Traffic is perhaps the most contentious issue for residents of the Cape Region. Hearings on new subdivisions or rezoning requests rarely end without neighboring residents opposing the plans because of the congestion new projects bring.
State transportation officials say problems in Sussex County are exacerbated by the absence of an adequate public facilities ordinance, which would give county officials more power to require improvements to intersections affected by new projects. A facilities ordinance, coupled with a transportation improvement district, now under consideration, could improve traffic flow in the Cape Region.
Those initiatives may be in order going forward, but in the near term, DelDOT officials should take note: Plans to transform the 1.8-acre Belltown United Methodist Church property in Lewes into a restaurant and brewpub have apparently fallen through.
That's good news for Belltown residents who hoped to preserve the church and may again have that chance. Still, the congregation that owns the church now worships in Rehoboth, and a trustee told planning and zoning officials repairs to the building are no longer affordable. The church is close to the Five Points intersection, where red-light cameras were recently installed for what state officials call safety reasons.
Most importantly, the church and several other properties are adjacent to the highly congested intersection locals call Malfunction Junction. About a year ago, DelDOT hired a contractor to investigate ways Five Points and Malfunction Junction could be reconfigured. The results of that study have yet to be announced.
If DelDOT has any future plans to reconfigure these intersections, those plans will almost certainly require purchasing at least part of the Belltown Church property. It's located just off Route 1, at the center of where three important access roads converge.
Solving the problems at Five Points without entirely destroying the historic Belltown community is a complicated problem. Still one thing is clear. The time to obtain this land is when it is available for purchase.
In other words, now.
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Editorials are considered and written by Cape Gazette Editorial Board members, including Publisher Chris Rausch, Editor Jen Ellingsworth, News Editor Nick Roth and reporters Ron MacArthur and Chris Flood.
