Mike Tyler, Lewes volunteer, leaving town

Mike Tyler has been a fixture in Lewes for more than 20 years. In that time, he has worked hard to make it a better community. Whether through his work as a safe cycling advocate or running the British Motorcar Show, Tyler has often been in the thick of Lewes happenings. Now he says it’s time to move on, and he’s set to relocate to Millsboro. 

Tyler was honored by Mayor Ted Becker at city council’s Sept. 10 meeting. “He’s hook, line and sinker invested in Lewes,” Becker said. 

Tyler served for many years as the chair of the Lewes Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee, and as a member of the Delaware Bike Council and the Sussex Cyclists. Under Tyler’s leadership, Lewes has been named bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Cyclists. 

Among his accomplishments are working with his committee to add the radar speed signs throughout the city, the first Sussex County town to do so. They also spearheaded an effort to convert crosswalks to the piano key style and introduced a helmet ticket program for kids, where children are given a ticket by a police officer for a free ice cream cone for wearing a helmet. “I’m more than just a commissioner or the head of a committee, I’m an advocate,” he said. “I think the city needs advocacy for things like bicycle safety in the community.” 

Tyler also volunteered with the city’s planning commission and the historic scenic byway committee. It all started when he was appointed to the open space committee by John Adams in 1992. “I think over the 27 years I’ve been here, I may have missed 12 [city council] meetings,” he said. “I always come.”

Although life is taking Tyler west, he said, he won’t be a stranger in Lewes.“I’m going to miss it, but I’ll still be here,” he said. “I’ve been chairman for the British Car Show for 24 years, and I’ll still be here for that.”