The slick idyllic aerial view presentation of the Hudson-Hughes Highway (suggestion 76 of the Five Points advisory group) fails to show how close the proposed highway comes to current residences and neighborhoods. Before considering a yes vote on this proposal, take a walk/ride down the length of the cleared pathway (have a DELDOT vehicle ride you if necessary) and see for yourselves how close the proposed highway will come to existing structures.
The State of Delaware has a 67-foot right-of-way, so how can they add two 12-foot roadways and one 10-foot (minimum width) bike/walk trail, without any separation between the highway and bike/walk trail, and provide adequate forested or landscaped buffers on each side of the highway/bike trail?
In a recent Cape Gazette article it was stated that I.G. Burton, R-Lewes, has suggested that the current code of 20-foot buffers be changed to a minimum of 40-foot buffers. So I ask you, how can you put buffers (20- or 40-foot) on each side of the highway/bike trail when the state only has a 67-foot ROW and the highway/bike trail at a very minimum has already used up 34 feet of the ROW? Suggestion 76 is not a sensible solution to the congestion situation. Vote no for suggestion 76!
Moreover, according to information provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, an organization that works to convert unused rail corridors to biking/walking trails, building more highways and roads has failed to stem the rise in congestion.
Reportedly between 1982 and 2011, the number of hours of vehicle delay in urban areas rose 360 percent, even as the number of highway and road miles increased by 61 percent.
Vote no to suggestion 76, the Hudson-Hughes Highway suggestion as a solution for the Five Points congestion.
Bob Lanasa
Lewes
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