On May 19, BikeNewark partnered with the City of Newark, the University of Delaware (UD), DelDOT, and the Newark Bike Project to celebrate national Bike to Work Day in Newark. Bike-group captains led bike-commuting participants from six locations throughout Newark to the venue.
About 65 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), great networking, and brief speeches by local and state officials.
BikeNewark’s Secretary, Michael Smith, acted as the event’s emcee. Introduced first was Lou Rossi, a BikeNewark member who is UD’s Dean of the Graduate College. Rossi welcomed everyone on behalf of the host institution.
Newark City Manager Tom Coleman had been scheduled to speak next but could not attend due to a personal necessity. So, in his stead, Mayor Stu Markham, who was to follow Coleman, read some prepared remarks from the City Manager before commenting himself on the bicycle-related progress the city has seen during the past year.
The event’s keynote speaker was Pamela Steinebach, DelDOT’s Director of Planning. She spoke at length about all the local projects with which DelDOT has been involved during the past few years. She also talked about ongoing projects, like the I-95/SR896 interchange project, which will help further transform the city’s bicycle infrastructure.
Mike Fortner, a City of Newark planning staffer and BikeNewark member who had coordinated event planning for the Bike to Work Day event, joined Mayor Markham and BikeNewark chair Bob McBride to announce and present the annual Bicycle Friendly Community Leader Award. This year’s recipient was New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer.
Meyer was chosen because, in his leadership role with the county, he has demonstrated both a true love for bicycling and an understanding of its importance in connecting communities across the county. To this end, he made sure the county financially supported local bicycle-improvement projects, most recently the Emerson Bridge project, and has pledged funding for the new trail project that will connect the bridge to the Pomeroy Trail (Newark’s North Bikeway).
A surprised and grateful Meyer took the opportunity to laud all the groups, including BikeNewark, that are working together to improve bicycling in Newark and make cross-county connections a reality.
Other dignitaries present included State Sen. Dave Sokola, Rep. Ed Osienski, Rep. Cyndie Romer, and Newark City Councilwoman Corinth Ford.
To conclude the proceedings, attendees gathered at the south steps of Hullihen Hall to pose for a group photo. Special thanks go to UD’s Kathy Atkinson for photographically covering the event.
Additional Event Photos
Congratulations to Delaware Greenways for its successful application, which resulted in the award of a National Scenic Byways Program grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) in the amount of $913,420 for the Delaware Bayshore Byway. Delaware Greenways and DelDOT are two of BikeNewark’s seven partner organizations.
BikeNewark 