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WILMAPCO Monitoring Committees Play Important Role in Implementing Plans
WILMAPCO has established Monitoring Committees (MCs) as a tool to assist the community and our partner agencies in keeping track of the recommendations in our studies and plans.
After endorsement by the community and WILMAPCO’s Council, projects that are recommended are then added to the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). Often projects have to wait a few years to receive funding under WILMAPCO’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and DelDOT’s Capital Transportation Program (CTP). MCs are designed to help maintain the communication and coordination with the community that was established during the study, and to help keep track of the projects as we await funding availability for the improvements.
MCs can consist of community members, business owners, civic/ neighborhood groups, church leaders, in coordination with implementing agencies. WILMAPCO and partner agency staff collaborate with the community voices in setting priorities, to share current data on bring updates about project funding. MCs also include a consultant team to assist with data updates, meeting planning and preparation, and public outreach.
WILMAPCO recently established several MCs for newly completed community studies, including: the Route 40 Corridor Improvements (2014), the Route 9 Corridor Master Plan (2017), the North Claymont Area Master Plan (2017), the
Concord Pike Master Plan (2020), the Southern New Castle County Master Plan (2020), the Newport Transportation Plan (2021), the Governor Printz Boulevard Corridor Study (2021), and the Churchman’s Crossing Plan Update (2022).
Here are updates from a few of the MC activities.
Newport Transportation
Plan MC
The Town of Newport is interested in promoting economic growth in a walkable, transit-oriented environment, and recognizes the need for passenger rail service to feed anticipated growth. The study area includes the Town of Newport and the surrounding area of unincorporated New Castle County: west to include First State Plaza; east to include Banning Park, Richardson Park Elementary School, and Delaware Military Academy; and north to include the new Amazon Logistics complex located at Boxwood Road and Centerville Road.
The MC met twice in 2022, virtually on March 2 and in-person at the Old Town Hall on June 21. WILMAPCO (assisted by Century Engineering) is collaborating with Newport in monitoring the progress of the recommended projects from the Transportation Study and new land use development, and in tracking within the study area. Other projects in Newport and the surrounding area, such as the proposed Newport Riverfront Trail, will also be tracked by the MC.
At the June meeting, new issues came to light, including the need
for signage/alerts for high water in the James Street underpass, and a request for a mural/artwork for the walls of the underpass. There was also a request for bike/trail infrastructure to get residents from Newport to the Christiana Mall. The MC will continue to meet through 2022 and 2023, and is planning to host a public workshop as part of the FY 2023 program schedule. Learn more about the plan and the committee at www.wilmapco.org/ newport-transportation-plan.
Concord Pike Master
Plan MC
This MC was established after the Plan was completed in 2020, and met virtually for the first time on December 8, 2021, and for the second time on May 22, in a hybrid format. That meeting was held at Talleyville Fire Company on Concord Pike, with the consultant team from RKK assisting with the technology to hold a successful hybrid meeting. The May meeting featured a presentation of DelDOT’s Bicycle Network Modeling, which can help to prioritize the bicycle projects that give the most benefit to the community. This is especially important to the Concord Pike Master Plan, as there are many bicycle projects included in the plan and the potential pool of funding is too limited to fund all of them. Learn more at www.wilmapco.org/202-2.
Churchman’s Crossing Plan Update
The Churchman’s Crossing Plan Update was completed in January 2022, and the MC was funded in
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