7th Street Peninsula Study

ABOUT THE STUDY

The City of Wilmington, Delaware Department of Transportation, and WILMAPCO have completed a study for the East 7th Street Peninsula located in Wilmington, Delaware.  The East 7th Street peninsula is located at the confluence of the Brandywine Creek and the Christina River. The sole vehicular and bicycle/pedestrian access points are via Swedes Landing Road. The limited access has impacted economic growth for the peninsula and private investment. The roadways are also subject to flooding during storm events, which compromises the limited access even further.

STUDY PURPOSE

The goal of this project was to identify and prioritize the implementation of necessary roadway and utility improvements. The study evaluated and recommended land use and development to attract suitable public/private investment opportunities and facilitate future economic development on the East 7th Street Peninsula. The study evaluated existing land use and public open space and makes recommendations for appropriate waterfront mixed use development opportunities, maximize potential public/private investment; and promote overall economic development of the site.

For additional information, please contact: Dave Gula at (302) 737-6205 or email dgula@wilmapco.org.

STUDY OBJECTIVES

  • Promote economic development
  • Reduce or eliminate flooding
  • Evaluate roadway network (including the feasibility of a new access point across the Brandywine Creek)
  • Evaluate utility infrastructure
  • Determine land use, open space, and development potential (including preservation of cultural and historic resources)
  • Apply multi-modal complete streets approach (meaning all modes of transportation could co-exist on the peninsula safely and efficiently)

STUDY SCHEDULE

  • April 2018 – Project Initiation
  • Spring 2018 – Data collection/Identifying Issues, Constraints, and Opportunities
  • June 26, 2018 – Community Visioning Workshop at the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation
  • Summer 2018 – Develop alternatives and preliminary recommendations
  • October 2018 – Present alternatives to the community in a public workshop
  • Fall 2018 – Refine alternatives and develop a Preferred Alternative, Cost Estimate and a draft report
  • January 2019 – Present Preferred Alternative and draft report to the community in a public workshop
  • Winter 2019 – Finalize Preferred Alternative and prepare final report
  • March 2019 – Final Study Complete

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

The study will include an engineering feasibility analysis to determine small to large scale recommendations for topics involving flooding, transportation, public transit, land use, zoning, preservation of cultural and historical resources, environmental constraints, recreational amenities and connecting the Peninsula to its community neighbors, Eastside and Southbridge.  It will be important for the recommendations to also work with the current property owners.

NEXT STEPS

  • Secure Funding from Local, State and Federal Sources
  • Prepare grant application packages
  • Meet with developers to discuss the cohesive master plan with respect to their site plans
  • Prepare design plans for recommendations as funding becomes available.

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