine Hundred in part because of the walkability of the area. Our community is lucky to have sidewalks on many major thoroughfares and walking paths connecting neighborhoods to each other, to parks, and to schools. From my house, I am able to take my kids on a walk to a farmer’s market, a high school, a park, a coffee shop, a grocery store, and the library. I can speak from experience that connecting physical communities results in connecting people to their lived environments and to each other. As Brandywine Hundred continues to evolve, and as newer developments replace older structures, I am dedicated to ensuring that the connectivity of our community remains intact, that we expand biking and walking paths, and that the safety of bikers and pedestrians is a priority.”
Our elected representatives in Dover are the people who – among other things – approve (or don’t) the funding to build major trails like the Markell Trail (aka the Wilmington-New Castle Greenway) and the Lewes-Georgetown Trail; establish the laws that influence whether future development of our communities will (or won’t) be friendly for transit, cycling and walking; make the rules that govern the operations of influential state agencies like the Delaware Department of Transportation; and decide what Delaware’s Rules of the Road should be. Check out the rest of Bike Delaware’s Voters Guide, which contains informations on dozens of other contested races for seats in the Delaware Senate and Delaware House of Representatives. (If you are not sure which Delaware Senate and/or House District you live in, you can look that up very quickly by simply typing in your home address in the “Who is My Legislator?” box right here.)
