Thursday, December 7, 2017

SR896/I95 Intersection Project Page

The public workshop for the Route 896 (S. College Ave) and I95 intersection project was very successful, according to DelDOT. Hopefully, the bicycling community was present, and voiced our needs. According to the project page:

We are still in the preliminary stages of our project development process. A public workshop was held on December 5, 2017. Thank you to all who were able to attend! We will solicit comments for a 30 day time period. A preferred alternative will be chosen in Spring 2018 and we will begin design.

We had a very successful public workshop on December 5, 2017 with over 120 people in attendance! For those who were unable to attend, below are copies of the boards that were shown. We have 3 different alternatives that will address the purpose and need of the project. We will be collecting comments for an additional 30 days. Please utilize the official comment form on our website.

Facilitating bicyclists and pedestrians is nowhere mentioned in the scope, so it will be up to citizens and advocates to encourage DelDOT in this direction, citing the State's multi-modal Complete Streets policy. According to the University of Delaware's Institute for Public Administration:

The intent of Delaware’s policy is for “the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) [to] enhance its multi-modal initiative by creating a Complete Streets policy that will promote safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and [transit] riders of all ages to be able to safely move along and across the streets of Delaware.”

There should be no justification whatsoever for nixing multi-modal accommodations from these plans. SR896 is open to bicyclists, and there is a long history of conversation that a safe passage over I95 here is sorely needed. It is the direct route south out of Newark, and would ultimately connect with new and existing pathways parallel to SR896 en-route to Glasgow and points south.

What can you do to help us advocate, and get this included in the project? It is very early in the planning, and these simple steps may just make the difference:

  • Visit the project page, and use the comment form
  • Email your comments to the project engineer breanna.kovach@state.de.us and CC dotpr@state.de.us to ensure it's recorded.
  • Cross-post this as an action alert to other pages, and share to other orgs on social media sites, i.e. Bike Newark, Newark Bike Project, etc.
  • Email Bike Delaware and ask that they approach DelDOT, advocating for a safe, multi-modal connection here, over I95: james@bikede.org
  • Talk this project up on Bike Delaware's web and social media pages (1st State Bikes is blocked) and if they don't support it, ask them why

Below are reduced-size JPG images of the 3 options. As discussed, none contain bike/ped facilities of any type. Should they be included, a multi-user pathway (MUP) could be extended between I95 and Old Baltimore Pike on the south side, on plentiful county-owned lands (Iron Hill Park). From there, existing pathways continue on the southbound side, past Glasgow HS, 4-Seasons, and Glasgow Business Community. These could be readily connected to the Rt.40 corridor via Old SR896 and its future pathways currently being built piecemeal.




We will contact DelDOT to inquire on a periodic basis, and provide updates as they come available.

1 comment:

  1. Frank, I completed a comments form and forwarded it to DelDOT and the project PM. My biggest concern is cyclist safety as well as pedestrian safety, which are not apparent within the PDF's provided.

    JW Haupt
    WCBC President

    ReplyDelete

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