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Route 1 needs traffic calming solution

January 9, 2014

The Dec. 26 Cape Gazette article regarding the Route 1 study seems like a surrender to the obvious.  More crosswalks will slow down traffic and people drive to a speed that they feel comfortable at rather than one posted on a sign.  Further, slowing speed below the natural speed the road commands contributes to accidents.

This goes back to previous comments regarding the Forgotten Mile.  A wide, flat, straight road is designed for higher speeds than should be acceptable in a residential area.  This is a design problem, and one that should be approached with a design solution.  If posting a lower speed limit without reducing the natural speed limit results in accidents, it seems the obvious solution is to reduce the natural speed limit.  Traffic calming is how this is done.  Greater enforcement is one way to handle this, and Bethany Beach is a great example of how effective this can be. Raised crosswalks and stop lights triggered by excessive speeds are others, and, unlike policemen, have the benefit of being there 24/7/365.

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that for all the public hoopla nothing meaningful has been accomplished.  It’s a shame as the momentum gained by loss of life has, itself, become a casualty of the road.

D. Lee McCreary 
Rehoboth Beach

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