Study unveiled to public to improve pedestrian, biker safety

GEORGETOWN, Del. – The final results for the walk-ability survey for the town of Georgetown was presented to the public Thursday night.

The blue print, done by firm Simone-Collins gives the town the option to choose what projects they’ll choose to do.

But one that will most likely get the green light is finishing the last mile of the rail trail, a bike trail under construction connecting Lewes to Georgetown.

“Helping them secure a  right-away to complete that last leg of trail, which would be very important because I think it would get a lot of use,” said Peter Simone, a landscape architect with Simone-Collins Landscape Architecture firm, the firm headed to lead the survey.

“With the possibility of a Georgetown-Lewes trail, we’d like to leverage off of that,” said town manager Gene Dvornick.

Lower on the priorities list include ways to make walking a more enjoyable experience.

“Some of it is as simple as planting more street trees, and some pedestrian lights.  On a hot day, it’s much more comfortable to walk down the street if you have some shade,” said Simone.

The study also suggests having designated biking streets for cyclists in the town.

“What we tried to do is look at streets that are low traffic, not a lot of stress for cyclists and designate those streets as cycling streets,” said Simone.

The total price tag of the projects listed in the study is $3.5 million.  But it’s just a blueprint for the town, the next step is for town government to take in the information and formulate a plan moving forward.

“With everything, there’s a cost, and it’s just an identification of what the priorities are, find ways to fund those priorities, and then over time deliver a quality product,” said Dvornick.

Georgetown is already seeing improvements in pedestrian infrastructure, including new sidewalks in the east side of town and a new traffic light at the Georgetown Middle School that will include a pedestrian signal.

Town officials say they have not yet discussed the findings with DelDOT.