South Bethany Beach eyes safer streets for pedestrians and bikers

SOUTH BETHANY, Del. - The South Bethany Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Committee will meet on Thursday to discuss matters regarding the safety of community members. 

Points of discussion in Thursday's meeting at 1:00p.m. include:

1. New hazards for pedestrians and bicyclists
2. Proper use of the walkways on the west side of Coastal Highway
3. Mobile speed sensors results
4. Safety inputs on pedestrians and bicyclists under the new Town budget

Mayor Edie Dondero tells CoastTV that, as for the first point, no new pedestrian hazards have been brought to the town's attention. 

CoastTV spoke with community members who had mixed reactions about the current level of safety for walking or biking on or across Coastal Highway.

Council members plan to address concerns from the community about designated biking and pedestrian walking lanes along the highway.  

Larry Budd lives in South Bethany. He says he rarely has concerns.

"No, I think South Bethany has done a good job," said Budd. "When the kids lived here in the summer during college and in high school, they would ride their bikes up to Bethany and drive their bikes in North Bethany, they go down to Fenwick on the highway and we actually have no concerns about them doing that then or now." 

Mayor Dondero shared that Chief Lovins has presented the council with crash data from this past year on the South Bethany streets. That number was zero. 

As for Deb Piper, she commended the town and all that they have done to improve safety measures for community members. However, she rarely walks along or across Coastal Highway. The one condition is that she is headed to the beach. 

"It's a danger walking out there it really is," said Piper. "But predominantly not only myself, but many of my friends, we walk on the neighborhood roads and the side streets, completely avoiding Coastal Highway." 

Mayor Dondero says the town will continue to collaborate with DelDOT to make the streets of South Bethany safer.