2 communities, 1 plan: Milford and Slaughter Beach’s efforts to make biking, walking safer

DELAWARE. – Slaughter Beach and Milford, the two neighboring communities with big plans to drive tourism up and roadway accidents down, are asking for the public’s feedback.

The municipalities are in the first stages of the Milford-Slaughter Beach shared use path feasibility study, which would create a 6-mile-long path for bikes and pedestrians alongside a portion of route 36.

Milford Mayor, Todd Culotta said this would be a two for one deal, benefitting both areas.

“Ideally, we’d like a safe path to be able to bike from Milford to Slaughter Beach. it would do a lot for both Towns, it would do a lot for economic growth in Milford, that’s very important to me as mayor,” Culotta said.

But of course, with every big idea, there are skeptics. One concerned community member told WMDT she’s fearful that the state might encroach on private land to roll out the project.

“They say often, ‘Oh, it’s just a study. Oh, we’re not going to take your property.’ But often times– which is what we saw at the beginning of this year with Annette Billings– they did take her to court. They said all along they were never going to do that to her, but they did,” she said.

But Mayor Culotta is adamant that no one’s home or farmland will be put at risk at the expense of this potential project.

“I made it clear to them, I would never be in favor of eminent domain,” Mayor Culotta said. “In fact, the city is in the process of possibly putting within our charter, no eminent domain for recreational purposes, period.”

Hopeful that Milford and Slaughter Beach residents will speak out, Slaughter Beach town manager, Julia Geha said it’s the people’s voice that will dictate the motion this pathway gets.

“If the feasibility comes through as no one wants this, then it’s dead in the water,” Geha said.