BETHANY BEACH, Del. – A crosswalk removal along Route 26 has some Bethany Beach residents and business owners saying the new setup has made crossing the road more dangerous.
The Delaware Department of Transportation replaced the old crosswalks near Treetop Lane with two new pedestrian crossings, each featuring a median island where walkers can pause halfway across.
DelDOT says the old crossings were unsignalized, telling WBOC in a statement that the changes simplify the crossing maneuver and eliminate multiple conflict points at the old intersection locations.
But Lisa Difebo, who owns DiFebo’s Restaurant and Difebo’s Market on opposite sides of Route 26, says the change has made the road more hazardous.
"My initial reaction when I saw the crosswalk was gone was sheer panic," Difebo said. "We had to call 911 just this weekend, three different times, and I'm tired of it. I've seen older people trying to cross. An older woman got hit and was laying in the middle of the road," she said.
Difebo said she's been pushing for safety measures on that stretch of Route 26 since 2022, when she first asked for cautionary signage to slow drivers down. She said removing the crosswalk's markings altogether, not just relocating it, has only made things worse.
"Now they took away the white piano strip. It has made it even more dangerous…Our community is vulnerable walking across the street," she said.
Other residents echoed similar frustrations.
"They've moved the walking lanes so far back,” said Cliff Roseberry. “People aren't going to do that. I mean, it's just human nature. They want to go across the street and they're just going to walk through traffic. And it's a dangerous situation that's been created by trying to solve one problem. They created another problem that's probably more dangerous."
Heather DeMarie, who has lived in Bethany Beach for 23 years, said the old crosswalk gave her family an added sense of security with it being straight across some of the main businesses like DiFebo’s.
"With the old crosswalk, I felt safe. I have young children, and it really gives you an extra layer of protection when you're going from one side of 26 to the other," DeMarie said.
DelDOT says that it coordinated with the town throughout the project planning process, which included the removal of the existing sidewalk.
Despite the new crossings, WBOC observed pedestrians still crossing Route 26 at the old crosswalk location.
