Evacuation route must be updated before Atlantic Fields vote
There is a critical but overlooked point of discussion on Atlantic Fields, which is, what is the evacuation route for Sussex County?
Would you be surprised to know that the most current Sussex County evacuation route available on the Sussex County website is from June 2007?
Given that Lewes and Rehoboth are two of the most densely populated areas, I would have expected this to be of imminent concern to Sussex County Council and to have been discussed at some point during the review by DelDOT, given the data source for the current evacuation route is DelDOT as the party responsible for providing guidance on traffic routes, patterns and concerns. But in looking through DelDOT’s most recent responses to council’s questions regarding Atlantic Fields, there is no information of any substantial manner that provided guidance and spoke to the safety and well-being of Sussex County residents given the substantial increase in vehicle trips expected by Atlantic Fields coupled with other recent approved projects. While DelDOT scantly answered questions posed by council, if they are the experts, then why did the agency not proactively raise this concern or draft an update to the current plan? Surely, the numbers being reported for increased vehicle trips warrant a review.
As a tax-paying resident, I demand that my safety and those of the community be addressed, and there be a viable, actionable and current review and guidance on an evacuation route before a decision on Atlantic Fields. We need real experts to weigh in on facts, details, patterns, road capacities and how in the changing landscape of lower Sussex County, people could/would be evacuated.
Council has no obligation to approve any new building project of any kind in Sussex County until this is completed and has been tested to work in 2026, not a future date when some road 10 years from now may be built. Council, first and foremost, has an obligation to the safety and welfare of its tax-paying residents, not to developers. We all must demand to know the route!
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