Don’t stop with New Castle – Delaware needs a bike/walking path connecting Wilmington and Rehoboth
This plan would be an economic boon to New Castle, Delaware City, Port Penn, Leipsic, Little Creek, Bowers Beach, Milford, Lincoln, Ellendale, Georgetown, and Lewes.
Phase 1: Already underway. Georgetown to Lewes (rails to trails), and Lewes to Rehoboth (Junction and breakwater)
Phase 2: Follow Rt 9 south out of New Castle, connecting New Castle with Delaware City by way of an improved shoulder with rounded curbs to delineate car and bike/walking spaces. Then continue this way down to the Augustine wildlife area. Install alternating boardwalks and paths between Augustine and Cedar Swap wildlife areas. Then back to Rt9 south to Leipsic.
Phase 3: Rt 9 from Leipsic to Little Creek and then to Rt 352 toward Kitts Hummock. Existing road past Ted Harvey Conservation Area to a newly constructed foot/bike bridge over the St Jones River to Bowers Beach (probably the most expensive investment in the whole project).
Phase 4: South out of Bowers Beach on Rt 121 on a new bike/footbridge spanning the Murderkill river. 121 south (Thompsonville Rd) to Milford. South to Lincoln running parallel to the existing train line. Lincoln to Ellendale and Ellendale to Georgetown on the same easement.
Done.
This is very do-able. BikeDelaware has been working on things just like this.
That would be so cool. If you haven’t rode the Gordon Pond or Junction Breakwater trails, you’re missing the nicest coastal beach trails on the east coast
A big ROI for a cheap project spanning multiple RDs and Senate Districts. Two measly bridges and X miles of boardwalks.
Does Delaware need bike paths and walking paths? For a state that isn’t big on sidewalks, yeah it would be nice. “Need” is a stretch.
Sidewalks would be a nice start.
On a per capita basis, Delaware is the most deadly state for pedestrians. This wouldn’t solve the issue, but it is a step in the right direction.
We should also work on improving development and zoning issues, which are even more to blame.
What we need is for you guys in NCC to lean on your legislators to protect the inland bays and coastal area as a regional resource like MD does
No worries, Mouse, Rehoboth is set to pump their treated sewage effluent into the ocean. Out of sight. Out of mind. So no longer will we see shit spilled into the Rehoboth canal like it did this summer.
And the City of Rehoboth, Sussex County Council and the State Legislators are all allowing it to happen. Rehoboth and Sussex voted for it. Leg Hall voted to raise the debt limit for this (literal) shit.
The Army Corps of engineers has a comment period that ends tomorrow if you would like to voice your concerns about it. Michael.d.yost@usace.army.mil
NOAA already expressed concerns about the pipe going into the Hen & Chicken Shoals a mile off the beach from Rehoboth. It is a threatened species habitat for the Atlantic Sturgeon.
Does Delaware need bike paths and walking paths? For a state that isn’t big on sidewalks, yeah it would be nice. “Need” is a stretch.
Every state needs bike paths and walking paths. They’re critical for allowing residents to use and appreciate our outdoor natural resources, and they’re invaluable for health reasons. So no, need is not a stretch.
Delaware has an urgent need to protect its natural resources and improve the health of its residents. Providing residents better access to those resources is the surest way to get people to help protect those resources, and giving them places to safely enjoy outdoor recreation will improve their health (especially important given Delaware’s high levels of obesity).
The Northern Delaware Greenway Trail has been phenomenally successful at connecting various protected open spaces in New Castle County and improving access to these wonderful natural resources. A trail connecting residential areas along the Delaware River and Bay and connecting the protected open spaces along the bay would be even more ambitious, but is just as needed.
I’d settle for public transportation that runs more than every 2-4 hours in the lower part of the state.
Where I live in AZ (Gilbert/Chandler) a new road doesn’t go up without a decent amount of sidewalks (that are well back from the roadway) and bike lanes. I on occasion ride my bike to work (about 8 miles away) and I’m in a bike lane 100% of the trip. When I come back home to visit, i find it hard to just walk around the neighborhood (Smyrna ish) without having to use the road.
The newfangled “bike lanes” that amount to painted lines on a busy road are death traps. I’m thinking of the painted bike lane on Route 7 in front of Goldey Beacom, right in the decelaration lane for turning onto Stoney Batter.
There is quite a debate about those. There are some people that are militantly pro-bike that want the problem addressed by increasing penalties for distracted and aggressive driving and bike lanes on the side of all roads. The other side is all about the segregated car-free paths. They have clashed often, but the segregated paths team seems to have the upper hand these days.
Along Rt 9 I’d favor the segregated paths. It would be more expensive, but I don’t trust Rt 9 drivers even a little bit.
“There are some people that are militantly pro-bike that want the problem addressed by increasing penalties”
Great. On my tombstone it will say “I had the right of way.”