Commissioner Stan Mills, chairman of the committee, said an engineer’s report in January recommended that until the structure was rebuilt, the city should reduce the weight of trash trucks on the Boardwalk. To help accommodate fire trucks and, to a lesser extent, the trash trucks, the newly reconstructed Boardwalk is using reinforced decking materials.

Still, Mills said, because the Boardwalk is only 18 feet wide on the north end and 12 feet wide on the south end, committee members and residents worry about pedestrian, stroller and bicycle access when a truck is on the Boardwalk. The city also changed the schedule for morning trash pickup to 5:20 a.m.

As part of the committee’s study of the city’s trash collection program, Rehoboth resident Jay Lagree studied trash collection from June 15 to July 12, focusing on three areas:

Area 1 – From Prospect Street to Brooklyn Avenue

Area 2 – Rehoboth Avenue to the north end

Area 3 – Brooklyn Avenue to Rehoboth Avenue

Lagree’s study showed Area 1 averaged 10 bags collected with a 20-to-40-minute pickup time. Area 2 averaged 18 bags picked up in 30 to 45 minutes, while Area 3 averaged 25 bags with no time noted.

One aberration in the numbers was for July 5, with overflow cans and massive crowds from fireworks the night before causing the trash pickup to take much longer than usual.

“Mr. Lagree’s conclusion of the survey was that ‘time is our enemy,’ explaining that the later in the morning that the trucks are on the Boardwalk, the greater the time needed to navigate through the growing crowds and the greater the safety risks,” Mills said.

At the Oct. 14 Boardwalk Committee meeting, Lagree made several recommendations: start earlier, use safer and people-friendly vehicles, be as green as possible and minimize the impact on the Boardwalk by using smaller, lightweight vehicles.

“Many ideas for alternative refuse collection vehicles have been presented, from using large pushcarts to mini-vehicles to electric vehicles and trailers – like those used at airports for luggage transport. Although I believe each idea will work, each has pros and cons, and each has to be evaluated,” Mills said.

He said discussion of the Boardwalk refuse program would resume at the next committee meeting, which has not yet been scheduled.

Reconstruction update

Mills said Phase 2 of the Boardwalk reconstruction – covering the entire Boardwalk except for the four-block section from Rehoboth Avenue to Laurel Street – is in its third week and is on schedule. He said work is continuing on the south end from Prospect north to Laurel Street.

Delmarva Power will remove lights from Rehoboth Avenue to the Henlopen Hotel. The city has asked Boardwalk businesses on the north end to leave their outdoor lights on to help light up the area until lighting is restored, Mills said.

Contractor Mumford and Miller is anticipating starting work on the north section the week of Nov. 2, while work is ongoing on the south end. Mills said the initial focus in the north portion would be demolition of the concrete at the end of Rehoboth Avenue. The work area will be fenced off.

“Pedestrian access on the Boardwalk will be closed off just north and south of Rehoboth Avenue.

“There will be no pedestrian access from Rehoboth Avenue onto the Boardwalk. The street end will be fenced off but will generally allow for vehicles to make the loop around the Bandstand. Demolition and reconstruction will proceed northerly from Rehoboth Avenue,” Mills said.

The entire Boardwalk is scheduled to be walkable by Memorial Day 2010. The south portion should be completed by mid-January 2010.