LEWES, Del. -- Officials in the City of Lewes are working to solve a bike parking shortage in the downtown area.
The many bicycle and walking trails in Lewes have drawn an influx of people and bicycles to the town, especially during the spring and summer months. However, it has become too much for the city to handle. There are designated bike parking areas downtown, such as the parking lot that is located across from the Dogfish Inn at Gills Neck Rd. and Savannah Rd., but it often overflows or people choose to park closer to restaurants and stores.
Member of the Lewes Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee have recommended installing more bike racks in specific areas downtown. Lewes Town Manager Ann Marie Townshend says their suggestion is being considered.
"What we're looking to do is expand the opportunity for bicycle parking in the downtown area so that people have a place to safely park their bikes in a wat that doesn't interfere with the walkers on the sidewalk or the ADA ramps," says Townshend. "In some cases we've actually had damage to storefront windows. People have leaned bikes against the window, so again, we just want to be able to accommodate the bicycles, but also make sure we can accommodate everything else that we have downtown as well."
That is in addition to people chaining their bikes onto trees, parking meters, and sign posts.
Townshend says the city will install two new bike racks in the downtown area. One will be adjacent to a current bicycle rack on Second St., and the other will be on Market St. across from the St. Peters cemetery.
"We want to make sure that we have drawing that show what it would look like, and it's very clear that it can be done safely," says Townshend. "So we plan to bring that information to the mayor and city council in January."
According to Townshend, the goal is to have the plan approved and the new racks installed by Spring 2023.