More transit options in works for Delaware beaches
A transit hub being developed near Lewes will allow DART to provide more bus service along the Delaware Beaches.
The first phase of the project at 17616 Coastal Highway includes a 248-space park-and-ride lot. The lot is expected to open in summer 2017.
Future phases call for a bus maintenance area and indoor passenger waiting area. The entire project is scheduled to be complete in 2020.
A ground-breaking ceremony occurred Wednesday at the site, just west of the intersection of U.S. 9 and Del. 1, with Gov. Jack Markell, Transportation Secretary Jennifer Cohan and DART CEO John Sisson.
Population growth along the Delaware beaches has made the area more than just summer destination, said Sisson, and DART is getting ahead of future demand for mass transit from retirees, low-income individuals, and travelers who would rather not drive through crowded beach areas.
"It's not long just a Memorial Day to Labor Day destination," he said.
There is also a need for more year-round transit access to the rest of the state, Sisson said.
"The community has talked about a need to get to Wilmington or to Philadelphia," he said.
DART plans to add a new route between Lewes and Dover in 2017, which would connect with routes to New Castle County.
Gregory Smith, a recruiter for Mountaire Farms in Millsboro, said DART is responding to the needs of the community.
"The new 215 bus will provide many in the Rehoboth-area with access to employment opportunities in the Millsboro and Long Neck areas," Smith said.
The beaches have had limited year-round public transportation, and the transit center will help to grow bus operations, Cohan said in an interview Tuesday.
“We were leaving out a big chunk of the population down there, the year-round residents,” Cohan said. “Not only will (the park-and-ride) help the locals but it will also allow the Greyhound buses and things like that to go all the way down.”
The groundbreaking comes after DelDOT spent $6 million on pedestrian improvements in the area along Del. 1.
DART also announced new bus service between Millsboro and Rehoboth Beach on Feb. 14. The new route 215 is operating weekdays with four morning and six afternoon trips along Del. 24.
Demand for buses in Sussex County year-round is lower than in northern Delaware, according to DART’s bus productivity report that The News Journal acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request. Bus productivity is based upon the number of riders using the service each week and every hour, as well as the number of passengers-per-mile.
The most successful of the year-round Sussex County buses in 2015 was the route 206, which passes through Georgetown, Lewes and Rehoboth, but it was only the 45th most productive of all DART’s 70 fixed bus routes. The route 212, which runs between Georgetown and Laurel, was DART’s 61st most productive route.
Cohan noted that transportation officials must provide a “mixed bag of solutions” for residents, including roads for vehicles, walkways and buses.
Contact Karl Baker at kbaker@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2329. Follow him on Twitter @kbaker6