WILMAPCO - Wilmington Area Planning Council

WILMINGTON AREA PLANNING COUNCIL

PARTNERS WITH YOU IN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

Planning for Change in Southbridge, Wilmington

Upcoming Meetings & Events

The Southbridge Civic Association unanimously approved the recommendations of the Circulation Study at their June meeting. We will seek the City of Wilmington's endorsement in July and then the plan will go before the WILMAPCO Council in September.
A draft of the Circulation Study should be available in July.

Introduction

South Wilmington, Delaware is an urban waterfront undergoing massive transformation, spurred by new development along the Christina River. While the possibilities of new development are exciting, like many urban areas across the country, parts of South Wilmington face unresolved challenges. These include the presence of brownfields, chronic flooding, gentrification, community character, unemployment, aging infrastructure, poor air quality, and numerous concerns with its transportation system.

The residential heart of South Wilmington is the black, working-class neighborhood of Southbridge. Southbridge has long been identified by WILMAPCO as one of our region's significant Environmental Justice (EJ) neighborhoods, with its unusually high percentage of low-income and minority individuals. Like other EJ areas, Southbridge warrants special attention to ensure equity in the transportation planning process.

WILMAPCO's involvement with the Southbridge began a few years ago with its Neighborhood Plan. WILMAPCO was approached by the Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) Core Group--led by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection (DNREC)--to help craft the Plan's transportation section. Today a pair of initiatives are helping the community move forward to see that Plan's implementation.

A Walkable Community Workshop was conducted in Southbridge during September 2006 to identify specific pedestrian needs. A list of projects (such as new crosswalks and fresh sidewalks) was developed from the workshop and today WILMAPCO is working with the community to prioritize these improvements.
A Traffic Circulation Study is underway to identify traffic flow issues and address the feasibility of transportation recommendations found in the Neighborhood Plan.

Projects & Initiatives

South Wilmington Special Area Management Plan (SAMP)

The South Wilmington Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) is a cooperative effort to create a vision for the revitalization of South Wilmington. This SAMP is a "master" plan that coordinates the efforts of government entities and stakeholders in addressing social, economic, and environmental issues in a way consistent with the long-term vision for South Wilmington.

South Wilmington Neighborhood Plan (click to download)

The Core Management Team, which now sees to the Plan's implementation, is comprised of the various City, County, and community stakeholders--including WILMAPCO. The Plan includes a number of recommendations for improving South Wilmington, many of which require cooperation between the community and various entities.

Southbridge Walkable Community Report

On a warm evening in September of 2006, WILMAPCO planners visited Southbridge to conduct a Walkable Community Workshop. Community residents joined the planners and, working together, dozens of pedestrian problems were identified. Broken stretches of sidewalk were discovered, along with unsafe intersection crossings and pockets of poor lighting. A report was published outlining these trouble spots and, at the request of the community, WILMAPCO developed a neighborhood-level prioritization process to rank the proposed projects found in the report. The next steps will be to gather community feedback on our technical scoring process and then to develop local ownership/support to realize their implementation.

Residents joined planners to uncover pedestrian trouble spots

Southbridge Walkable Community Report (click to download)

Southbridge Traffic Circulation Study

Along with working towards improving pedestrian conditions, WILMAPCO is currently conducting a Traffic Circulation Study in Southbridge. The study, funded by DNREC and WILMAPCO, will fully evaluate the future transportation needs of the community. Although not a concept or implementation plan, the report will recommend projects that accommodate planned growth. The Circulation Study will also analyze the feasibility of traffic recommendations found in the Neighborhood Plan, such as a proposed neighborhood bypass and directional changes on Heald Street and New Castle Avenue. The study began in late February and is anticipated to reach completion by June.

Three public meetings are anticipated. The first was held on March 18 at Neighborhood House. You can view the presentation below, as well as feedback from community members.