Bicycle council makes second pitch for moped ban signage
The Delaware Bicycle Council is making a second appeal to have signs installed on paved trails to make it clear that mopeds are banned.
During the group’s Feb. 4 meeting, council member Marty Lessner presented a draft letter addressed to the Delaware Department of Transportation again requesting signs.
The letter emphasizes signs should be part of a broader plan that includes education about state ordinances and enforcement of the law.
After the state rejected its recommendation to install signs in an Oct. 30 letter, the Delaware Bicycle Council decided at a Dec. 3 meeting to continue pressing for action.
In rejecting the request late last year, DelDOT concluded signs alone would not solve the problem and noted other issues.
The council considered several options before settling on a new letter to more clearly make its points and respond to issues raised by DelDOT.
For example, DelDOT asserted that “signage is inherently limited.”
“No single countermeasure is sufficient alone; however, regulatory signage is the foundational layer that gives legal notice and frames subsequent education and enforcement,” the council letter states in response.
DelDOT also raised concerns about enforcement constraints, sign clutter and obstructions, and financial and staffing implications. The council contends those issues are not insurmountable.
The proliferation of mopeds on paved state trails in recent years has angered bicyclists and pedestrians who have been complaining about unsafe conditions.
The law draws distinctions between electric bicycles and mopeds, the latter of which are more powerful and faster. Mopeds also require a state driver’s license and may not be driven on paved state trails.
Since both types of vehicles appear similar, there have been calls in some communities to ban all motorized bicycles from trails, a solution opposed by the council.
“People don’t recognize one from the other,” Lessner said. “You get rid of mopeds on there and then people hopefully recognize that the e-bikes, driven at a regular speed, are not unsafe. When people look at mopeds, they see these big things that almost look like motorcycles, that clearly should not be on the trail.”
Lessner, who represents the state Council on Transportation, said e-bikes have been a great activity for many people, especially older people.
Scott Hoffman, council chair, said signs should be uniform, whether on DelDOT, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control or municipal trails so people can easily recognize them and understand their intent.
The council also discussed the location of signs, such as key entrances to the Lewes-to-Georgetown Trail and other paved paths.
Among other business during the Feb. 4 meeting, the committee voted 9-0 to elect Hofmann as its chair and Mike Wagner as vice chair.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
