Milton to conduct engineering study of Chestnut Street intersection

Milton Town Council has set in motion plans for a long-discussed four-way stop at the intersection of Chestnut, Atlantic and Wharton streets.

Council unanimously agreed to conduct a formal engineering study. 

Doing something about the Chestnut/Atlantic/Wharton intersection has been a subject of debate for years. It was one of a series of recommendations by the streets and sidewalks committee that was presented to council July 11. 

The Chestnut/Atlantic/Wharton intersection is problematic, mostly because the right-of-way is unclear and obstructed. 

Councilwoman Randi Meredith, chair of the streets committee, said, “It’s not user-friendly for any user: walking, biking, driving.”

She said the Delaware Department of Transportation conducted an evaluation of the intersection and found there were no concerns with converting it into a four-way stop. 

Mayor John Collier said the engineering study could be funded using traffic improvement money from Sussex County. He said the study should look into what needs to be done to convert the intersection into a four-way stop. Collier said the town’s main concern is Chestnut Street, which is maintained by the town, whereas the cross streets are maintained by DelDOT. 

Councilwoman Lee Revis-Plank suggested the council go further and include other problematic intersections in the engineering study, specifically mentioning the intersection of Mulberry and Federal streets, which is oddly shaped with visibility issues. Meredith said Mulberry and Federal streets were also suggested for a four-way stop by DelDOT, but council did not include it in the vote because it was not listed on the July 11 agenda. 

Council approved a recommendation by the committee to install staple-style bike racks at the Magnolia Street parking lot. 

Meredith said the existing rack at the Magnolia lot is in poor condition. She said the plan would be to install four racks – which would hold two bikes each – with an estimated cost of $600 to $1,300. 

Tabled and sent back to the committee for further discussion is a recommendation to institute a fee in lieu of waivers to town sidewalk requirements. This recommendation stems from council wanting to cease granting waivers, which has been an ongoing thing in Milton for years as residents have sought them on streets where either no sidewalk exists or one cannot be installed. Council has typically approved these waivers on the condition that the waiver is not in perpetuity. 

The streets committee came to council with the recommendation to institute a fee of 100% of the cost of sidewalk installation, to be held in escrow. Meredith initially suggested that the money could be used for other sidewalk projects around town.

Collier opposed that idea, saying the money should be set aside and used on the specific parcel that is paying the fee. 

“I don’t know if we can take money from somebody on Chestnut Street and give it to someone on Holland Street. I’m not so sure we want to create an arbitrary fund. I think the money has to be credited to that particular parcel,” he said. 

Collier said he supported instituting a fee instead of giving out waivers, but he believed the town should come up with a different formula for what the fee should be.

“I just think we need to look a little wider and a little further before we jump into something like this. I think there is a solution out there. We just have to dig a little deeper. We can’t be the only community in the world that has ever considered this,” he said.