Goals and Objectives
Development of Connecting with the Ardens: A Transportation Plan will be a community-driven process that will:
- Set a vision for transportation safety and accessibility
- Foster public participation to inform the plan with community feedback, including feedback from community youth
- Inventory and understand existing conditions and assets upon which to build
- Highlight best practices for appropriate, context-sensitive traffic calming solutions, such as roundabouts, streetscaping, and other solutions for all travelers
- Develop a listing of recommended project alternatives that conform with historical context, community ideals, and existing community plans
- Identify preferred alternatives after weighing technical analyses and public feedback
- Prioritize projects to assist the villages in implementation of improvements
- Identify strategies and physical improvements for plan implementation by each municipality, DelDOT, and other relevant parties
- Determine potential partners, resources, and revenue sources to expedite plan implementation
The plan will have a special focus on traffic calming and safe accessibility for non-motorized transportation on Harvey Road, Veale Road, Marsh Road, and Chestnut Street. The plan will also explore accommodating travel needs for events, town government and community group meetings, access to playground facilities, fostering health and recreation, and reducing carbon footprints.
Transportation improvements for pedestrians, bicyclists, physically impaired persons, and transit riders will be explored. Traffic modeling and animations will be developed to assist with weighing the benefits of the alternatives to all forms of travel and with communicating these impacts with the public.
The plan will make efforts to integrate with other community plans and initiatives, such as the villages’ foundational plans, Arden’s Water Quality Master Plan, the Ardentown Paths Plan, and the Wilmington Montessori Safe Routes to School Plan. WILMAPCO conducted a Walkable Community Workshop (WCW) in the Ardens on August 3, 2022. Its findings will help inform Connecting with the Ardens: A Transportation Plan. Additionally, the plan will examine how best to expand accessibility for residents with disabilities and enhance residents’ ability to age in place. The plan could continue the conversation from the Ardentown Paths Plan about which of the community’s natural walking paths may require accessibility enhancements.
The plan will also explore the improvement and expansion of bus service for the Ardens, especially connections to the new Claymont Transportation Center. In addition to public transit, a large volume of school buses stop in or pass through the community. Along with traffic calming, finding good solutions for school bus stops and routes for children’s safety is desired.
The planning process began in summer 2022 and is expected to be completed in summer 2023.
Connecting with the Ardens: A Transportation Plan
For more information and updates, visit http://www.wilmapco.org/ardens.