It’s 11 a.m., Tuesday. I am driving from our home in Lewes to the Bests’ Ace Hardware store three to four miles away to refill a grill propane tank.
Approaching Savannah Road from Old Orchard, I encounter two cement mix trucks at the intersection – one turning left on Savannah and one turning right on Savannah. I have become inured to this.
Waiting five to 10 minutes, I finally turn right onto Savannah heading west, passing a long line of cars heading east into Lewes. The line on Savannah approaching Route 1 is 14 cars long. I wait two traffic lights until I can cross Route 1 and enter the Ace parking lot, two blocks down the road.
Ten minutes later, coming out of Ace, I am unable to turn left onto Route 9 for home because the line of cars in both directions is endless and tight. I turn right toward the Nassau Vineyards with the intention of turning around there. I pass cars on Route 9 facing east, lined up all the way to the Vineyards. I pull into the Vineyards intending to use the traffic light at the entrance to get back east to Lewes. The line of cars waiting at the Vineyards light is 12 deep. I wait for two traffic lights to get on Route 9 heading back to Lewes.
The line of cars is so long on Route 9 that I wait through three traffic lights before I can cross Route 1 and head home by way of Old Orchard and New roads. Again the line of cars on Savannah Road heading into Lewes is very long.
I finally make it home. It has taken me an hour to travel from our home in Lewes to Ace Hardware. Now, add to the mix that the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission and Sussex County Council are considering two major developments on Route 9 – one across from the Vineyards and one off Cool Spring Road – which combined will probably produce 2,000 to 3,000 more cars on Route 9. Toss in the 90 townhouses to be built on Savannah Road in Lewes and the 21 new developments recently advertised in the Cape Gazette and tell me that we are not going to soon arrive at total, immovable gridlock.
I am convinced Sussex County officials and Delaware Department of Transportation officials do not travel our roads at different times to assess our worsening situation. Or they do not care. I haven't even touched the amalgam of convoluted and poorly thought-out intersections we have here in this region and the 20 years of catch-up work on all our highways being done now.
I am not against progress, but progress and planned communities go hand-in-hand and require foresight. I dread where we are heading in southern Sussex County. It is time for a moratorium on all new development until such time we assess our situation and the long-term effects of the decisions we are presently making.
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