Tag: accomplishments

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.
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.

education, encouragement, engineering, environment, events, infrastructure, projects, safety, transportation

Accomplishments in 2022

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.

> See excerpt from June 2014 partnership meeting minutes (PDF)

NBC10 News video – November 2022

Helped install new bike racks at John R. Downes Elementary School.

Completed wayfinding-signage production and installation for the Southwest Bikeway as part of the Newark Bikeways low-stress bicycle network project.

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. 

photo of County Executive Matt Meyer
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.

Partnered with Delaware State Parks and the Wilmington Trail Club to complete the installation of wayfinding signage for the Christina Valley Stream Trail.

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 application for “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.

photo of First Friday riders on Pomeroy Trail

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.

communication, evaluation, news

Accomplishments in 2021

photo of beginning of bike lane buffer on Casho Mill Road

It’s been a relatively busy year for us, particularly in the advocacy department. Here’s a brief look at what we accomplished this year. As always, we would very much appreciate your support. Certainly, some of the things you’re seeing now in and around Newark would not have happened without our advocacy, and certainly not without the help of our partner organizations.

  • Surveyed candidates for the April City Council election as a public service.
photo of signs at the beginning of the Northwest Bikeway

  • Received a $2,500 Delaware Greenways’ Future Trails of Northern Delaware Coalition trail amenities grant, which defrayed a good portion of the cost of the aforementioned signs. With BikeNewark’s assistance, the City installed the signage on the North, Northwest, and West Bikeways.

  • Received $625 in funding from the White Clay Bicycle Club in May to be applied to the Newark Bikeways project.

  • Highlighted National Bike Month in May with an encouragement blitz, which included a photo contest, a weekly area-bike-ride suggestion via social media, and a “pop-up” in-person event with T-shirt giveaway.

  • Participated in a University of Delaware Police–organized safety event on campus in May by handing out bike safety–related information.

  • Partnered with Delaware State Parks and Wilmington Trail Club to plan, create, and install wayfinding signage for the Christina Valley Stream Trail.
map of ”Delaware Yield” and “Idaho Stop” states
  • Advocated successfully to the state legislature to support a bill to eliminate the sunset clause on the “Delaware Yield”–provision portion of the 2017 Bicycle Friendly Delaware Act.

  • Worked with City staff to help the City submit three project applications for Delaware Bicycle Council’s bicycling Innovative Infrastructure Grant.

  • Organized an ad hoc committee of University of Delaware staff and faculty to apply on behalf of the University to the League of American Bicyclists for “Bicycle Friendly University” status.

  • Coordinated with the East Coast Greenway Alliance’s area representative, City of Newark staff, and DelDOT personnel on signage plans for the Southwest Bikeway and subsequently ordered wayfinding signage through the City of Newark for this “phase 3” segment of the Newark Bikeways low-stress network.

  • Partnered with University of Delaware Police and DelDOT to hold a successful fall bike-safety event on campus, during which 20 sets of bike lights were installed and seven bike helmets given and fitted.

  • Successfully urged the City of Newark to eliminate on-street parking along a portion of Casho Mill Road that is part of a soon-to-be-completed Safe Routes to School project (see photo at top of page).

In addition, BikeNewark gained a net of four members this year. We have members who also participate in one or more of the following groups:

  • University of Delaware’s BikeShare Task Force
  • The Newark Partnership
  • City of Newark Transportation Improvement District Committee
  • City of Newark Conservation Advisory Committee
communication, commuting, education, encouragement, engineering, events, infrastructure, projects, safety, transportation

Accomplishments in 2018

2018 proved a challenging year for BikeNewark, as a number of issues began to compete for our attention. Though we know that there is so much more work ahead, there were a lot of things we accomplished last year with our partners’ support.

Let’s take a look at what we did.

Bicycle-advocacy work involved

  • consulting with and providing input to Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson on the Delaware Avenue two-way protected bike-lane project.
  • further refining Newark low-stress bicycle network concept and map in advance of initial production and application of signage on a “Central Loop.”
  • several members attending a series of UD-led Newark Futures workshops.
  • presence on behalf of the bicycling community at various City Council and city Traffic Committee meetings.

In terms of helping the City of Newark promote itself nationally, BikeNewark

  • Bronze seal art from the LAB for Bicycle Friendly Communitysubmitted LAB Bicycle Friendly Community application on behalf of the City of Newark. Newark received its third consecutive bronze-level designation, this time for 2018-2022.
  • submitted Places for Bikes application on behalf of the City of Newark. According to the data gathered by People For Bikes, Newark ranked 39th overall nationwide and 7th among cities with a population of 100,000 or less in terms of bikeability.

BikeNewark-organized or -supported events held during 2018 included

  • photo of 2018 Bike to Work Day participants (photo by Kathy Atkinson, courtesy of UD)the annual Bike to Work Day on University of Delaware campus on May 21 (successfully rescheduled due to poor weather). Keynote speaker was New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer. More than 70 participants came to the event, which was supported by 6 corporate sponsors. During the event, the annual Bicycle Friendly Community Leader Award was presented, and a Trek hybrid bicycle was given out as a random prize.
  • nine First Friday Rides (January and March events were cancelled due to poor weather). These social slow rides through Newark averaged about 25 participants.
  • two Newark Historical Buildings Bicycle Tours in the fall, in cooperation with Newark Bike Project. Each event drew between 10-20 participants.
  • photo of bike lights night volunteers and customera Bike Lights Night event on October 25 at the corner of North College Avenue and Main Street, during which 25 sets of lights, courtesy of UD, were installed free of charge.
  • four Bike Centrals in cooperation with the University of Delaware, Newark Bike Project, and DelDOT:
    • Spring event, during which 10 sets of bike lights were installed free of charge.
    • August 25, in coordination with UD’s 1743 Welcome Days, during which 6 sets of lights were installed free of charge.
    • September 12, during which 20 sets of lights were installed and 6 helmets were given out free of charge.
    • October 25, during which about 20 sets of lights were installed free of charge.
  • two BikeNewark Community Nights—June 21 at Handloff Park and October 26 at Wooden Wheels, attended by 31 and 50 participants, respectively.
  • the annual Mayor’s Fun Ride on June 2, which was a big success in terms of funding raised for bicycle-related projects.

4 bike safety tips in Mandarin ChineseOur public service involvement included

  • distributing bike-safety flyers in four languages—English, Spanish, Chinese, and French—to the English Language Institute. These were based on the “4 Safety Tips for Bicyclists” cards that were printed in January 2018 for use by partner organizations.
  • executing and posting results of a City Council candidates survey in advance of the April municipal election.
  • volunteering at the Walkable/Bikeable Delaware Summit in May, which was organized by Bike Delaware, one of BikeNewark’s partners.
  • hosting an information table during Newark Community Day (September 16).