There is an application to change the zone of the horse farm from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to a C-4, commercial district. This commercial district application proposes 334 apartments and 71,100 square feet of retail space, which would increase the traffic on Route 24 by 6,800 vehicle trips per day.
The application states that DelDOT listed the 2022 traffic as 18,591 vehicles per day. The Route 24 Alliance hired a traffic consultant who shared the road capacity as listed in the current Highway Capacity Manual. The listed capacity of a two-lane road at 45 mph, level of service D, ranges from 11,900 to 15,900 vehicles per day, depending on various factors. This means the two-lane portion of Route 24 between the horse farm west to Love Creek and the bridge would be over road capacity. And this does not even include the additional traffic from the other approved developments!
Sussex County Council must deny this application. DelDOT has no projects listed in the Fiscal Year 2025 to Fiscal Year 2030 Capital Transportation Program to expand this part of Route 24 or the bridge. Sign a petition to oppose CZ2001 at https://chng.it/mVXLd8TW9Q. Learn more about what you can do to oppose this change of zone at https://tinyurl.com/DEBelleMead. Please attend the county council hearing Tuesday, Sept. 16, and make your voice heard!
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