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ITN can ease transportation mobility issues

December 9, 2016

Sussex County Council, some members of the planning and zoning commission, and the Delaware Department of Transportation in collaboration with builders and developers, planning experts and other community leaders and organizations are beginning develop a cooperative Comprehensive Land Use Plan that will spell out a shared vision for how the county will look a decade from now and beyond.

The plan will not only establish policies to address affordable housing availability, agriculture preservation, open space protection, historic preservation, economic development, and population density and growth, but will also give attention to other community concerns such as the lack of through roads, the quality of many of our highways, the potential of evacuation snarls, and overall transportation mobility. The divide between county and state regulations when making decisions affecting traffic flow, roadways and mobility throughout Sussex will be remediated.

Unfortunately, there is no way to diminish the already existing clusters of housing and developments that were constructed without regulations in place addressing traffic control, easements, road width and surfacing, etc., and even with more concerted efforts for future construction, such changes will take years. More importantly, the demographic makeup of the county is unlike any other in the U.S.

The University of Delaware's study: Transportation Services in Delaware for Persons in Delaware with Disabilities and Senior Citizens (2013) estimates that Sussex County, the most widespread of Delaware's counties, will have the largest percentage increase in elder residents by 2030.

The number of 65+ Sussex Countians is expected to reach about 80,000 - nearly twice the number in 2010.

Thirty-plus percent of Sussex County residents will be 65-plus compared to 23 percent statewide and 19 percent nationally.

The number of 85-plus Sussex County residents will increase dramatically, from 4,195 to just over 12,000 - nearly a three-fold increase from 2010.

Those predictions are being borne out annually. According to the 2015 Census Report, "In an average month in Sussex, 188 persons are born, 201 persons die, and 411 persons move here from out of state (mainly to retire)."

ITN Southern Delaware, an affiliate of ITN America that has been in operation for over two decades, is a nonprofit transportation cooperative that offers members 55-plus and adults with visual impairments dignified, personalized transportation in regular cars, arm-through-arm, door-through-door, 24/7 for any need, e.g. doctor appointments, shopping, dining out, barber/hairdresser, etc. To get out in front of the impending senior population growth curve, ITN needs community support.

The ITN Southern Delaware Board of Directors is requesting older adults and the visually impaired to show their support by joining the co-op and asking interested volunteers to sign up to drive so that the number of rides will increase and services will broaden. Donations are also needed in order to sustain this valuable service.

The board sincerely believes together we can put in place a long-standing, viable, inexpensive means of transportation for many years to come. Please call 302-448-8486 for information or visit the website: itnsoutherndelaware.org. If you think you or a loved one will ever need this valuable service, join now before membership rates increase. We can do this!

ITN Southern Delaware Board of Directors
Nancy Feichtl
president
Wayne Miller
vice president
Robert Porta
Brook Andrews
Mary Anne Hoopes
Suzette Chagnon

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