Rehoboth officials set to debate 2012 bike plans

Rehoboth Beach's bicycle/pedestrian master plan is still a work in progress, but that isn't stopping the city from moving forward with changes this summer.

The city commissioners will discuss the recommendations at the commissioners’ workshop meeting, 9 a.m., Monday, June 4, in the city commissioners’ room.

Among the recommendations are a handout cycling map, new signs, additional bicycle parking stations, road-sharing arrows known as "sharrows" and educational inititatives.

The centerpiece is the map, which should be ready Friday, June 15, said Commissioner Pat Coluzzi, chairwoman of the city’s Streets and Transportation Committee.

The map is also a work in progress – the committee plans to finalize the map at its next meeting, 9 a.m., Friday, June 1, in the city commissioners’ room. The map will help bicyclists find routes other than Rehoboth Avenue.

The map shows streets that are considered bicycle friendly, as well as streets requiring extra caution and streets not recommended for families and young riders.

Coluzzi said streets on the map and on signs will be marked as trail connectors – streets that connect to the Junction and Breakwater Trail – or “reach the beach” streets that direct riders to the beach.

Among the streets identified as bicycle-friendly are Henlopen Avenue, Sussex, Kent Street and Stockley streets and Lake Drive.

Rehoboth and Bayard avenues and State Road were designated as not recommended for families and young riders or as streets that require extra caution.

Coluzzi said the bicycle map would be similar to the city’s new parking and walking map and found at the same locations: the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce visitor’s center, the Boardwalk kiosk, City Hall and the parking department.

New bike parking on Baltimore Avenue

Another change this summer is the removal of two parking spaces on each side of the intersection of First Street and Baltimore Avenue, near Dinah Lingo’s Grocery. The parking spaces are expected to be replaced with bike racks. Additional bike-parking stations are proposed along the Boardwalk at Stockley Street and  Delaware and Maryland avenues.

Coluzzi said removing the parking spaces was an effort to increase visibility for bicyclists and motorists. She said the new racks should be in place by June 15.

Education for bicyclists is also part of this year’s recommendations. Volunteer bicycle ambassadors will work with Rehoboth Main Street to distribute maps and provide information. Coluzzi said volunteers are still being organized.

Finally, the plan calls for several test road sharing arrows. The arrows are meant to alert motorists to share the road with bicyclists. Coluzzi said locations for the test markings have not formally been chosen, but possible locations would be Canal Street, Henlopen Avenue and south Rehoboth.

Commissioner Bill Sargent said if the city wants to encourage people to ride their bikes, plenty of parking must be available.

Sargent said cautious steps will be taken this year.

“The most important one is the map, because, with wide distribution, it will keep bicycle riders, particularly young ones, safer,” he said.

The changes will come after the start of the summer season, although Coluzzi said none of the 2012 recommendations should cause an inconvenience to visitors. She said the timing was affected by the $80,000 state grant the city received to develop the plan.

Mayor Sam Cooper is still skeptical of the plan, but he agreed the bike map is a good thing to help warn bicyclists about heavily congested streets and improve bicycle safety.

Cooper said he is not a big fan of sharrows on city streets, since it should be obvious bikes and cars need to share the road. He said too much paint on the road detracts from the town. Cooper said he did not have a problem with removing the parking spaces at North First Street and Baltimore Avenue and replacing them with bicycle parking.

Coluzzi said the bicycle/pedestrian master plan would be ready for a vote by the commissioners’ June 15 meeting.

Nonresident commissioner travel also on agenda

Besides the bicycle map, the commissioners will also discuss a possible amendment to the city charter dealing with the payment of mileage to nonresident commissioners for their travel to commissioner and committee meetings.

Commissioner Patrick Gossett will lead the discussion.

The issue of reimbursement for nonresident commissioners was at the forefront of the recent legal battle between the city and former Commissioner Dennis Barbour.

In that case, which was settled out of court, Barbour was seeking $11,000 in travel expenses from his time as a commissioner. The city argued that Barbour was not entitled to reimbursement because he maintained a residence in Rehoboth, registered his car in Delaware and voted in Delaware.