Nonprofit Spotlight: Bike Delaware

BY REGINA DONATO

Since it opened in 2018, many people in eastern New Castle County have enjoyed the beautiful Markell Trail—a safe, direct, paved, and flat connection for people walking and cycling between the Wilmington Riverfront and New Castle that includes a new football field-long bridge over the Christina River. James Wilson, executive director of Bike Delaware, reflected on the first time he encountered the “Markell Trail” (which wasn’t called that then) in 2005. He was delighted to discover a bike path in New Castle, only to be quickly disappointed to find out it was only three blocks long.

Six years later, Wilson left his job as an engineer to take a job at Bike Delaware and work on projects like the Markell Trail. “Advocacy for infrastructure is unusual because of the long-time scale involved,” Wilson explained. “To be an effective advocate for new infrastructure requires a paradoxical combination of qualities. You have to be impatient enough to really want the world to change, but patient enough to deal with the slow pace of infrastructure.”

Bike Delaware started advocating for the completion of the Markell Trail in 2010 when the project was dead in the water. Eight years would pass before the trail was finally completed. “That’s like going to college. Twice!” noted Wilson.

Better infrastructure for cycling is at the heart of Bike Delaware’s mission. The organization continues to push for investments in connected and seamless “lowstress” bicycle network infrastructure that enables people—no matter their age or ability—to safely get where they want to go using bicycles.

However, the organization’s vision is surprisingly ambitious and extends further to include transit and development. Bike Delaware worked closely with the State Chamber in 2016 to advocate for the Healthy and Transit-Friendly Development Act, an innovative state law that created a mechanism for state and local governments to jointly put in place the interdependent policies needed to spur the development of mixed-use, walkable, bikeable, and transit-served communities.

“The goal is to make it practical for there to be households in Delaware where not every adult worker is forced to buy a car,” explained Wilson. “Reducing the cost of transportation is not only beneficial for working-class households in all kinds of ways, it’s also an incredibly powerful strategy for local economic development. The thousands of dollars a year that those households save becomes discretionary income that they can instead spend with local Delaware businesses—creating local jobs.” Given the glacial pace of most infrastructure improvements, Bike Delaware will stay busy improving Delaware’s infrastructure for cycling for at least the next 20 years. Looking towards the future, the organization hopes to also focus on advocacy for better transit. While cycling is a realistic choice for trips under three miles, solid transit options must also be in place for longer trips to ensure confidence in Delawareans to opt not to buy their own vehicle.

You can become a member of Bike Delaware, make a gift, or just reach out with ideas or questions, through their website, www.bikede.org. “Anyone who is passionate about better cycling or improved transit, or local and sustainable economic development is someone we really want to talk to,” said Wilson. “We need their help.”