LITTLE CREEK, DE- Road safety is the focus tonight at a public workshop hosted by the Dover Kent Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Little Creek residents. The event is designed to gather feedback on how to improve road conditions and connectivity for both drivers and pedestrians.
For Heather Burke, a worker at the Little Creek Grill, heavy traffic has become an ongoing struggle.
"Traffic needs to be taken care of during the summer. It's really heavy. Hard to get in and out of here, even hard to get onto the road to come in to work."
Burke points out that the lack of crosswalks and safe routes for children to cross the street, particularly on their way to the Grill for ice cream, adds to the challenges of navigating the small town’s roads.
Many residents share similar concerns, citing speeding and inadequate sidewalks as contributing factors to the town's dangerous road conditions.
Kathi Burris, a Little Creek resident, highlights the safety risks of fast-moving vehicles on the town's narrow streets.
"When we're trying to get in and out of our driveways, it's dangerous. Some people come flying through here — I’m not kidding when I say 40 to 50 miles an hour."
To address these concerns, the Dover Kent MPO is hosting a public workshop to give residents like Burke and Burris the chance to voice their worries and offer potential solutions.
Marilyn Smith, with the Dover Kent MPO, explained that the workshop aims to assess current road conditions and pinpoint areas where improvements are needed.
"They've asked us to look at the corridor and see if we can assess the existing conditions—what's on the ground now, where some of those points may not be safe—and then give them some recommendations."
Burris remains hopeful that the workshop will lead to meaningful change, even if the solutions start small. She believes that any measure to improve safety would make a significant difference in the community.
"I've seen in other towns where they'll actually have the speed camera that takes people's license plates and sends them a ticket. I would love to see Little Creek be able to do something like that."
The Dover Kent MPO will review all feedback from tonight’s workshop to determine the next steps in making Little Creek’s roads safer for everyone.