Public Comment - Rt 24 Bursting at the seam

 This letter was sent to the Sussex Council as public comment regarding Baywood Gardens apartment complex with 514 units that was on the Sussex Council agenda on 6/29/2021.

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Dear Sussex Council,

I ask you to consider the cumulative impact, not only of the individual application. 

Below is a direct quote from page 36 of the online packet:

DelDOT's County Coordinator wrote: 

"Per the 2018 Delaware Vehicle Volume Summary, the annual average and summer average daily traffic volumes along the segment of Long Neck Rd where the subject land is located, which is from Masseys Landing to Delaware Route 24, are 11,3338 and 14,592 vehicles per day, respectively. As the subject land also has frontage along School Lane, the annual average ad summer average daily traffic volumes along that road segment, which is from Bay Fram Road (Sussex Road 299) to Delaware Route 24, are 3,921 and 5,046 vehicles per day, respectively.

According to the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual, a development of 514 apartment units would generate 2,800 vehicle trips per day, 170 vehicle trips during the morning peak hour, and 213 vehicle trips during the afternoon peak hour."

What I see here is that DelDOT expects 2,800 daily vehicle trips generated by this application. Most of these trips will end up on Rt 24 since, unless they are going Massey's Landing, there is few places they can go to without taking Rt 24.

The same DelDOT report says that the daily total traffic on Rt 24 is 14,592. This means the new traffic volume of 2,800 is about 1/5 of the whole traffic volume on Rt 24. Please tell me that I get it wrong.

I have prepared the Rt 24 Traffic Increase Projection (attached) based on the subdivisions that are under construction, recently approved, or the approval pending that we know of so far. I divided Rt 24 into 5 maps and entered the corresponding subdivisions with the number of dwelling units approved. I did not include commercial developments.

From Coastal Hwy to Oak Orchard, near Rt 24, there are about 7,000 new homes on the horizon, which means about 60,000 new car trips per day.

As far as what is known to the public, DelDOT plans to improve certain intersections on Rt 24, but has no plans to dualize the road between those intersections. Their plan is to dualize only up to Windswept subdivision that is in the east of Harts Landing and Love Creek Bridge. Is Rt 24 apt to handle the additional 2,800 daily trips generated by Baywood Gardens?

Particularly those who live south of Rt 24 (Mulberry Knoll, Angola Neck, Pine Water Neck, Long Neck, Oak Orchard), their only evacuation routes will be through Rt. 24.

Please look at the cumulative impacts in the area. If there is no way to consider them under current laws, please find ways to do so since the Council has the authority to create or amend the land use ordinances.