Future of Savannah Road focus of study

Delaware Department of Transportation planners, along with the Historic Lewes Byway Committee and Delaware Greenways, are in the process of developing a master plan for Savannah Road.

Plans for Kings Highway, Gills Neck Road, New Road and Five Points have already been completed.

A busy road

Savannah Road, part of the Historic Lewes Byway, is the busiest of the three access roads into Lewes. It is one of the most eclectic in Sussex County.

Bordering the busy roadway are a variety of businesses, restaurants, medical and professional offices and residences. It's an access road for the Lewes Fire Department, Beebe Healthcare, Lewes Elementary School, Cape Henlopen High School and Frederick D. Thomas Middle School, which is under construction and expected to be open in fall 2024.

About half of the road is not within Lewes city limits but in the unincorporated area of Sussex County.

The road is also the route most people use to get to the downtown business area, and the city's public beaches and marinas. It crosses the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal and is a popular bicycle route with access to the Lewes-to-Georgetown Trail.

It's a key access road for ambulances to Beebe Healthcare and Lewes fire apparatus.

It's also a historical route with Zwaanendeal Museum and Park along Savannah Road.

It's clogged with traffic when schools begin and let out, and when Beebe has shift changes.

Add in about a dozen crosswalks and a DART bus route, and it's not hard to see creating a plan for the road will be a challenge.

According to 2022 DelDOT data, the average traffic count ranges from 7,600 to 10,700 vehicles per day.

A major road improvements project is scheduled to create a new Savannah Road-Old Orchard Road intersection and to improve the Marsh Road-Wescoats Road-Clay Road intersection with a roundabout.

Residents' comments

The plan's goals include development of a vision, guidance and recommended strategies for potential roadway improvements, and for adjacent properties that have setback areas, with landscape recommendations and multi-modal improvements that will help preserve the character of the byway.

Residents attending an April 26 workshop at Lewes Elementary School were asked to submit comments and add Post-It notes with their ideas and concerns on two large maps of the plan area.

Comments included completion of paving in unimproved sections, truck loading areas, reduction of lights along the roadway to reduce light pollution, prohibiting trucks with trailers, and promoting the use of Kings Highway and improved bike lanes in the downtown area.

Meetings with Lewes and Sussex County officials have already taken place.

About the plan

The plan will include a series of possible short-, mid- and long-term projects based on pedestrian and bicycle facilities, traffic, and a sense of community and character.

Short-term projects include improved sidewalks; ADA compliance access; more push-button pedestrian crossings; continuous connectivity for bicyclists; more bike route warning signs; increased speed enforcement; and landscaping with native plants along public rights of way.

Another project is marketing the city bus route to reduce vehicular traffic, especially in the downtown Lewes area.

Among mid-term projects are sidewalks on both sides of Savannah Road; improved bus route signage; extension of existing bike lanes; and bike traffic safety boxes at appropriate intersections.

Long-term projects include a Safe Routes to School program; a boardwalk at the Cape Henlopen Natural Area, a wetlands area between Canal Street and Massachusetts Avenue; reduced posted speed limit; changed parking regulations and codes to deter congestion; and revision of Lewes and Sussex County ordinances to address landscaping, trees, shade and green areas.

According to planners, the document can be used for guidance and design of DelDOT road projects; integration into the Lewes and Sussex County comprehensive plans; design guidance to private businesses and developers; helping restore the characteristic features of the historic route into town as it progresses through various eras of development and growth; improvement of nonmotorized use of the road; and creation of a long-term vision for manageable and appropriate further development.

A draft plan will be presented during a public workshop in fall 2023, with a final plan completed in the winter of 2023-24.

For more information, go to delawaregreenways.org/historic-lewes-byway-project or contact Delaware Byways coordinator Kelly Valencik at kelly.valencik@delaware.gov.