BikeNewark chair Bob McBride helps fit a UD student with a new DelDOT-donated helmet.
As has been done for nearly 10 years, BikeNewark worked with partner groups this fall to hold two bicycle-safety checkpoint events on the University of Delaware (UD) campus, adjacent to the two-way protected bicycle lane that comprises the northern east-west portion of the Central Loop of the Newark Bikeways low-stress network. This fall, two-hour events were held on September 23 and October 1, in partnership with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), the University of Delaware Police Department (UDPD), and Delaware Commute Solutions.
BikeNewark’s Mark Deshon discusses some safety-info handouts with a UD student.
DelDOT’s Chip Kneavel inflates a UD student’s tire on the brick patio area adjacent to Delaware Avenue.
The purpose of these twice-a-semester events is to help inform students about bicycle safety and local safe-bicycling routes, provide minor bike repairs or adjustments, and install free front and rear bike lights and offer a free helmet*, both courtesy of DelDOT.
Amy Reardon gives a student information about Delaware Commute Solutions benefits.
This fall was a record-breaking season for the free bike lights and helmets given by DelDOT. The October event smashed any previous event’s numbers, as 26 sets of bike lights were installed and 15 helmets were given to UD students. Combined with the initial event in September, this fall we distributed 45 sets of lights and 24 helmets, far beyond what we had ever done before.
BikeNewark’s Dave Schultz and Mark Deshon install front and rear lights on a student’s bike.
It’s clear that there is always a real need and interest among UD students for the services we offer as a means of fulfilling a commitment to improve bicycle safety in Newark. BikeNewark thanks its volunteers as well as staff from DelDOT, UDPD, and Delaware Commute Solutions for helping make these events such a success.
Our BikeNewark tent was prominent on The Green at our September 23 bicycle-safety checkpoint.
Last fall, in the process of collecting data for the 2025 update to the Newark Bicycle Plan, I ended up visiting all 36 of Newark’s city parks. (I was checking how many bike racks each of them had. The answer, for most of them: none. And you thought finding parking on Main Street was hard!)
Since then, I’ve wondered how many Newarkers can say that they’ve been to all of our parks, or even heard of them all. And this spring, as BikeNewark was preparing for Bike to Work Day 2025, I thought, “What if I visited all our parks again, by bike, and blogged about it, for the sake of everyone who enjoys parks in Newark, biking in Newark, or biking to parks in Newark?”
I ran this by exactly one other BikeNewark member and got a reply of “Go for it!”, which was enough encouragement for me. So, here are the (entirely self-imposed) rules of the (so-called) Newark park tour:
I‘ll visit all the parks within the Newark city limits, and only parks within the Newark city limits.
To make this task a little easier, I‘ll split up the parks by city council district, visiting all the parks in District 1 on one trip, all the parks in District 2 on another trip, and so on. (The council district map is included just below this list.)
I’ll show the route I take to get from park to park and share a few pictures of each park and its amenities.
I’ll travel from park to park by biking or walking only. No cars allowed. Public transit is okay to get to the first park in a route or get home from the last park in a route.
I‘ll check out the contents of every “Little Free Library” associated with a park.
Let’s start at the very beginning—a very good place to start: District 1, in West Newark, a roughly triangular district bounded by Route 273, the CSX Railroad, and the Maryland border.
District 1 has seven city parks: Hillside Park, Margaret Allen Memorial Park, Norma B. Handloff Park, Leroy C. Hill Park, Rahway Park, Elan Park, and Coleman Park.
Hillside Park
One entrance to Hillside Park, at the intersection of Hillside Road and Dallam Road
One of Newark’s newest parks, Hillside Park was first conceived as a stormwater-management facility, replacing the University of Delaware’s Caesar Rodney dorms after their closure in 2015 and demolition in 2019. Beyond a stormwater-retention pond, the park’s playground, pavilions, trees and natural spaces, bike racks, paved trail loop, and fishing pier make it a hub of west Newark. On any nice day it’s bustling with kids, parents, students, townies, bikers, walkers, fishers, and geese. (A group of them on the trail almost made me late for work one morning this spring. The geese, I mean.)
The pond, as seen from the trail around the park (much nicer than the term “stormwater-retention pond” might suggest)
The paved trail through Hillside Park is also a keystone of Newark’s West Bikeway, connecting neighborhoods like Oaklands and Nottingham Green to downtown Newark via the railroad underpass that leads to Amstel Avenue.
Cycling tip: Don’t ride your bike as fast as you can through Hillside Park, downhill, toward this underpass. One day you may be surprised by someone coming through the other way that you didn’t see until the last second, brake hard to avoid running into them, and fling yourself off your bike and onto the asphalt, hypothetically.
To mark its Bikeway status, Hillside Park has one of BikeNewark’s four information kiosks, containing a map of the Newark Bikeways, a map of recreation amenities in and around Newark, and a QR link to bicycle resources.
Here is the information kiosk along the West Bikeway in Hillside Park, one of four such kiosks along Newark Bikeways segments citywide.
Margaret Allen Memorial Park
The trip from Hillside Park to Margaret Allen Memorial Park is an easy one. Take Dallam Road (another component of the West Bikeway) and turn left at Briar Lane (or Bent Lane, if you prefer—either will get you there).
The entrance, of sorts, to Margaret Allen Memorial Park
Location: 0 Briar Lane; on the corner of Bent and Briar Lane, in Nottingham Green
Many of Newark’s parks aren’t your typical playground-and-picnic table recreation space, but natural areas where trees and wildlife can flourish without any more disruption than the occasional dirt trail. Margaret Allen Memorial Park is one such park, and as far as I can tell, it’s also Newark’s smallest park, less than half an acre in area. It’s a patch of forest, taking up the tip of one of the narrow triangular wedges formed by the intersection of Bent Lane and Briar Lane.
Inside the park, there’s maybe a hint of the beginnings of a dirt trail.
The park’s namesake, Margaret Allen, was a Newark resident who donated the land to the City of Newark to be preserved as parkland rather than being developed. The park was named after her in 2023, 24 years after her donation of the land and 16 years after her death.
Norma B. Handloff Park
The trip from Margaret Allen Memorial Park to Norma B. Handloff Park is short, but does require a few tricky left turns. Keep going southwest on Bent Lane, then turn left onto Casho Mill Road, then left onto Barksdale Road. Continue along Barksdale and turn left into either of two parking lots.
From the view of the sign at Norma B. Handloff Park, you can see the tennis courts, the pavilion, the skate spot, and a slide in the distance. And this isn’t even half of it!
Location: 1000 Barksdale Road; northeast corner of the Barksdale Road and Casho Mill Road intersection
Norma B. Handloff Park was one of the parks I visited most growing up in Newark, and let me tell you, this place has everything—tennis courts; baseball fields; basketball courts with a handball wall; at least eight playsets, swing sets, slides, and other play features, the names of which I don’t even know; the tire swing that was a yearly highlight of the Summer Playground summer camp program; and pavilion with multiple picnic tables! It boasts one of only two skate spots in the city of Newark!
The beloved tire swing is in the center background.These pictures make the place look empty, but there were plenty of kids all over the park the day I visited.
And still, there are huge swathes of open space and many, many trees. (Sadly, the weeping willow tree that gave shelter to Summer Playground campers for years seems to have gone the way of the program itself.) The City’s website also assures me that there’s a new rain garden at the park, though I wasn’t able to see it for myself.
This is one of two baseball fields at the park, seen from the corner of Barksdale Road and Casho Mill Road. The other baseball field is just barely visible in the background.
The trip from Norma B. Handloff Park to Leroy C. Hill Park is even shorter. Head back down Barksdale Road, turn left onto Casho Mill Road, and the parking lot is on your right. You might spend longer waiting at the light than you will riding.
The sign, parking lot, and backstop at Leroy C. Hill Park
Location: 1001 Casho Mill Road; southwest corner of the Barksdale and Casho Mill Road intersection
It’s kind of incredible to me that a Little League baseball field in a small town surrounded by residential neighborhoods has this much car parking and not a single bike rack.
If you’re at Leroy C. Hill Park and you’re not playing or watching baseball, you could: search for a place to lock up your bike; contemplate the fact that the nearest baseball field, directly across the intersection at Norma B. Handloff Park, is less than a tenth of a mile away; or check out the Little Free Library, the first so far on the Newark Park Tour! Unfortunately, when I checked out this Little Free Library, it was full of ants.
You see the stuff that looks like rice on the bottom shelf? Those are ants. They have wings. Seems more R.L. Stine than Pollyanna to me.
The park’s namesake, Leroy C. Hill Jr., was a Newark resident who was thoroughly involved in baseball at the local and national levels. To quote his obituary in the Newark Post:
Hill managed baseball teams for Newark High School and town teams prior to WWII and played in the Susquehanna League afterwards. He also managed Wilmington Truck Body in the Delaware Semi Pro League and the Newark Buccos in the Vic Willis League. He was a professional baseball scout for the Phillies and the Pirates and was a founding member of the Mid Atlantic Major League Baseball Scouts Association. Hill was most proud of his being able to help Vic Willis make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
The baseball field at Leroy C. Hill Park, as seen from Barksdale Road, en route to Rahway Park
Rahway Park
The trip from Leroy C. Hill Park to Rahway Park requires you to turn left onto Casho Mill Road, for the third and final time this trip, then left onto Barksdale Road, then right onto Rahway Drive. Keep riding until you reach the right-angle bend in Rahway; the park will be on your left.
This is Rahway Park, yes, the whole thing. Part of a neighbor’s yard, too, is off to the left.
Location: 922 Rahway Drive; off Barksdale Road, in Cherry Hill
Rahway Park probably qualifies as a pocket park; it’s a small neighborhood park, less than an acre, on a single residential lot between two houses. One swing set and one play feature. (The latter was removed a few weeks after I took this picture, according to the City, and should be replaced soon.) One picnic table, one very climbable-looking tree (sadly, I did not have the time to test this myself), one park bench, and one exhortation to take your trash with you… and one Little Free Library!
This one had far fewer ants and somewhat more John Grisham.
Elan Park
The trip from Rahway Park to Elan Park takes you back down Rahway Drive the way you came, right onto Barksdale Road, and right into Blue Hen Ridge. Slog your way up the hill, and you’ll be rewarded by the park on your right.
Here’s the sign and most of the features at Elan Park. Most of the grassy space isn’t captured in this picture.
Location: 2 Blue Hen Ridge; off Barksdale Road, in Country Place
Elan Park is a neighborhood park, not unlike Rahway Park, but a little bigger and a little fuller (A backpack park, if you will, rather than a pocket park), with one swing set and one play feature, the latter being more elaborate. There are one picnic table under a pavilion, several trees, a Wildlife Habitat certification, two park benches (at least), and a basketball court. There is only one Little Free Library, though, but I suppose more than one at a park this size would be too extravagant.
I took Rules of Civility off the top shelf about ten seconds after taking this picture. I’d already read and enjoyed Amor Towles’ other novels.
The source of Elan Park’s name is hard to track down. The nearby neighborhood of Country Place, which has a sign at the intersection of Blue Hen Ridge and Barksdale Road, actually only includes the townhouses on Chickory Way. The Newark zoning map claims that houses on Blue Hen Ridge and its offshoots of North Fawn Drive, South Fawn Drive, and Squirrel Lane belong to the Hunting Hills subdivision, but also assigns some of them to the community of Elan of Huntington Hills.
This set of signs from the other side of Barksdale Road clarifies nothing.
Coleman Park
The trip from Elan Park to Coleman Park starts by riding back down Blue Hen Ridge and right onto Barksdale Road yet again. Then turn right onto the aptly named Country Hills Drive and ride all the way to the end. Make sure you brought a bike with gears, or a battery.
This is the sign at Coleman Park and entrance on Country Hills Drive. Note that the entrance is not usually roped off.
Location: 42 Country Hills Drive; off Barksdale Road, in Country Hills
Coleman Park is another “natural area and dirt trails” park, though much larger than Margaret Allen Memorial Park. The trail runs from Country Hills Drive through the woods to Valley Road, just a few feet from the Maryland border, and not far from the Briarcreek North neighborhood. At the time of my visit, and the time of writing this, Coleman Park was closed indefinitely for safety reasons. From the Newark Post:
The inspection found that the tree canopy near the entrance to the park consists of many black locust trees that are structurally compromised by fungal decay and pose a significant risk of falling.
The walking paths are eroded and surrounded by dense thickets of greenbrier, multiflora rose and poison ivy.
“These thorny species have overgrown the area and become entangled with large woody debris from fallen trees and limbs,” City Manager Tom Coleman wrote in a memo to city council. “Significant land clearing and tree removal must be completed before we can reopen the park.”
The city does not have funding for such work in the 2025 budget, according to Coleman, who did not provide any indication as to when the park might reopen.
This was about as close as I could get to the park.
The Newark Post article also contains two further pieces of information about the park: 1) it was purchased and annexed by the city in 1993 and named for the family that used to own it (no relation to the City Manager), and 2) possible future improvements to the park include paving the trail and adding a turf/meadow area. I’ll leave it to residents of the adjacent neighborhoods to decide whether or not these changes would improve the park.
If the trail through Coleman Park were open, the trip to the final park on the list would use it. Instead, you’ll need to ride back down Country Hills Drive, turn left on Barksdale Road and ride half a mile, turn left again on Casho Mill Road and ride three-quarters of a mile, turn left again on West Church Road, and ride up the hill until you spot the park on your right.
BONUS: Community Park at Church Road
This is the entrance to the Community Park at Church Road. The playground, pavilion, and church are there in the back.
Location: 708 West Church Road
Bike parking spaces: 0
The Community Park at Church Road isn’t a City of Newark park, hence the “bonus” status. It’s the property of Newark Wesleyan Church, seen here, but open to the public from dawn to dusk every day. The park, which was opened to the public in the fall of 2024, includes multiple play features, a swing set, a pavilion with two picnic tables, and several park benches and chairs.
Here’s the playground, a little closer up. I’m intrigued by that spinner and the unusually-shaped swing.
District 1 residents may also know Newark Wesleyan Church as their polling place for city elections, such as the elections for mayor and District 1 councilmember held earlier this year. You all voted in that, right?
Here’s a shot of the playground from inside the fence. The sign did say I was welcome, after all.
That completes the tour of District 1’s parks! Next time I’ll be exploring the parks in District 2.
BikeNewark secretary Jacquee Lukawski and DelDOT’s John Fiori await student customers at the bike-safety checkpoint adjacent to the Delaware Avenue two-way protected bikeway.
In cooperation with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), the University of Delaware (UD) Department of Public Safety (UDPD), and Delaware Commute Solutions, BikeNewark held spring bicycle-safety checkpoint events on the UD campus on April 1st and April 9th.
BikeNewark chair Bob McBride talks with a student about the importance of wearing a helmet.
During these events, BikeNewark members and DelDOT and Delaware Commute Solutions staff members interacted with approximately 40 UD students. Free bike lights and helmets were offered. Bicycle-safety information, most of which is available on our Other Resources webpage, was handed out, depending on the particular student’s interest, needs, and/or safety violation.
A student looks on as DelDOT’s John Fiori installs a free bike light on her electric bicycle.
A total of 18 sets of bicycle lights (white front light, red rear light) were installed onto student bicycles, and five helmets were fitted and given away. The weather on each day was cold and somewhat windy, so these numbers were much lower than normally experienced during typical checkpoint events.
Students who were serviced left overwhelmingly happy that we had provided them with useful information and safety gear. Two such events will again be offered on campus in September.
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:
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.
One could argue that 2022 was a “slower” year for BikeNewark in terms of progress, but there were a lot of positive happenings with which we’ve either advocated for or been directly involved in that have recently come to fruition. Below is a list of our activity during 2022.
Received $625 in funding from the White Clay Bicycle Club to be applied to the Newark Bikeways project.
Witnessed and helped publicize the completion of the Delaware Avenue two-way protected bikeway, the result of a project BikeNewark (in its prior manifestation as the Newark Bicycle Committee) had advocated for in 2014 with partner organizations Bike Delaware, the City of Newark, DelDOT, and the Wilmington Area Planning Council.
Created a new two-page bicycle-safety document, which is both downloadable and available as a handout; it includes a Delaware Avenue bicycle-infrastructure graphic produced by DelDOT, “4 Safety Tips for Bicyclists,” along with ticklers (with QR codes) for a Main Street sharrows video, a Main Street contraflow-lane video, and the Bicycle Friendly Delaware Act.
County Executive Matt Meyer talks about progress made and big plans for the future.
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 UD, DelDOT, Newark Bike Project, and others.
Supported John R. Downes Elementary School for its annual Bike to School Day celebration in May.
Reviewed project proposal options for bicycle improvements along the Wyoming Road corridor as part of the City of Newark’s bicycling Innovative Infrastructure Grant it received from the Delaware Bicycle Council.
Began work with the City of Newark on its renewal applicationfor “Bicycle Friendly Community” status.
Executed an order and paid for wayfinding signage for the South Bikeway and for signage that will complete the Central Loop Bikeway.
Partnered with University of Delaware Police and DelDOT to hold two successful bike-safety events on campus, during which about 40 sets of bike lights were installed, about 15 bike helmets were given and fitted, and bicycle-safety information was distributed.
Partnered with University of Delaware Police and Newark Bike Project in a UD-sponsored event where bicycle-safety information was distributed.
Participated with Newark Bike Project at a Newark Center for Creative Learning fair, where safe-cycling materials were distributed to students and parents.
Organized and held three 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 and participated with Delaware State Parks in trail-etiquette events at White Clay Creek State Park.
Attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony (during which BikeNewark support was cited) for the Charles R. Emerson Pedestrian & Bicycle Bridge over the White Clay Creek, for which we had advocated.
Participated in and hosted a booth at the annual Newark Community Day event.
Increased membership by 52% (added a net of 14 new members) during the calendar year.
Additionally,
Members participated in (and continue on) The Newark Partnership.
A member participated (and continues) on the City of Newark’s Transportation Improvement District Committee.
A member participated (and continues) on the City of Newark’s Conservation Advisory Committee.
BikeNewark 