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Route 24 can't handle RV park traffic

May 13, 2014

The following letter was sent to the members of Sussex County Council with a copy submitted to the Cape Gazette for publication.

With the approval of the new elementary school off Route 24, the decision about voting on the nearby Love Creek RV Park should be clearer than ever. There will now be an additional 720 students travelling on a congested and already inadequate local road system twice a day. This also does not include the increase in planned additional capacity that will be added to the existing middle school. This situation means that either they will need to double the number of buses picking up and discharging students or double the time necessary to transport students using the same buses.

Since the buses will be on the road perhaps up to an hour or more each way with continual stops, that could mean that many of the buses will be in use for at least two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. If the RV park was to be approved, you could have both buses and large vehicles travelling at the same time on the same overcrowded roads which will increase the safety risks since the RV Park and the schools are located within two-and-a-half miles apart. To further clarify that, you’ll have a five-month period when both the schools and RV Park operate simultaneously.

As Route 24 is only one of a few major interconnecting roads going east and west, there are very few alternative routes for people to reach the shore area and the potential for major backups is quite feasible. One only has to consider what happens when an incident on that roadway occurs, such as a recent fire or a fatal traffic accident, to see how long and how far traffic gets backed up and paralyzes the entire area.

Since the council has been deliberating on this proposal for almost a year, you must know the issues quite well. This project was not appropriate even before the new school vote, let alone now. Thus, your denying vote is crucial in determining the successful and tranquil future of this area and Sussex County. Since you voted down a similar type project in Bethany, why would anyone consider this location with all of its’ negative consequences? We recognize that some of you are “pro-business oriented, but you must also be smart-business focused.

Future visitors will not tolerate gridlock and long traffic delays, but that is what will happen if you allow large numbers of oversized vehicles onto a congested road infrastructure. Additionally, the taxpaying citizens of Sussex County will be affected by suffering the daily inconveniences and consequences of an unsuitable project that will only benefit a few. The developer can always go back to the drawing board and develop the land in a more appropriate manner than inserting this campground in a non-compatible location. If the RV park was rezoned and allowed in a residential area, what would be next; a zoo or a theme park?

Finally, please listen to the majority of those that will be affected most by your decision. With all of the anticipated growth expected for this area, please work to insure that it is evaluated and conducted intelligently. Long range planning should be done well in advance and not done as an afterthought to correct costly conditions that were easily avoidable and a result of poor planning and decision making. Thank you in advance for making the right decision by voting no.

Dan and Marie Ahearn
Lewes

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