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Tuesday Editorial

Sussex shouldn't shy from more parks

September 19, 2016

In the past year, Sussex County made a new venture - its second - into providing public outdoor recreation space.

The first came years ago when Mary Lighthipe donated land to the county called the James Farm - along White's Creek and inside Cedar Neck south of Indian River Inlet - to be used for for an environmental education area. The county made a good deal out of it. They contracted with the Center for the Inland Bays to manage the beautiful expanse of waterfront open space with trails and boardwalks and parking areas. Tens of thousands of people have enjoyed its beauty.

Now comes Woodland Park, west of Seaford along the Nanticoke River. The county wisely took advantage of another opportunity. Needing to dispose of spoils associated with dredging the Nanticoke to keep it commercially viable, Sussex purchased the former Woodland Golf Course near the Woodland Ferry on Woodland Road. Only the back half of the 41-acre parcel was needed for spoils; the remaining 20 acres has been fashioned into a low-impact recreation area with more than a mile of trails for walking and bicycling along the river.

County Administrator Todd Lawson said maintenance of Woodland Park is expected to cost no more than $30,000 per year. That's a good deal for a public park that offers the benefits of free outdoor recreation.

Delaware's General Assembly allocated no funds - zero - for open space preservation this year. Revenue was tight; funding was approved for farmland preservation and for Gov. Jack Markell's trails and pathways initiative, but nothing was left over to purchase open space with public access. Open space preservation is an important part of the state infrastructure that contributes to quality of life - and which attracts people to live and work here.

The Woodland Park initiative is giving Sussex County Council a taste of open space preservation for public recreation.

The county should step up even more to help fill the gap left by the lack of state funding. Increasing development offers the opportunity to leverage the purchase of open space, and that should always be top of mind for Sussex Council.

  • 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. 

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