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Designing Delaware Intersections for People

7 communities. 7 intersections. 7 sessions.

Designing Delaware Intersections for People

On December 2, some of the smartest and most experienced national and international transportation experts (see below) will bring their best design ideas to improve intersections to Delaware.

There were 50 intersections nominated by people all across Delaware. Each of our experts chose one to focus on for an entire conference session.

Thank you!

Thank you for attending Bike Delaware’s 2021 Virtual Conference. We look forward to seeing you next year! Links to the recordings of each session are available below.

Sessions:

All sessions are listed in your local time zone. The button to join each session will be enabled when the session starts.

Introductory Session

Q. What is the most challenging obstacle to creating safer streets for people cycling and walking in Delaware communities?
A. Intersections

Making intersections safe for people when intersections are also being used by vehicles is a challenge for even the most motivated engineers.

George Meldrum

George Meldrum President, AARP Delaware

George Meldrum is AARP Delaware’s state president, their top volunteer role in Delaware. Mr. Meldrum has an extensive background in advocacy, administration, and health policy development. He had a long career as a lobbyist with the Nemours Children’s Health System. He also has held leadership roles at the Delaware Council on Gambling Problems; the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families; and the Delaware Division of Mental Health. Earlier in his career, he was a social worker for Delaware Child Protective Services. He has also served on numerous high-level committees, such as the Governor’s Advisory Council on Substance Abuse and Mental Health as well as numerous local nonprofit boards. He was awarded the AARP Andrus Award for his volunteer leadership in the community.

Pam Steinebach

Pam Steinebach PE, Director of Planning, Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT)

Pam Steinebach has been the new director of planning for DelDOT for four months, but has worked for DelDOT for 18 years, after graduating from the University of Delaware in 1997. She is responsible for multiple aspects of transportation planning, including the bicycle and pedestrian program that includes transportation alternative projects, trail networks, safe routes to school, pedestrian access route projects, and scenic byways. One of the main focuses in the Division of Planning is to connect communities and provide mobility for all.

Seaford: The Perfect Place to Start

This location has a complicated geometry and existing commercial development along the roads. A DelDOT study of locations where bike crashes occurred identified this location as having had bike crashes in the past. DelDOT is currently investigating options to improve the geometry of this intersection. Potential right-of-way impacts are a concern. Seaford High School, Seaford Middle School, and Central Elementary School are all nearby, northwest of the intersection. Traffic is affected by a high volume of school traffic consisting of parent drop-offs and bus traffic. The school district will be very involved in any proposed changes to the intersection.

Seaford: The Perfect Place to Start
Sheila Borkar

Sheila Borkar Licensed Professional Engineer at Toole Design Group

Sheila Borkar is a licensed professional engineer at Toole Design Group. Sheila has worked on a variety of design and analysis projects in urban, suburban, and rural contexts, and is passionate about tailoring traditional design and analysis methodologies to urban and people-focused contexts.

Megan McCarty Graham

Megan McCarty Graham Licensed Professional Engineer at Toole Design Group

Megan McCarty Graham is a licensed professional engineer at Toole Design Group with over 10 years of experience in multimodal transportation, from concept design to construction. She has a sharp eye for detail and a keen understanding of the user experience, both of which she uses to deliver sound design work that people enjoy using to get around.

Dick van Veen

Dick van Veen Senior Designer, Dickvanveen Street Design Public Space

Dick van Veen is an urban designer and engineer with over 15 years of experience designing safe and vibrant streets and places.

Big Ideas for the Busiest Intersection in Delaware

This session is an innovative future vision for one of the busiest — if not the busiest — at-grade intersections in the state of Delaware: Hares Corner. The U.S. 13-S.R. 273 intersection has the potential to be improved and become an efficient, safe, and beautiful facility for all modes. Maurits Lopes Cardozo explores design and engineering ideas of grade-separated concepts for Hares Corner that are inspired by Dutch infrastructure principles and integrated design thinking. Be prepared for innovative infrastructure ideas!

Big Ideas for the Busiest Intersection in Delaware
Maurits Lopes Cardozo

Maurits Lopes Cardozo Principal Designer and Founder, Bike-minded

Maurits Lopes Cardozo is principal designer and founder of Bike-minded, a Dutch innovation studio specializing in design and innovation for bicycle mobility, offering creative design and engineering expertise to help cities transition to bicycle-friendly, safe, attractive, and sustainable transportation.

How to Cross a Very Busy Road

Concord Pike and Silverside Road is a difficult design challenge because of the size (six travel lanes) and traffic volume of Concord Pike (U.S. 202). There is a lot of vehicle traffic moving between Pennsylvania and I-95 on U.S. 202 and there are numerous commercial destinations nearby as well as a trail connection to the west (Brandywine Creek State Park is just a bit north — blue-shaded area in the adjacent image). There is active interest from local officials in Concord Pike generally, and this intersection specifically. The recently approved Concord Pike Master Plan examined opportunities for enhancing the bike/ped network in the corridor, including a new multiuse path at the old Brandywine Country Club, which would connect Silverside Road to Naamans Road, parallel to Concord Pike.

How to Cross a Very Busy Road
Richard ter Avest

Richard ter Avest Traffic Engineer, Urban Planner, and Project Manager at Goudappel

Richard ter Avest is a traffic engineer, urban planner, and project manager at Goudappel with nearly 30 years of experience on projects involving intersections, bicycle networks, safe streets, and downtowns. In the U.S., he has worked for Austin, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

Wijnand Oppedijk

Wijnand Oppedijk Traffic Engineer and Project Manager at Goudappel

Wijnand Oppedijk is a traffic engineer and project manager at Goudappel with extensive experience in traffic modeling and projects involving roundabouts, signals, and traffic management. He brings a strong focus on safety, realizability, and cost to all his work.

Milltown: SR7 at Milltown Road

This is a high-traffic intersection in northern New Castle County. It is confusing for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike, and agency officials are looking for innovative design ideas. Wim van der Wijk and Sjors van Duren from the Dutch engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV have some.

Milltown: SR7 at Milltown Road
Sjors van Duren

Sjors van Duren Senior Consultant in Active Transportation at Royal HaskoningDHV

Sjors van Duren is a senior consultant in active transportation at Royal HaskoningDHV, an international engineering consulting firm with offices in 30 countries and employing nearly 6,000 professional staff.

Wim van der Wijk

Wim van der Wijk Senior Project Leader

Wim van der Wijk is a senior project leader with 30 years of experience at Royal HaskoningDHV.

Milford: North Walnut Street and Northeast 10th

This intersection is located between Milford High School and Milford Central Academy (to the north) and a residential area to the south. There are many nearby destinations (restaurants, shops, and service businesses) that generate student pedestrian traffic. Residential sections of Milford that the school serves are to the south, and students who would like to walk or bike to school must traverse this intersection at least twice a day. The complicated geometry of this intersection (five streets converging) has stymied solutions.

Milford: North Walnut Street and Northeast 10th
Sören Blankers

Sören Blankers Traffic Architecture Consultant, DTV Consultants

Sören Blankers' professional focus is road safety and traffic design. He is a certified road safety auditor in the Netherlands.

Pleun Smits

Pleun Smits Traffic Architecture Consultant, DTV Consultants

Pleun Smith has extensive experience in identifying sustainable and smart traffic solutions. His projects focus on improved road safety, cycling and traffic design.

A Dutch Approach to Designing for People

For years, the North Hills community has tried to make the intersection of Marsh Road and Washington Street Extension safer for pedestrians, but without success. Residents who walk to Bellevue State Park and Rockwood Park have to cross this intersection. Mount Pleasant High School students walk to school and cross to board a bus to Wilmington. Washington Street Extension is a four-lane highway. People drive very fast, and multiple crashes at this intersection have occurred. Officials are looking for good design ideas. In this interactive session, multiple approaches to create a safe and pleasant road will be presented and discussed.

A Dutch Approach to Designing for People
Thijs Broers

Thijs Broers Landscape Architect at Goudappel

Thijs Broers is a landscape architect at Goudappel who has worked on projects with many different scales, varying from the detailed designs of bike paths to network approaches. He brings a particular focus to the subjective experience of cyclists, and his “out of the box” thinking can lead to unusual design solutions.

Thomas Groot

Thomas Groot Traffic Designer at Goudappel

Thomas Groot is a traffic designer who has worked at Goudappel since 2013. He believes that good design, starting with the very first sketch, is clear, feasible, and effective — and his motto is to design for people, not for things.

A Small Intersection with a Big Role to Play

The intersection of Millsboro Highway and Delaware Avenue might look like an average, unassuming intersection in Millsboro. However, there is quite a lot going on. In this session, we will evaluate the issues with bypass traffic and find out what the Dutch approach would be to manage the road network through strategic interventions at this particular intersection. We will learn how intersections are a vital aspect of proactive network planning and how we could improve this particular intersection to better serve the surrounding community and vulnerable road users.

A Small Intersection with a Big Role to Play
Lennart Nout

Lennart Nout Planner and Urban Designer, Mobycon

Lennart Nout is a planner and urban designer at Mobycon, an independent research and consulting company focused on traffic, transport, and mobility.

Presenting Sponsor:

AARP Delaware

Principal Sponsor:

White Clay Bicycle Club

Supporting Sponsor:

Delaware Health and Social Services Division of Public Health
Bike-Minded
Dick Vanveen Street Design Public Space
Mobycon
Royal HaskoningDTV
Goudappel
DTV Capacity Building