SOUTH BETHANY, Del. - The town of South Bethany released January's monthly Chief of Police Report showing the number of speeding stops, drawing praise from neighbors in town.
During the town council meeting on Friday, the Chief of Police Monthly Report for January 2026 was released. The report shows 56 traffic tickets were issued last month, 34 of them were for speeding.
Last January those numbers were significantly lower, seeing only 18 total traffic tickets with 11 of them being speeding tickets.
Alan Dayton who lives in South Bethany says drivers getting pulled over on the main stretch of Coastal Highway is not an uncommon occurrence, but he has no concerns as officers routinely patrol the area.
"Everyday. Every single day," Dayton tells CoastTV. "I've had very little trouble because the police keep the traffic going slow here."
Dayton says it's not every day, but he has seen drivers come through at speeds seemingly much faster than the posted 35mph limit, as the limit on Coastal Highway just outside of town is much higher.
Friday's meeting when the reports were discussed took place at the town hall at 9 a.m..
Some members of the community that CoastTV spoke with say that the speeding issues and accidents can be attributed to frequently changing speed limits across some the major highways that the coastal towns use.
South Bethany neighbor Margie Rodan had nothing but praise for the South Bethany Police Department, but says she doesn't typically feel safe walking by the busy Coastal Highway to get around and prefers to drive. Rodan saying the dangers the highway presents don't go away as the town slows down during the winter months.
"I see it year round," says Rodan. "I do think that, as a nurse, it is one of the most difficult things to see children to be hurt or bicycle accidents, or anything that could be prevented."
Coastal Highway connects the Delaware and Maryland beach towns serving as one of the main roads for people all along the coast. Some community members say these pedestrian crossover points cause confusion for drivers coming from other towns, posing an extended risk.
But cyclist Richard Braida, originally from Baltimore, Maryland acknowledges the frequent speeding along Coastal Highway but does not fear the road. Braida saying the lack of fear comes from the same place it does with Dayton, a heavy police presence in town.
"I haven't considered it big problem," Braida says. "People as I said are more respectful here. They tend to, you know, if they have room they'll move out of the way to give the bicyclists plenty of room."
Braida says the roadways see much larger issues such as drunk driving, and distracted driving.