As residents living in close proximity to the proposed Lingo/Townsend RV development, our community has been following closely the articles published in your newspaper on this issue. Everyone I have spoken to in our development is concerned about the same issues other writers from neighboring communities have expressed: safety and traffic issues, environmental damage, decline in property values, financial costs to the county, and a negative impact on the serenity of the area.

Our community is divided by Plantations Road. On the west side of Plantations Road is the first phase of the community, “The Plantations,” which has 232 residences, a club house, swimming pool, tennis courts and health club. On the east side of Plantations Road is the second phase of the development, “The Plantations East”, which has 379 residences and a very large pond for fishing, small sailboats and kayaks.

As a community, we experience firsthand the ever increasing traffic congestion and safety issues. In the summer, the traffic is so bad on Plantations Road that it is almost impossible for our residents to cross from one side of the development to the other so that we can safely enjoy the amenities each side offers. Our residents, their children, grandchildren and visitors - all find their safety in jeopardy when attempting to cross Plantation Road. Driving across is almost impossible, so most of us walk or bike, hoping for a kind soul stopped in bumper-to-bumper traffic to let us across.

To complicate matters, traffic accidents are not uncommon as Richard Wright pointed out in his letter published in the Gazette April 18. After he witnessed two accidents, he was told by a state trooper that 10-12 accidents occur a year involving residents trying to cross from one side of the community to the other.

The proposed RV resort with 628 sites is more than double the density allowed by current zoning and bigger than other developments in the area. The funneling of big RV rigs as well as daily trips by their cars to and from the beaches and shopping to the intersection of Plantation Road, Postal Lane and Cedar Grove Road just south of us would make a bad situation get much worse!

If one looks to future development, the vision becomes even more frightening. Our infrastructure cannot handle the density and corresponding heavy vehicle travel of this development. Traffic generated by this development would not only be an inconvenience, but an increasingly dangerous safety issue to residents. We ask that the county council, planning and zoning commission, DelDOT, DNRECand our local community leaders not to approve this RV venture.

Michael Bono
Lewes