After four years, Rehoboth’s canal dock still sees little use

It’s been four full summers since the Grove Park canal dock opened for use in Rehoboth Beach. According to a recent economic evaluation by Rehoboth Beach Main Street, done at the request of city commissioners, the dock is still getting little use.

During a commissioner meeting Dec. 20, RBMS Executive Director Dan Slagle said Cape Water Taxi has some services during the season, but they’re limited to tours and the weekends. Dogfish Head is one of the biggest users, connecting the customers staying at the inn in Lewes with downtown Rehoboth, he said.

The canal dock was first proposed well over a decade ago by a group called the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal Improvement Association. Discussions stalled for a few years, but were reignited in 2018, and the dock was ready for use in May 2021.

The LRCIA raised about $1 million for the project. Rehoboth Beach contributed nearly $300,000 and also took over control of the project once construction began in April 2020.

From the beginning, there had been plans for a kayak launch adjacent to the dock, but it wasn’t built after costs got too high. The city has tried in the past to contract with local businesses for motorized and non-motorized services at the dock, but response was limited for a number of reasons – lack of storage and parking space, no kayak launch and safety concerns.

RMBS board member Steve Scheffer said there’s been progress with relationships, but Lewes and Dewey Beach have different setups than Rehoboth. Lewes has a harbormaster that’s a city employee who manages everything, while Dewey doesn’t have a public dock, he said.

Commissioner Patrick Gossett asked for usage data, saying whenever he walks by, he doesn’t see anybody using the dock. 

Scheffer said Main Street doesn’t have access to cameras and there’s no counting meter at the gate, so usage data, for now, isn’t easy to come by.

Commissioner Suzanne Goode said she was not in favor of the city contributing more money toward the project. Overall, she said, the project was ill conceived, has been a tepid success and she considered it a sunk cost for the city.

RBMS board Secretary Jerry Filbin reminded everyone that RBMS had nothing to do with the building of the dock, and the organization wasn’t advocating for a kayak launch.

Filbin said the biggest barrier to using the canal dock is how shallow the water is in the canal until the canal itself gets dredged. It may have a lot more potential once the canal gets dredged, he said.

There has been spot dredging over the past two decades, but the canal hasn’t seen a full dredging since 2002. However, close to $12 million has been secured by Delaware’s congressional delegation to dredge the full length of the canal.