Report estimates possible future of Lewes traffic
A traffic impact study that initially focused on the proposed Gills Neck Village Center off Kings Highway has been expanded to include the entire city of Lewes and its surrounding area.
Absent from the first traffic assessment was the potential impact future development could have on the New Road corridor. With many developable farm fields along New Road, mayor and city council are concerned about how much traffic could be added to a roadway not built to handle high traffic.
Ben Sussman, a certified planner with Environmental Resources Management, presented the latest traffic study to mayor and city council and the public Oct. 3.
Sussman said the purpose of the study was to provide council with information needed when discussing future development with Sussex County and state officials.
The 2015 annual average daily trips for New Road from Canary Creek to Route 1 was estimated at about 5,000. If the developable property along New Road is fully built out, ERM estimates the average annual daily trips could four times more or 20,000 per day.
With that many new trips per day, ERM says New Road could become over capacity and require upgrades, specifically widening, which is not currently proposed or funded. The fact that New Road is a state-owned and maintained road has Lewes officials concerned.
“What, if any, trip wires do DelDOT have that when something comes through PLUS they say this is too much?” Councilwoman Bonnie Osler said. “I don't know what their modeling is. I don't know if they have a point where they say, 'No more.'”
Mayor Ted Becker pointed to Gills Neck Road as an example of what could occur on New Road.
“The numbers are not terribly different if it were to be fully developed,” he said, noting Gills Neck Road is better equipped to handle traffic. “Before you come out of the box, New Road is completely inadequate.”
The ERM traffic study determined Route 1 between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach is the most traveled road in Sussex County with an average annual daily traffic count of nearly 60,000.
In the peak season, traffic increases by an estimated 40 percent on Route 1, the report says.
Sussman said the city should work with DelDOT on the Henlopen Transportation Improvement District to ensure a more holistic consideration of traffic impacts from development. Sussman also said the city should develop a memorandum of understanding with DelDOT that establishes formal consultation between the state and the city for development proposals that directly affect the city's transportation system.
“The idea is firmly planted that there could be a lot of problems if all this development were to eventually occur, and if no road upgrades were to occur,” Sussman said.
The report can be viewed at www.ci.lewes.de.us.
Kings Highway numbers
The ERM report also provided more refined traffic estimates for Kings Highway. Based on DelDOT statistics, the report says existing traffic conditions along Kings Highway between Route 1 and Freeman Highway to be about 16,000 trips daily. In the peak season, it is estimated traffic increases by 20 percent.
The Governors and Showfield subdivisions, both under construction on Gills Neck Road, are estimated to add a combined 6,700 trips daily. Remaining lots in other subdivisions along Gills Neck Road are expected to add 2,200 trips when built, for a total of nearly 9,000 daily trips. The proposed 75,000-square-foot Gills Neck Village Center will add about 4,000 daily trips, the report says.
As far as uncommitted developable land in the Kings Highway corridor, the report provided estimates that assume the property is developed under existing zoning. Land owned by Beebe Healthcare between Kings Highway and Savannah Road would generate 2,500 daily trips, while the large Mitchell farm land across from Cape Henlopen High School would add an average of 2,200 trips daily. The Townsend property at the intersection of Clay Road and Kings Highway would add 1,300 daily trips if developed, the report estimates.
Other recommendations unrelated to New Road include:
• A developer-funded traffic study at the Savannah Road/Gills Neck Road/Front Street intersection
• Repeat request that a Monroe Avenue entrance be included in Phase 1 of Showfield
• Support recommendations from the Lewes Scenic and Historic Byway Committee's management plan
