County, state aim to coordinate planning for Routes 9, 113 corridors
State officials asked Sussex County Council to work with them to coordinate development and road improvements along sections of Routes 9 and 113.
The request came during a council meeting Dec. 9, at which the draft Delaware Strategies for State Policies and Spending update was outlined, and council members expressed strong interest in the idea.
The state strategies plan will guide its infrastructure and policy decisions over the next five years to help implement goals of local comprehensive plans, including Sussex County’s plan.
Planning is needed along Route 9 between Georgetown and Lewes, and Route 113 between Georgetown and Millsboro to address growth, said Delaware Department of Transportation Secretary Shante Hastings, a Sussex County resident.
The corridors are considered rural areas in county and state planning, even though development has begun and is expanding.
“I think it’s best for everyone to make sure those land-use plans and those developments align with the transportation plans that are being considered,” said David Edgell, director of the Office of State Planning Coordination.
Approval of the strategies plan was delayed a half-year in large part to allow time for Sussex County to reevaluate the direction of development.
The Sussex County Land-Use Reform Working Group created by council finalized 20 recommendations in September to drastically change development patterns, shifting growth out of rural areas, creating more diverse housing options and protecting the environment.
Council is considering how to enact many of the proposals, some of which will be included in a comprehensive plan update.
Sussex has been the fastest-growing county in the state, by far, in recent years. However, more than a quarter of housing construction was in rural areas, where the state had not anticipated road improvements would be needed.
That led to large housing developments filling farms and open spaces, leaving transportation, schools, emergency services and medical providers struggling to catch up.
The state strategies plan is expected to be voted on Monday, Jan. 12, by the Cabinet Committee on State Planning Issues after a month’s delay. The portion of the plan and accompanying maps for the two transportation corridors will have to be amended later when the state and county finish planning for improvements there, Edgell said.
The Routes 9 and 113 corridors study is expected to take about six months, Hastings said.
An ongoing state Coastal Corridors study of Routes 9, 16 and 24 has recommended options for improvements along those roads.
Edgell said that effort does not include any input from the county on anticipated development along Route 9, and there has been no coordination between state and county planning.
Also, the county master plan does not reflect development that is already occurring and anticipated on Routes 9 and 113, he said.
County Council Vice President John Rieley asked if the state takes into account active development applications in its transportation planning.
“It seems like it’s not necessarily taken into consideration,” Rieley said.
“There’s nothing taken into consideration now, except some transportation modeling that’s been done,” Edgell said. “And that’s what we’re saying, there really should be, could be, ought to be a real concerted effort along these two corridors.”
Safety improvements made on some roadways in the past 15 years in response to development have encouraged further growth, Hastings said.
County Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum asked why other corridors, including Route 24, will not be included in discussions between the county and state, when the roads face similar issues. Hastings said other state studies are looking at those roads.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
