Anyone who has driven Route 1 over the past decade knows the corridor has changed dramatically. DelDOT removed many of the old traffic lights, left-turn options and direct crossovers. In their place came jughandles, extended merge lanes and right-turn-only exits designed to move beach traffic faster.
For visitors, these changes may be an improvement. For residents, especially older adults, the reality is more complicated.
What used to be a simple left turn into a medical office or pharmacy now requires driving well past the destination, looping back and merging into unfamiliar roundabouts. Routine errands have become stressful. For many older adults, caregivers or people who already feel anxious behind the wheel, this is not just inconvenient, it also feels unsafe. And when navigating these redesigned intersections becomes intimidating or confusing, people avoid them. They delay care. They cancel appointments. Some simply stay home.
DART’s own Reimagine DART planning study found that 90% of Delaware residents rely on personal vehicles for basic mobility. When they can no longer drive, they depend almost entirely on neighbors and friends for rides. Many live far from adult children or family members who might help. In Sussex County, losing the ability to drive often means losing the ability to access care at all. A transportation system that relies on favors is not a system; it’s a patchwork, and it is failing the people who need it most.
Meanwhile, driverless transportation is already here in nearby cities.
Waymo has begun operating autonomous shuttles in Philadelphia and Baltimore, two cities with unpredictable intersections, cyclists darting between cars, dense pedestrian zones, delivery trucks and multi-lane chaos. If autonomous vehicles can safely manage those environments day after day, they can certainly manage a straight, predictable Route 1 corridor – one made more challenging for human drivers, but actually simpler for AV technology.
Sussex County now has congestion without connection: more lanes, more traffic-flow engineering, but fewer practical and comfortable options for people who need to travel for medical care. This is exactly the gap a well-designed driverless shuttle pilot could fill. We’ve redesigned Route 1 for faster traffic. Now we need to redesign it for safe access to care. A driverless shuttle pilot is a realistic way to start.
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