Rehoboth exploring ways to slow traffic on Munson Street

A Rehoboth Beach committee has recommended to city commissioners a number of traffic-calming measures for the 300 block of Munson Street in an effort to control speeding motorists using the street as an east-west cut-through.

During a city streets and transportation committee meeting July 21, Chris Galanty, a Munson Street resident, presented a number of short-term and long-term solutions that could help control the speed of motorists. He said the issue is not going away and residents are in need of relief.

Munson Street is one of two streets in south Rehoboth – the other is Hickman – that allows motorists to get to the beach area without having to drive on Rehoboth Avenue. Galanty said the 300 block of Munson Street, found in the Country Club Estates neighborhood, is 37 feet wide compared to 32 feet in other areas of the neighborhood, which leads to excessive speeding.

At his request, Galanty said, the city recently installed a digital traffic reader to calculate the speed and volume of motorists. In a five-day window, he said, there were 10,000 cars on the 300 block and 13.5% of those vehicles were traveling above 31 mph.

Galanty was not the only resident of the 300 block to speak in favor of traffic-calming measures. At least half a dozen property owners spoke about less-than-ideal conditions. Problems included drivers passing other drivers, traffic backing up so much that driveways are blocked, and the use of the street by commercial vehicles looking to avoid Rehoboth Avenue.

Galanty’s short-term recommendations for the 300 block, between the two ends of Country Club Drive, include installation of speed limit signs, yellow squares in front of resident driveways, double yellow lines, and digital speed reader signs.

These are all traffic-calming measures found in other areas of the city, said Galanty.

Long-term recommendations include installation of a dedicated bike lane, four-way stops at the intersection of State Road and Munson and Hickman streets, and speed bumps.

Ultimately, the committee voted unanimously in favor of the short-term recommendations, but decided to hold off on long-term recommendations until the short-term measures are implemented to see if those changes help.

Commissioner Edward Chrzanowski, who chairs the committee, was hesitant to give a specific time frame for when the recommendations would be implemented, but he said he would present them to Mayor Stan Mills as soon as possible.