Page 4 - WILMAPCO - Winter 2023
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Southbridge Transportation Action Plan
Gains Momentum
WILMAPCO is partnering with Southbridge civic leaders and other key stakeholders to develop a Transportation Action Plan for the Southbridge section of Wilmington.
The plan (previously called a “Circulation Study”) will more deeply explore and prioritize the transportation recommendations and concepts from the 2021 Southbridge Neighborhood Action Plan and identify courses for their implementation.
Early work on the plan involved confirming and refining the plan’s key focus areas. These include:
• Reduce traffic speeds
• Slow, reduce, and reroute truck
traffic
• Improve walking and biking, especially connections across the
• jobs, and healthcare
An initial public
survey was launched
in September, with
participating. About
half were residents.
Results indicated that Southbridge residents struggle with transportation more than the average New Castle County that lack of transportation limited them from reaching healthy and affordable grocery shopping and a social activities due to limited better bus connections were needed to grocery stores, specifically.
In line with the plan’s focus areas, the top transportation issues to reduce both speeding traffic and truck traffic, generally, and the need to improve sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. Nine in 10 of the residents surveyed ranked these as “important.”
Apublic kickoff meeting for the planning process was held in conjunction with the Southbridge
Civic Association meeting in October, which was attended by more than two dozen community members. Feedback on the plan’s progress was positive and residents provided valuable details for consideration. For example, where better street lighting was needed, along with a half dozen locations that
Over the winter, potential project alternatives to address the plan’s focus areas will be developed. These will be presented during a second community workshop. A more detailed survey, help select the community’s preferred solutions.
To learn more about the Southbridge Transportation Action Plan or to get involved, please visit www.wilmapco. org/southbridge.
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