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Union Street Reconfiguration and Streetscape Improvement Study

WILMAPCO, Delaware Department of Transportation, and the City of Wilmington completed a study to examine how to best reconfigure Union Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and Sycamore Street to make it safer and serve residents and businesses better. Our goal is to develop Union Street into a “Main Street” corridor that supports future land use and transportation needs for all users and modes of transportation.

 

Please use the links below to review the Draft Final Report and Appendices:

March 16, 2022 Public Workshop Materials

October 27, 2021 Public Workshop Materials

Advisory Committee

In addition to public workshops, the Union Street Reconfiguration and Streetscape Improvement Study will be guided by an Advisory Committee that represents a variety of stakeholders and agencies, such as city and state elected officials, community groups, businesses, and citizens.  Advisory Committee meetings provide additional opportunities to review study related information and provide meaningful feedback to the study team throughout the project.

Advisory Committee Meeting #2, October 13, 2021

The second Advisory Committee meeting was used to present the study’s draft Purpose and Need Statement, to explain the selected Measures of Effectiveness (MOE), and to show the different Alternative street layout concepts. The Alternatives were ranked using their scores from the MOE matrix, and this table was included in the presentation.

May 19, 2021 Public Workshop Materials

Advisory Committee Meeting #1, April 22, 2021

 The first Advisory Committee meeting provided an introduction to the study and an opportunity for AC members to discuss the current conditions and their vision for the future of Union Street.

About this Study

Located on the west side of Wilmington, Union Street serves as an important transportation corridor, serving the local residential and business community while facilitating connectivity to the surrounding region. Union Street is a oneway, southbound street that is paired with Lincoln Street (one-way, northbound) to the east as main thoroughfares for the Bancroft Parkway/Delaware Avenue, West Side, Southwest, and Browntown-Hedgeville Neighborhood Analysis Areas, and serving the Canby Park, the Flats, Union Park Gardens and Little Italy neighborhoods.

This study will result in a preferred roadway configuration to support future land use and transportation needs of Union Street as a “Main Street Corridor” in the City of Wilmington.  Located in a Center Transportation Investment Area, this project will complement DelDOT’s Pennsylvania Avenue/Union Street Intersection Safety Project (see below) and serves to improve and expand upon work originally initiated through DelDOT’s FY 2018 Union Street Rapid Reconfiguration project.

This study will take into consideration the needs of residents, commercial and business interests, commuters, and others using the corridor. Design alternatives will address lane arrangement, parking location and configuration, loading provisions, sidewalk improvements and streetscape enhancements. A traffic analysis will be also be completed to collect existing data and evaluate the proposed concept alternatives. Throughout this study, extensive community outreach will be conducted.

 

Union Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Intersection Safety Project

Three concepts for improvements to the safety of the intersection at Union Street and Pennsylvania Avenue were presented during a public workshop attended by more then 70 people in January 2019. These options have been developed to achieve a number of goals:

  • Improve pedestrian safety and the accessibility of sidewalks
  • Improve accessibility of transit stops
  • Improve connectivity for bicyclists
  • Address the impact of the proposed development at 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue
  • Evaluate current and proposed conditions for vehicular traffic

 

By addressing these goals, the City intends to create a fully connected, accessible, and welcoming pedestrian environment, while also improving safety for all modes of travel. These improvements will provide safer access to destinations along Pennsylvania Avenue as well as Little Italy and other nearby neighborhoods. This is a conceptual study. Once an alternative is selected funding must be identified, and design plans prepared, before construction can begin. We don’t know how long that will take, but we will continue to keep the public updated as the project progresses.

 

Sign up for project updates!

To sign up for project updates or share your thoughts and ideas to improve Union Street, please email Randi Novakoff at rnovakoff@wilmapco.org.