Newark City Council Discusses a Protected Bike Lane for Delaware Avenue

The Newark City Council will discuss a protected bike lane for Delaware Avenue as part of its agenda this evening.

Support of a protected lane for Delaware Avenue by the council is critically important. In its recent Bicycle Friendly Community “report card” for Newark, one of the key recommendations from the League of Bicyclists was for Newark to move forward with Newark’s (and Delaware’s!) first protected bike lane.

People for Bikes counts that there are approximately 200 protected bike lanes in 53 cities in the U.S. For these forward-thinking cities, protected bike lanes have been a key economic development strategy to

• boost real estate value
• help companies score talented workers
• make workers healthier and more productive
• increase retail visibility and sales

The League of American Bicyclists also identified a protected bike lane for Delaware Avenue as one of the key steps Newark needs to take in order to improve its “bicycle friendly” ranking from it current “Bronze” to “Silver”:

“Key Steps to Silver” from the the League of American Bicyclists’ report card for Newark

There are many engineering approaches to creating a protected bike lane, depending on preference and cost. Here are 14 (!) different types of protected bike lane:

Reference: http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/14-ways-to-make-bike-lanes-better-the-infographic

Newark’s progress towards becoming a more bicycle friendly community is in the hands of the Newark City Council this evening.

  James Wilson is the executive director of Bike Delaware.

RELATED: 

• August 25 Newark City Council Agenda

• Cycle track continues to gain city’s support

• Newark 2014 Bicycle Friendly Community “Report Card” (League of American Bicyclists)

• Additional feedback for Newark from League of American Bicyclists

• Protected Bike Lanes Mean Business

• 24 States, 53 Cities: Protected Bike Lanes Have Become as American as Pizza 

• Philadelphia’s Brand Spankin’ New Protected Bike Lane

• All Bike Delaware articles on protected bike lanes

• 14 Ways to Make Bike Lanes Better

• The Rise of The North American Protected Bike Lane

• Instant Protected Bike Lane? Just Add Armadillos

• Pomeroy Trail Opens in Newark