Concern for a Friend Sparked a Student’s Call for Safer Streets
Jan 14, 2026
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Acadia Psychiatry.
BAR HARBOR—Dean Dougherty strode into the Jesup Memorial Library, mom’s laptop in his hand, bags strewn over his shoulder, a smile planted on his open face and he stood, feet planted on the wooden floor, making introductions, confidently explaining who he is, waiting for his turn to speak.
Once he began, the force of the eighth grader’s character shown through. Dougherty has a mission and a vision and maybe even a solution to a problem in the community that’s troubling him.
“I find it very odd that we’re not super supportive of bikers,” Dougherty explained.
Mount Desert Island is full of runners, hikers, walkers, bicyclists. But bike lanes are few and far between.
A potential solution is inspired by one of his friends, by his school project, by data, and by his family.
“I’m just trying to make a lasting impact, just to make our town better. Even in town there’s a very small shoulder, you’re not allowed to ride on the sidewalk when there’s a lot of traffic,” the thirteen year-old said.
One of his friends bikes to the Conners Emerson School all the time. He lives on Hadley Point, a good distance away from the downtown.
“He used to bike to Bike Bus,” Dougherty said, mentioning a Wednesday morning gathering at the town’s athletic fields, which is organized by his dad Jeremy. At Bike Bus kids and adults all ride bikes to school together. Music is involved.
There’s a lot of awe in how Dougherty talks about his friend, how he bikes in all the days he can, how good he is on his bike, his fitness. But there was a moment when it didn’t go well.
“He crashed,” Dougherty explained.
It made Dougherty wonder: What if his friend was riding to school on a dangerous road and he crashed when there were cars around? How hurt would he get because there aren’t dedicated bike lanes throughout the route?
“It’s not even a bike lane itself that has to happen, just a safe area that’s okay,” Dougherty said. “If we just took five feet out of our road, it’d be so much safer. We’re such a hiker friendly and tourist friendly town, but we’re not that biker friendly.”
That’s what Dougherty wants to change. He wants people like his friend to be visible, for drivers not to be frustrated by cyclists, for people to have a way to move around the island if they want to, a way that’s healthier and not reliant on motor vehicles, maybe even some bike paths connecting main roads or areas.
Dougherty’s work was shepherded by Conners Emerson teacher Jaylene Roths who brings her students through the two-week Solutionaries Project as they think deeply about ways to make their community better.
“Our Solutionary Project is inspired by the work of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE) in Surry. Through this project, students identify real issues they see in their school, community, or society, research the root causes, and think carefully about solutions that are fair, effective, and do the least harm and the most good. We also examine systems in which the problems exist and try to understand where the just right place is to put pressure on the system,” Roths said.
Dougherty didn’t just stop with his survey. He interviewed Peter York, an owner of Bar Harbor Bike Shop. He hopes to interview others, too.
The solution might not need to be an entire dedicated bike lane, but just a strip along the travel lane painted green to increase awareness, he said.
“We don’t necessarily need designated bike lanes, but make something similar like that,” Dougherty said. “In 10-20 years we can really make that happen.”
“This connects directly to what we study in American history: how change happens, how people participate in democracy, and how ordinary individuals can make a difference,” Roths said. “Through this project students think about what it really means to be a citizen in a democracy. In eighth grade, students learn that citizenship is about more than having rights like voting, it’s also about noticing problems, asking good questions, and taking responsibility for the world around them.”
The bigger Maine Solutionaries Project is funded from a $1,556,200 US Department of Education (USDOE) grant that funds the state program’s implementation. The Institute for Humane Education and the interdisciplinary instruction team at the Maine Department of Education coordinate the state project.
Roths’ classroom is one of the examples of its implementation.
“Dean is a great example of a Solutionary learner. He identified a problem that affects him and many of his peers: the need for the safest possible bike routes to school. Dean really threw himself into this research. He’s done a lot to identify the problem areas. He also interviewed local bike shop owners to tap years of knowledge. He wrote a strong survey to understand the needs of students and staff at Conners Emerson, collecting responses from 74 school community members. An overwhelming majority shared the same concern: Bar Harbor needs safer bike lanes,” Roths said.
Through the process Dougherty also learned how to make a survey. He allowed people to have no comment on some answers, which he thinks skewed those answers.
“Dang it, rookie mistake,” he said, laughing.
Dougherty found that a massive amount of the staff and students he surveyed had seen drivers express frustration toward a cyclist. Approximately 5.5% of those surveyed have had a near-miss with a cyclist.
In his survey 53.8% felt like MDI cyclists were at high risk on Bar Harbor roads. Almost half said they expressed frustration toward cyclists when driving.
Another question he asked was “do you want better bike lanes in our town?” The overwhelming answer was yes, he explained, face lighting up.
“What I love most about Solutionary Learning is how engaged all the students become because they select issues that are personally meaningful and they can see a path to making real change. Once the project is up and running students are taking the lead and I’m there to support them,” Roths said.
“A key part of our project is about leaving a legacy. Students understand that big problems can’t be solved in just a few weeks and that real change takes more than one person. The goal is to leave something behind that matters: awareness, data, ideas, or momentum that others can build on. Dean is excited to see others get involved, and I can see him carrying this work into high school and advocating for bike safety in Bar Harbor. This is what civic engagement looks like. This is what it means to be an active citizen,” Roths said.
And Dougherty’s dream?
“The dream is just to having accessible bike lanes where you can just hop on your bike,” he said, and be safe.
QUICK NOTE: This is hopefully the first post in a series of posts about the students and projects.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
The Bar Harbor Safe Streets for All page.
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