Author: deshon

communication, education, encouragement, engineering, events, infrastructure, projects, safety

What we accomplished in 2024

While 2024 was not the most successful year in terms of being able to promote and effect our missional objectives, we were able to be involved in the community and accomplish the following:

photo of kiosk
One of four information kiosks installed in Newark parks along Newark Bikeways routes
  • Maintained membership of 42 individuals, losing seven former members but gaining seven others.
  • Completed our information-kiosk project, which included installation by the City of Newark in four locations (Phillips Park, the junction of the Hall and Pomeroy Trails, Olan Thomas Park, and Hillside Park) with the addition of Newark Bikeways and City of Newark Area Recreation Amenities maps created by BikeNewark. 
  • Highlighted National Bike Month in May with our annual Bike to Work Day event on the campus of the University of Delaware, in coordination with event partners City of Newark, UD, DelDOT, Newark Bike Project, and Delaware Commute Solutions. About 75 participants attended the event.
  • Partnered with University of Delaware Police, DelDOT, and Newark Bike Project to hold three successful bike-safety events on campus, during which about 70 sets of bike lights were installed, about 20 bike helmets were given and fitted, and bicycle-safety information was distributed.
  • Organized and held six First Friday Rides community events—slow group rides that are meant to encourage those of all ages to enjoy bicycling and practice good group-riding etiquette.
  • Supported A. I. Whoo on its University of Delaware–hosted Newark Outdoor Recreation information project, which involved creation of a website and installation of associated outdoor signage with QR codes. The website utilizes the BikeNewark-created City of Newark Area Recreation Amenities map, which coordinates with the Newark Bikeways low-stress network. 
  • Assisted in the efforts of WILMAPCO and City staff to update the 2014 Newark Bicycle Plan, and a member made presentations to The Newark Partnership and Rotary Club about the update project.
  • Supported the Newark Arts Alliance’s inaugural “Garden Tour by Bike” event with bike-route map.
  • Distributed information and talked with attendees at the annual Newark Community Day in September.
  • Supported John R. Downes Elementary School for its annual Bike to School Day celebration in May.
  • Supported John R. Downes Elementary School during its DelDOT-led day of bike rodeos—practical bicycle-safety sessions for children.
  • Supported the Newark Center for Creative Learning’s Greenfest event.
  • Supported the Delaware State Parks’ trail-information days for White Clay Creek State Park.
  • Members participated in planning committees/discussions for the following projects/topics:
    • South College Avenue gateway
    • Newport-to-Newark off-road trail
    • Newark to Lums Pond bike access
  • Members participated in (and continue on) The Newark Partnership.
  • A member participated (and continues) on the City of Newark’s Transportation Improvement District (TID) Committee.
  • A member participated (and continues) on the City of Newark’s Conservation Advisory Committee.
news

Officers elected for 2025-26

At BikeNewark’s partnership meeting on December 19th, election results were announced for the four members who will serve as BikeNewark’s board officers in 2025–26, with 41% of last year’s membership having voted.

photo of Bob McBride
Bob McBride, Chair

BikeNewark Chair Bob McBride was re-elected to lead the partnership for a fourth two-year term, having received 13 of the 17 votes cast. Dave Schultz received the other four votes. Bob grew up in Newark and retired here after a long career at a private school in Pennsylvania. In the past, he has been a member of the White Clay Bicycle Club. In addition to leading BikeNewark, he currently serves on the Nonprofit Enhancement Committee of The Newark Partnership and as Secretary to the Board of Directors of The Newark Partnership, representing the nonprofit organizations of Newark community. Bob is an avid recreational bicyclist and bird-watcher.

photo of Michael Smith
Michael Smith, Vice-Chair

BikeNewark member and 2023–24 Treasurer Michael Smith has been elected as our new Vice-Chair, having received 12 votes. He succeeds Kevin Monahan, who received 2 votes; relatively new member Jonathan “JT” Fleming also received 2 votes. Michael works as Executive Director for the environmental nonprofit Powering Our Future, based out of Pike Creek. Last fall he ran, albeit unsuccessfully, for a seat in Delaware’s House of Representatives. Michael has been a huge fan of cycling throughout his entire life and has not missed a single stage of the Tour de France (watching, that is) for the past 14 years. He is also a member of The Newark Partnership and the Newark branch of the NAACP.

photo of Karl Hassler
Karl Hassler, Treasurer

Running unopposed, Karl Hassler was re-elected for his fourth two-year term as Treasurer. He has served for several years on BikeNewark’s Engineering Committee and this year will take the reins as committee chair. He was a key player on the ad hoc Organizational Committee back in 2016 as well as with the 2020 updating of BikeNewark’s bylaws. A retiree from the University of Delaware, Karl has also been a member of the White Clay Bicycle Club. He enjoys bike trips while traveling the country. He’d remind you that if you can’t support BikeNewark with your time, you can always donate to help enhance our efforts.

photo of Jacquee Lukawski
Jacquee Lukawski, Secretary

Another relatively new BikeNewark member, Jacquee Lukawski will be joining the BikeNewark board as Secretary, succeeding Michael Smith. She received 12 votes; Jonathan “JT” Fleming received three votes, and Michael Smith two. Jacquee got back into riding about three years ago, after the positive influence of coworkers at the University of Delaware (UD). She works in UD’s College of Engineering, serving as Graduate Academic Advisor for the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering and has held multiple roles in nonprofit boards over the past five years. She enjoys the annual Bike to Work Day and on that same evening competes in the “Commuter Challenge” category of the Wilmington Grand Prix weekend’s Monkey Hill Time Trial to raise money for Urban Bike Project.

Bob McBride, Michael Smith, Karl Hassler, and Jacquee Lukawski will each be serving during 2025–2026, consistent with BikeNewark’s bylaws. Board member elections are held at the end of even years; board members must be Individual Members of BikeNewark, as defined in the partnership’s bylaws. The partnership thanks Kevin Monahan for his service during the previous two years.

Note: Our partnership meetings are open to the public and typically are held on the third Thursday of the month, alternating monthly between 4:30 p.m. hybrid (in person and Zoom) at the STAR Tower and 7:00 p.m. Zoom only. Want to help? Get involved!

communication, environment, infrastructure, news, projects, transportation

City adds BikeNewark’s new information kiosks

photo of kiosk
One of four information kiosks to be installed in Newark parks along Newark Bikeways routes

Recently, the City installed three of four planned information kiosks, paid for through grants secured by BikeNewark, in city parks as a guide supplement to BikeNewark’s low-stress network wayfinding signage. Each kiosk contains our Bikeways map and a city Area Recreation Amenities resource map.

Partnering with the City of Newark Department of Parks & Recreation, BikeNewark produced the resource map (shown below), which highlights area parks, noting specific park amenities with an overlay of the Newark Bikeways low-stress network, as well as many off-road trails.

Area Recreation Amenities graphic

Kiosks have been installed in Phillips Park along the James F. Hall Trail (where the Southwest Bikeway meets the Central Loop), at the junction of the Hall and Pomeroy Trails (Central Loop), and in Olan Thomas Park along the Pomeroy Trail (North Bikeway). The fourth kiosks will be installed in Hillside Park (West Bikeway).

photo of kiosk position in Olan Thomas Park
One of the kiosk locations is Olan Thomas Park, along the Pomeroy Trail, part of the North Bikeway.

> Area Recreation Amenities map (PDF)
> Newark Bikeways map (PDF)

commuting, encouragement, events, news

2024 Bike to Work Day in Newark

photo of attendees with event banner
photo of Michael Smith
BikeNewark Secretary Michael Smith ably emcees the event.

On May 17, BikeNewark partnered with the City of Newark, the University of Delaware (UD), DelDOT, and Delaware Commute Solutions to celebrate national Bike to Work Day in Newark.

About 75 people 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), free UD Police t-shirts, commuting and local biking info, great networking, and brief speeches by local and state officials.

photo of Matt Robinson
UD’s Director of Community Engagement Matt Robinson welcomes attendees to campus.

BikeNewark’s Secretary, Michael Smith, acted as the event’s emcee. Introduced first was Matt Robinson, UD’s Director of Community Engagement. Robinson welcomed everyone on behalf of the host institution and spoke of how important University–community partnerships are to the overall success of the city.

photo of Cori Ford
City Councilwoman Corinth Ford talks about her biking experience in Newark.

Newark City Councilwoman and bicycle advocate Corinth Ford spoke about her long history of bicycling in Newark and how much conditions have improved overall for bicyclists.

photo of Paul Baumbach
State Rep. Paul Baumbach begins his remarks with a story of his growing up in a bicycle-centric family.
photo of Dave Sokola
State Sen. Dave Sokola, who is a serious cyclist in his own right, follows Baumbach as a co-keynote speaker.

The event’s co-keynote speakers were local state legislators Rep. Paul Baumbach and Sen. Dave Sokola. Baumbach shared a story of how bicycling has been a key influence in his life. Sokola spoke about how important it has been for the city, county, BikeNewark, Bike Delaware, WILMAPCO, and DelDOT to work together to help plan and fund the improvements we’ve witnessed recently in Newark as well as in projects going forward.

City of Newark Mayor Jerry Clifton then joined City Manager Tom Coleman and BikeNewark chair Bob McBride to announce and present the annual Bicycle Friendly Community Leader Award. This year’s recipient was City staff member Joe Spadafino, the retiring city Director of Parks & Recreation.

photo of award winner Joe Spadafino and presenters
2024 Bicycle Friendly Community Leader Award recipient Joe Spadafino shows off the framed award certificate, flanked by BikeNewark’s Bob McBride, City Manager Tom Coleman, and Mayor Jerry Clifton.

Spadafino was chosen because, as head of the city’s Parks & Recreation department, he has been very influential in working with BikeNewark to develop and promote bicycling routes and trails throughout the city’s many parks and greenspaces, including guiding the Emerson Bridge project and the in-progress project that will connect the bridge to the Pomeroy Trail (Newark’s North Bikeway) with two separate trails. He continued the wonderful legacy of our city’s Parks & Rec directors, following James F. Hall and Charlie Emerson.

Bloom Energy and W. L. Gore & Associates were each represented by several employees who biked in for the event.

BikeNewark’s Mark Deshon and Michael Smith then drew names of attendees at random to win one of nine giveaways, with a combined value of $400. Gift sponsors included BikeNewark, Bike Delaware, University of Delaware, Trek, Wooden Wheels, Deer Park Tavern, and Klondike Kate’s.

To conclude the proceedings, attendees gathered at the south steps of Hullihen Hall to pose for a group photo.

group photo of Bike to Work Day attendees
A group of nearly 70 attendees gather for an event-concluding photo. See you next year!

Special thanks go to UD’s Kathy Atkinson for photographically covering the event (including all the photos shown here).

Additional Event Photos

photo of attendees registering their attendance
Attendees sign in at the BikeNewark registration table, assisted by Karen Rosenberg and Christine Schultz.
photo of attendees at a vendor table
Attendees stop by the food and vendor tables as they arrive.
photo of Jerry Clifton and Christine Schultz
BikeNewark’s Christine Schultz listens to Newark Mayor Jerry Clifton.
photo of Kevin Monahan and daughter with bike
BikeNewark Vice Chair Kevin Monahan and his youngest daughter show off their custom ride.
photo of Bob McBride
During the event, BikeNewark Chair Bob McBride shares some of what BikeNewark is working on in the community this year.
communication, evaluation, news, projects, safety

Accomplishments in 2023

BikeNewark was busy again in 2023 in a number of areas. Below is a list of our accomplishments during 2023, categorized by type.

Bicycle-friendly status

graphic of silver Bicycle Friendly Community seal for 2023-2027

Helped the City of Newark complete its renewal application to the League of American Bicyclists for “Bicycle Friendly Community” (BFC) status. As a result, Newark became the first city in Delaware to achieve “Silver” status as a BFC. There are only 41 communities nationwide that boast a higher BFC status than Newark.

Projects

Newark Bikeways sign graphic

Completed signage production and installation for the South Bikeway and the Delaware Avenue portion of the Central Loop Bikeway as part of the Newark Bikeways low-stress bicycle network wayfinding project.

Purchased and ordered four information/wayfinding kiosks for the City of Newark staff to install on segments of the Newark Bikeways.

Safety

No Distracted Biking card

Produced a new safety handout—“No Distracted Biking”—to address the problem of local cyclists wearing earphones, earbuds, and texting while biking, adding to our growing cadre of bike-safety materials. It also mentions no biking under the influence of alcohol or other mind-altering substances (i.e., no “BUI”).

Partnered with University of Delaware Police, DelDOT, and Newark Bike Project to hold four successful bike-safety checkpoint events on campus, during which about 75 sets of bike lights were installed, about 25 bike helmets were fitted and given out, and bicycle-safety information was distributed.

Events

2023 Family Bike Fest logo

Organized the inaugural Newark Family Bike Fest, a family-oriented event in June on the University of Delaware campus that included bicycle and civic-organization vendors, games for the kids, a bike rodeo administered by DelDOT, and distribution of local route and bike-safety information.

Highlighted National Bike Month in May with our annual Bike to Work Day event on the campus of the University of Delaware, in coordination with the City of Newark, UD, DelDOT, Newark Bike Project, and Delaware Commute Solutions.

Organized and held five First Friday Rides community events—slow group rides that are meant to encourage those of all ages to enjoy bicycling and practice good group-riding etiquette—involving more than 50 bicyclists.

Participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of DelDOT’s Elkton Road improvements project, which included the off-road paved bike/ped path from the Maryland state line to Gravenor Lane, which is part of the city’s Southwest Bikeway.

Distributed information and talked with attendees at the annual Newark Community Day in September.

Distributed information and talked with attendees at a Newark evening Beer Garden event in October and raffled off a new bike helmet among the registered donees.

Funding and membership

Received grant funding of $6,000 from The Newark Partnership and an additional $5,000 from state Rep. Cyndie Romer to be used for the purchase of information kiosks to be placed along segments of the Newark Bikeways.

Received $2,000 in generous funding from the White Clay Bicycle Club, much of which was applied to the Newark Bikeways wayfinding project.

A few members contributed other amounts in addition to their membership fee.

Increased membership by ten during the calendar year, bringing total membership for 2023 to 42.

Support of other efforts

Supported and co-sponsored our partner Bike Delaware’s “Everyone Gets Home” Summit in Dover in May.

Supported John R. Downes Elementary School for its annual Bike to School Day celebration in May.

Supported the Newark Center for Creative Learning’s Greenfest event.

Supported and participated with Delaware State Parks in five trail-etiquette events.

Members participated in (and continue on) The Newark Partnership.

A member participated (and continues) on the City of Newark’s Transportation Improvement District (TID) Committee.