BETHANY BEACH, Del.- DelDOT is weighing out the options on different safety improvements on Coastal Highway north of Bethany Beach.
The agency hosted a public workshop Wednesday night to discuss its plans for the four-mile stretch of Route One that's between the Indian River Inlet Bridge and Bethany Beach.
"This is an opportunity for the public to come out and really have a chance to review what those proposed improvements would look like," said DelDOT's C.R. McLeod.
This specific area of Coastal Highway has seen numerous crashes and collisions with pedestrians and people on bikes, with some being deadly. People at the workshop Wednesday night also expressed lots of concerns with excessive speeding in the area and a lack of law enforcement to pull over speeders.
"This is really a chance to look at improvements that can help address those issues and make sure that we are really accommodating pedestrian and bicycle traffic as safely as possible," McLeod continued.
Some of the ideas presented by DelDOT include quick solutions like Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, or RRFBs- signs that light up and flash when people are looking to cross the highway on foot or on a bike.
Finalized locations for those RRFBs include by Indian Harbor Villas, the Fresh Pond North Trailhead and the Fresh Pond South Trailhead near Heron Road. There are three locations that have not been finalized yet- those being by the Tower Shores and Pelican's Pouch/Watermark neighborhoods and by Sussex Shores and Collins Road.
Other more permanent additions included a new bike path that would run along the highway, different kinds of barriers or buffers to place between cars and pedestrians, and speed limit reductions along certain areas of the roadway.
The proposed speed limit change locations include:
- The portion between the Rehoboth Beach Sailing Association and near New Road going from 55 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour
- The portion from Keybox Road to 3 R's Road going from 55 miles per hour to 50 miles per hour
- The portion from Three R's Road to Collins road reducing from 55 miles per hour to 45 miles per hour
Seth Hamed, founder of the Coalition for a Safer North Bethany Beach, says he has seen first hand how dangerous the roadway can get- and he's hoping for changes sooner rather than later.
"This is going to save lives. There's nothing more important than that, right?" he remarked. "It doesn't matter whose life you save, whether it's somebody from Virginia or Maryland or Pennsylvania or Delaware, all lives are at risk here."
DelDOT plans to host a virtual Q&A session on May 20 at 5 pm. The agency also hopes to host another workshop in the Fall.
As for the projects discussed at the May 8 workshop, some of the RRFBs are scheduled to begin installation in the Fall. But some of the more permanent additions, like the new bike path, are still in the conceptual stage. Public comment can be submitted for the next 30 days. Â