Lewes bike panel recommends Savannah Road parking ban

The Lewes Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee recommended the city ban parking on a part of Savannah Road that includes the Lewes Brewing Company.

The ordinance covers the eastbound side from Atlantic Drive to Drake Knoll, and westbound from Shields Avenue to Donovans Road.

Lewes Police installed temporary “no parking” signs on most of that stretch of Savannah Road on Dec. 20.

Brewery owners Dave and Christine Jones have been pleading with the city to continue to allow parking in front of their business, which has outgrown its 12-space parking lot. 

The vote at the Dec. 17 meeting was 4-1.

Mary Roth, committee chair, voted in favor of the ban. She said safety of cyclists and pedestrians is the priority.

“Comments made at other meetings have talked about, ‘Well, there have been no accidents within this geographical location.’ But, what I’m asking is we put policies in place before something happens,” Roth said.

Glenn Dunnington voted against the ordinance. He said council should revise it and try to accommodate bikes and cars.

“It would be useful to try and squeeze in a bike lane. If we try it, and it works, we live with that and we give the Joneses five more parking spaces,” Dunnington said.

Jack Faherty, the newest member of the committee, abstained.

Kerry Tripp, a Lewes resident who has been outspoken on the bike lane issue, said a shared lane would not work.

“It seems odd to me that we would decide that a good use of a bike lane is to turn it into a parking lot,” Tripp said.

The Joneses have told mayor and city council they feel like they are being singled out for the sake of safety.

“We’re not asking for special treatment,” David Jones said. “I called DelDOT, called Lewes Police and asked if we were allowed to park on the side of the road and was told, ‘yes, yes, yes.’ So we didn’t do anything wrong.”

The designated bike lane begins at Five Points and runs at a standard width for more than a mile into town before it widens to 13 feet in front of the brewery. The bike lane ends at Drake Knoll. After that, bike sharrows are painted in the travel lanes of Savannah Road, indicating cars have to share the road.

Jones’ solution is to split the 13-foot-wide shoulder into two parts, leaving 4 feet for bikes and 9 feet for parked cars.

“It’s a proven fact that when you park on the side of the road, traffic tends to slow up,” David Jones said. “As a driver, you’re going to see that designated bike lane, you’re going to have parking. I think it’s going to clean up the corridor. Right now, it’s a free-for-all.”

The bike lane “brew ha-ha” might not be over, despite the recommendation.

Many of the people who spoke at the meeting said the city should focus on a long-term solution, possibly requiring a DelDOT traffic study.

There have also been calls for DelDOT to redesign the Lewes-to-Georgetown Trail crossing, which some believe makes the choke point more confusing for drivers.

That section of Savannah Road is seeing enormous growth, with the Dutchman’s Harvest affordable workforce housing community under construction, the Overfall Preserve development in the planning stages and the soon-to-be-completed trail which will bring more people into town.

Christine Jones said the committee needs to consider everyone’s safety in the busy corridor.

“The changes you’re making will push many of our customers down past Drake Knoll. Now, you have a pedestrian problem,” Jones said. “You mentioned people could park at the library and walk down the trail. They will before five o’clock at night, but who is going to do that in the dark?”

“We rarely have the opportunity to park in front of any business,” Roth said. “We’re parking and we’re walking now. Whether it’s Second Street or anywhere else, you’re probably parking on Park, Mulberry or Canalfront Park. That’s who we are now as a town. I don’t see why it would be any different here.” 

The Joneses presented letters from the Lewes Fire Department saying they have had no issues with emergency vehicles navigating through that area with parked cars.

Merrill Johnson, an experienced cyclist who rode 5,000 miles this year, said parking on Savannah Road should not pose a problem for bikes.

“It’s plenty wide. You can park on the side and get around,” Johnson said. “There’s always somebody pulling out of a driveway, always a trash truck or an ambulance. You can look over your shoulder to see if there’s a car coming. We do it every day.”

Mayor and city council is expected to consider the ordinance at a Monday, Jan. 13 meeting.