Small Town News

New direction needed to solve traffic woes

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It's the height of the beach season, as anyone who used Cape Region roads over the last few days can easily attest. Even those who wouldn't think of using Route 1 found traffic snarled on Route 24 and on many back roads linking the region's main arteries.

Tourism is key to our region's economy. Tourism-generated traffic is always going to be a problem on our busiest summer weekends. As our local population grows, traffic problems are reaching a critical stage on more and more days throughout the year.

State officials are set to embark on a new approach to tourism in Lewes, announcing an effort to bring visitors by cruise ship. A first for our region, this effort promises more foot traffic with no additional cars. But the effort will require improved public transportation from the ship to the places people will visit.

Improving traffic throughout the region will take more than widening roads, adding traffic lights and adding a few new bus routes. State and local planners must get beyond expanding the existing system and consider new, innovative solutions.

Bringing cruise visitors to Rehoboth Beach via the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal might be a good start. In cities worldwide, large city buses are giving way to fleets of energy-efficient vans. Each one makes only a few stops, delivering passengers quickly to their destinations. Two years ago, Paris embarked on a low-cost bicycle rental program that has already attracted 53 million riders using more than 20,000 bicycles. According to the program's website, riders pick up a bike at one of nearly 1,500 stations across the city and suburbs and return it to a station near their destination. Trips of a half hour or less are free; for longer trips, riders pay about $1.50 per half-hour increment. The program has been so successful, officials credit it not only with reducing traffic congestion and air pollution but also with improving driver courtesy and highway safety.

Cities worldwide are changing the way people view cars. Delaware and the Cape Region should become leaders in that effort. If bicycles can improve the disposition of famously ill-tempered Parisians, there's no reason to think they wouldn't help here.





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