The July 26 Cape Gazette editorial cartoon titled “Route 9 car trips per day” captured in stark terms the approaching nightmare on Route 9. The 2023 traffic count on Route 9 is 17,052 vehicle trips per day; the additional vehicle trips to be generated by the Northstar and Cool Spring Crossing mega developments could add 43,000 for a total of 60,000.
Essentially, the total trips would be in excess of Route 1 at Five Points. Title 9, Section 6962 of the Delaware Code, titled Highway Capacity, obligates Sussex County to establish an agreement with the Department of Transportation to provide a procedure for analysis by the department of the effects on traffic of each rezoning application. According to a 2020 memorandum of understanding between Sussex County and DelDOT on land development coordination, Sussex County and DelDOT shall endeavor, where possible, to maintain a level of service of D on roads and intersections affected by a land-use application.
While attending the planning & zoning commission public hearing July 17, DelDOT admitted they have no plans of completing the needed infrastructure to increase the road capacity until after 2030. DelDOT also was not prepared to provide the current level of service for the intersection impacted by the Northstar development. This is a critical measurement to determine that without the infrastructure improvements, at what point will the projected incremental vehicle trips resulting from the build out of 758 single-family homes, 94 multifamily units, and 96,118 square feet of commercial space cause intersections to fail?
So, it is not a matter of if major intersections will fail, it is simply when. With the authority that both Sussex County and DelDOT have as outlined in the MOU, phasing of the build out can be a condition of approval. Getting this right is critical to the lives of everyone who uses Route 9, and given its strategic location, that’s a lot of people.
It plays a vital role for first responders driving to medical emergencies or to extinguish fires. It is a central evacuation route in the event of hurricanes or other possible emergencies. The planning & zoning commission needs to require DelDOT to provide the most current numbers and a phasing plan before it makes a decision on Northstar. Approval without conditions of phasing would demonstrate the commission’s full knowledge and acceptance of the public safety risk of moving forward with the Northstar project without the needed completion of DelDOT road improvements.
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