Despite threatening weather on May 16, BikeNewark partnered with the City of Newark, the University of Delaware (UD), DelDOT, Delaware Commute Solutions, and Newark Bike Project to celebrate national Bike to Work Day in Newark.
More than 50 people registered for and attended the hour-long, early-morning event, which has traditionally been held on the University of Delaware’s main campus. At Mentors’ Circle attendees enjoyed light breakfast items, free Bike Month t-shirts (courtesy of DelDOT and the Delaware Bicycle Council), commuting and local biking info, great networking, and brief speeches by local and state officials.
BikeNewark member, Kristen Cribb, acted as the event’s emcee. Introduced first was UD’s Dean of the Graduate College and BikeNewark member Lou Rossi. Rossi is a fanatical bicycle commuter, thus well suited to have spoken at this event. Rossi welcomed everyone on behalf of the host institution.
Having been elected as Newark’s new city mayor less than six weeks earlier, Mayor Travis McDermott, spoke about the many ways the City of Newark has improved conditions for bicyclists over the past few years.
Next at the podium was State Rep. Cyndie Romer, who represents a good chunk of the Newark area. She gave a wonderful advertisement for bicycling and, in particular, bicycling in Newark.
The event’s keynote speaker was New Castle County Executive Marcus Henry, a UD alumnus who was elected in November to fill the vacancy left by now–Delaware Governor Matt Meyer. Henry talked about the importance of local and county cooperation, particularly with regard to projects that enhance multimodal transportation.
BikeNewark chair Bob McBride then announced and presented the annual Bicycle Friendly Community Leader Award. This year’s recipient was longtime Delaware State Senator Dave Sokola, who represents part of Newark and areas to the city’s northeast. Standing with Rep. Romer, Sokola was surprised to hear his name called to receive this award. No one else was, though, as he has been such an integral player in the advancement of all things related to bicycling within the Delaware legislature and locally here in Newark.
BikeNewark’s Mark Deshon and Kristen Cribb then drew names of lucky attendees at random to win one of ten giveaways, with a combined value of $450. Gift sponsors included BikeNewark, Bike Delaware, University of Delaware, and Wooden Wheels.
Additional Event Photos
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