Dover/Kent County MPO Regional Bicycle Plan A Look at the Bicycle Plan
By Kate Layton
Public Liason Dover Kent MPO

The bike plan aims to create an effective, safe bicycle system in central Delaware. It shows where there are bicycle trails, lanes and similar facilities in central Delaware and where there are gaps in service. In addition, the plan addresses the need for bicyclists and motorists to share the road, increase recreational biking as well as encourage people to bike to work or school.

The main objectives are to:
  • Create an effective, safe bike system
  • Educate bicyclists and drivers to know and follow the rules of the road
  • Increase local bicycle trips
  • Have more students bike to school
  • Increase bicycle-to-work commutes
  • Increase recreational riding
MPO staff put the plan through a 30-day public comment period in 2011, and the MPO's Technical Advisory and Public Advisory committees endorsed the plan's adoption.

The plan contains four recommendations:
  • Selecting appropriate bicycle facilities
  • Putting bicycle facilities at intersections
  • More bicycle parking
  • Education and enforcement of bicycle laws
With the bicycle plan adopted, the MPO is pursuing the implementation of the plan's recommendations. MPO staff is developing alternatives, meeting with the public, completing cost estimates, and developing a final recommendation to proceed into design for proposed off-road bike trails, such as a connector between the Silver Lake Park and Isaacs Branch trails in Dover, as well as a trail that would lead from Smyrna to Big Oak Park.

The MPO recently met with staff from the Department of Transportation, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the City of Dover to begin the planning process for the Silver Lake connector. The MPO will look for further opportunities to collaborate with DNREC on projects included in Delaware's First State Trails and Pathways Program.

The plan is compatible with the Department of Transportation's statewide bicycle plan and includes criteria from which to prioritize projects for bicycle facilities. Projects identified in the Regional Bike Plan will be submitted to DelDOT for development and funding. The bicycle plan was the result of the MPO's 2008 Regional Transportation Plan, in which public comments expressed a need for more bicycle facilities. For two years, a working group comprised of MPO staff, representatives from state agencies, Kent County, municipalities and the public worked with consultant Andrea Kreiner of A. Kreiner Company in Dover to create the plan.

For a copy of the plan, call 302.387.6030. View the plan online.

The Regional Bicycle Plan lists a number of projects to improve bicycling in central Delaware. The recommendations include on-road and off-road improvements. Seven criteria, ranging from safety and significance to cost would influence how projects would be prioritized.

On-Road Improvements
  1. S. West Street
  2. U.S. 13 (through Dover)
  3. State Street
  4. Denney's Road
  5. Del. 8/Forest Ave.
  6. Walker Road
  7. North Street
  8. College Road
  9. DE 10 (DAFB to Camden)
  10. Milford Riverwalk
  11. Saulsbury Road/DE 15
  12. U.S. 113 (through Milford)
  13. Dover-Kenton Road
  14. Sorghum Mill Road
  15. Pearsons Corner Road
  16. Chestnut Grove Road
  17. Del. 12
  18. Del. 15
Off-Road Improvements (Trails)
  1. Silver Lake to St. Jones Connector Trail
  2. Camden to Dover Trail
  3. Del. 10 Trail
  4. Smyrna-Clayton Trail
  5. Smyrna/Big Oak Park Trail
  6. Clayton to Easton, Md. Rail Trail
  7. Dover Air Force Base Bike Trail