This past Monday the City of Lewes Lewes Beach Parking Committee convened their first meeting at City Hall. I, along with my wife and many of our neighbors, attended. The committee is composed of two councilmen, staff and three lay people from the community. It was uneventful and was primarily an organizational meeting.
There was not a great deal of substantive issues discussed. However, the current charge of the committee as stated by the chairman is well intended but seriously flawed.
It was clear to me that the city had received much comment prior to the hearing from interested parties. Several Lewes Beach residents spoke, and generally were concerned with the issues which would arise if streets on Lewes Beach were modified to accommodate a greater number of vehicular parking spaces.
I again expressed my concerns and thoughts relating to the lack of a comprehensive plan for the future of the Lewes Beach subdivision.
Planning cannot occur in a vacuum or in a piecemeal fashion. It must be well thought out and take into consideration the multitudes of consequences which will occur when a drastic change to a community occurs if a policy were implemented as currently proposed. Short-sighted quick fixes lead to disastrous consequences. Just look at the short-sighted plan which was implemented at the Five Points intersection.
I do not see the parking at Lewes Beach as a problem. The issue is not parking at the Lewes Beach subdivision; it is the lack of parking in the entire city for visitors who wish to visit the beach on the Delaware Bay fronting on the Lewes Beach area.
Parking did not become a problem overnight and will not be fixed by clearing residential lots to install a greater number of parking spaces. The problem of individuals placing impediments in front of their lots such as cones and sawhorses can be quickly resolved by a visit by enforcement officials.
Our population in eastern Sussex County has exploded and will continue to grow, putting immense pressure on the City of Lewes to provide facilities of all types, including parking. A comprehensive city-wide parking plan must be designed and implemented to accommodate our growth for decades to come.
The city owns lands not being utilized between the two existing public parking lots that can be developed to accommodate parking. There are public facilities at this location and immediate access to public transportation.
To change the complexion of the Lewes Beach subdivision into a parking facility is not appropriate. The city council has given the property owners an opening, after years of failing to do so, to come up with a master comprehensive land-use growth plan for Lewes Beach.
We need a fix to the severe vehicular speeding problem, lack of public infrastructure, nonexistent bicycle and pedestrian safety features, and lack of beautification measures. Lewes Beach can become one of the most treasured beach communities on the Mid-Atlantic coast with a little vision and a long-overdue plan. The failure to plan will lead to a plan to fail. Let's take the time to do it correctly.
Mark G. Schaeffer Sr.
Lewes
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