MILLSBORO — Del. 24, heading west out of town, is busy and getting busier, due to the growth of the large golf community of Plantation Lakes.
The road’s intersection with Delaware Avenue has caught the Delaware Department of Transportation’s eye: From January 2019 to January 2024, data shows that there were 30 vehicular collisions there.
“From an overall crash standpoint, we have historically seen angle crashes at this intersection, 20 angle crashes,” said Peter Haag, a traffic engineer for the agency.
Therefore, he said, DelDOT is looking “at proactive countermeasures, in a variety of ways, to try to improve those conditions and prevent serious injuries and fatal injuries from happening.”
At mayor and Town Council’s Aug. 5 meeting, Mr. Haag presented a series of options.
One would be to keep the existing two-way stop in place, with Del. 24 traffic having the right of way.
Other concepts include:
- An all-way stop. But engineers project that northbound Delaware Avenue could see backups during peak hours nearly the length of a football field.
- A traffic signal. However, based on data, this could cause excessive queuing on all sides.
- A single-lane roundabout, which could greatly reduce queuing but would have a larger footprint. It would also have to be nominated into the Capital Transportation Program, a longer process.
At the meeting, Mr. Haag requested feedback. “We want your input, what you want to see at this intersection. It is perfectly fine to say, ‘Leave it as is,’” he said.
Councilman Bob McKee responded that his priorities are to address shrubbery that blocks visibility, look at the difference in the height of stop signs and consider sun glare during the morning and afternoon rush hours.
Mr. Haag noted that sight impairment and sign height typically are the town’s responsibility, not the Transportation Department’s.
Further, Councilman McKee said the agency’s data is outdated.
“This data and the queuing is wrong. It is probably at least double what you are showing here,” he said.
Millsboro police Chief Brian Calloway also spoke about the collisions in the area, saying most were caused by a failure to yield the right of way.
Speed was also addressed, with Councilman Marty Presley asking if a temporary speed reduction from the current 45 mph could be imposed in that location, to include the entrance to Plantation Lakes and its southern section.
This, Mr. Haag said, would require a study coordinated between the developer and the town, as well as enforcement, which town manager Jamie Burk said could be a “challenge.”
Chief Calloway added, “This is something that has been going on for quite some time. We do have the intersection of Plantation Lakes at the entrance. We only have a small section. Unfortunately, if there is a crash at that intersection, yes, we can handle that. But since we only have such a small portion of that roadway, we can’t run radar there.”
So, enforcement would fall under the Delaware State Police. But the chief said efforts to work out a memorandum of understanding with the state police were unsuccessful.
“Again, this is going to be a challenge here. If we reduce that speed limit to, let’s say, 35 mph, who enforces it? It would have to be the state police currently as it stands,” he continued. “As you know, our town has grown tremendously. But our current roadways have stayed the same when it comes to jurisdictional boundaries. That doesn’t make sense to me.”
In the end, the mayor and council took no formal action on Mr. Haag’s options during the meeting.
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