Delaware House of Representatives: Pike Creek

State Representative Mike Ramone and Stephanie Barry are running to represent the residents of Pike Creek in the Delaware House of Representatives on November 3. Bike Delaware sent a short (just 3 questions) survey to them and asked for their views:

1. “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.”
2. “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.”
3. “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 Representative Mike Ramone (Incumbent)
Candidate for State Representative (21st District)
Party: Republican • Web Site
Survey Answers: Strongly Agree • Strongly Agree • Strongly Agree

Legislative Record:
Walkable Bikeable Delaware: Co-Sponsor
Healthy and Transit-Friendly Development Act: Co-Sponsor
Bicycle Friendly Delaware Act: Co-Sponsor

Ms. Stephanie Barry
Candidate for State Representative (21st District)
Party: Democratic • Web Site
Survey Answers: Strongly Agree • Strongly Agree • Strongly Agree
Survey Comment: “I first became involved in politics in my area because of an over development issue. Three Little Bakers golf course was set to be developed into hundreds of new homes taking away what little open space we had left and increasing the traffic volume on our already strained roads. We need to maintain the open space we have for walking, cycling, and hiking and we need to develop smarter to include more bike and alternative commute infrastructure to lessen the traffic volume. The Pike area has long not been a road bikers friend with very few bike lanes, limited paths and trail connectors, and road without even a shoulder for the safety of a biker. We must change this as our roads come up for redevelopment and pavement in the next few years and I will be fighting to ensure these types of ideas are included in the 2050 New Castle county zoning plan.”

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.)