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Dickinson Avenue redesign underway

Lawsuit delaying project is dismissed
June 2, 2014

The redesign of Dickinson Avenue in Dewey Beach is underway.

To improve safety and traffic flow and create space for emergency vehicles, town commissioners in April approved a redesign of the street.

Dewey Beach attorney Fred Townsend said during a May 10 commissioners meeting that a lawsuit by Highway One’s Alex Pires delayed the project, but the suit has been dismissed. He said Pires questioned whether the design complied with federal fire regulations and Delaware Department of Transportation standards.

Officials confirmed the proposal did not violate applicable design standards, Townsend said.

As approved, the new layout will reduce parking in the center of the street by 16 spots from 29. The new parking area will be landscaped and lighted, with one row of parking in the middle, each one 18 feet in length.

Townsend said DelDOT recommended making a few small changes in the approved design, including reducing the median in the middle from a 3-foot wide sidewalk to a 1-foot median because it was a bad idea to encourage use of a sidewalk to nowhere, and the removal of the first parking space at the entrance so traffic doesn’t get backed up onto Route 1 waiting for a car to leave.

Overall, the design is better and street is wider, said Townsend.

 

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