Members of the Worcester County Bike and Pedestrian Coalition hope to include a bike and trail along Route 589 among a series of short- and long-term projects.
A crosswalk along Route 589 is pictured.
File photo
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
Worcester County Bike and Pedestrian Coalition Chair Patti Stevens updated the Ocean Pines community on the group’s accomplishments and priorities at last weekend’s Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors meeting.
The organization was formed in October last year to increase road safety for walkers and bikers.
“[Safety] has been an issue that has come out in community surveys, as there has been an increase nationally and state-wide of traffic incidents for bikers and pedestrians,” Stevens said on July 20.
In Ocean Pines, General Manager John Viola nominated Chief of Police Tim Robinson and Public Works Director Eddie Wells to participate in the coalition. Stevens said with their help, the safety group has “gotten to work.”
Since the coalition’s founding, crosswalks and yellow bike and pedestrian warning signs have been added to the five roads that the Sherwood Forest Trails cross, including Robin Hood Trail. Robinson has also installed speed monitors along Ocean Parkway, which Stevens said have deterred residents and visitors from driving over the limit.
In February, a crosswalk was also implemented on 589 from the South Gate Pond to the Racetrack Road and Manklin Creek intersection. Stevens said that since the path was completed, she has seen OPA residents biking to Food Lion and kids crossing with fishing poles often.
The 589 project was not created solely due to the coalition but rather a collaborative effort from Stevens and her group and citizen, county, and police input. The safety organization’s chair said the initiative had been discussed for over 10 years.
In May, Stevens said that she and Robinson worked together on a grant submission to the Maryland State Highway Office and were awarded approximately $5,000 to fund community safety education, a bike rodeo, and the purchase of lights and reflectors.
“About half the J-1 students work in places where the uniform is all black,” the coalition chair said. “McDonalds and the Casino are a few examples. You can’t see them at night. We ordered through this grant reflecting strips and lights that will be given out through the Worcester County Chamber of Commerce, and the police chief and his team will have them in their cars so they can give out lights and reflectors when they see people walking and biking at night.”
Stevens outlined the group’s short-term potential projects, including a Route 589 trail. This would consist of a 10-foot-wide path set back from the road with a grass or concrete barrier. She also mentioned a 6- to-7-foot-wide Ocean Parkway on-road trail on the existing shoulder. The area is already informally used for pedestrians and bikers; however, colored markings would be added to the lane.
The organization has secured feedback from residents, who note that crosswalks and signs are needed in major recreation areas with “significant bike and walk traffic.” This includes the area across Ocean Parkway by the North Fire Station to White Horse Park.
Residents have also pushed for a walk and biking route out of South Ocean Pines onto 589, “possibly along the road from Triple Crown to the new light at the Atlantic General Hospital Gudelsky Medical Center.”
The Worcester County Bike and Pedestrian Coalition is dedicated to creating a safe community for non-drivers. Stevens said that the work group has hit the ground running and is lucky to have obtained members who all tirelessly contribute.