REHOBOTH BEACH, DE - Officials in Rehoboth Beach are moving ahead with traffic calming measures to mitigate speeding on some of the city’s busiest streets.
Commissioners voted during a meeting on February 20 to approve suggestions from the Streets and Safety Advisory Committee for short-term interventions that can be implemented in 90 days before the start of the summer season and denser traffic.
Commissioner Mark Saunders serves as the committee's chairman. Saunders told his fellow commissioners that the proposals were crafted following meetings with the public, a representative from the Delaware Department of Transportation and city staff.
Focal points for the committee include Henlopen Avenue, Columbia Avenue and State Road.
David Pollack, who lives on State Road, told WBOC that traffic volume leaving Coastal Highway increases when seasonal residents and renters fill homes throughout the area.
“We knew living on State Road that there would be trucks and buses and cars going by,” Pollack said. “During the summer, every house is filled all the time with either residents or people who are renting the properties, and there are kids here playing out front and people pulling in and out of their driveways."
implemented within three months, including painted driveway boxes, speed reader boards and additional speed limit signage.
Not all residents think signage alone will be effective.
“The signs … I've seen people speed up when they see them,” said Rick Eisenman, who has lived near State Road for decades.
Eisenman said stepped-up enforcement and issuing more tickets could send a stronger message.
On Columbia Avenue, some homeowners told WBOC they have noticed police enforcement step up recently, but that more is needed.
“We've tried many, many, many times over the 14 years I've been here to get the city to do something more than what they've done,” said Anthony Unger. “So this is sort of like an area where I think it's been overlooked, and I hope the city's going to address it."
City officials said longer-term solutions will be determined through additional committee meetings and coordination with the Rehoboth Beach police chief. The committee is recommending several short-term traffic-calming measures that could be