FENWICK ISLAND – Fenwick Island officials say they will consider new signage to reduce cut-through traffic along Bunting Avenue.
As the town continues to discuss traffic calming measures along Fenwick’s side streets, Councilman Richard Benn, chair of the Fenwick Island Infrastructure Committee, came before the town council last Friday with a recommendation to install new road signage along Bunting Avenue and easterly side streets.
“At our last infrastructure meeting, we decided that probably one of the simplest first steps to help calm traffic on Bunting Avenue would be to add ‘No Thru Street’ and ‘Local Traffic Only’ signs to all the streets east of Coastal Highway,” he said. “That way people entering would realize that this is not for thru traffic and only for local access, to access your home.”
Earlier this year, the town began working with an engineering circuit rider with the Delaware Center for Transportation to observe traffic conditions along Bunting Avenue, Maryland Avenue and Island Street and produce recommendations that the town could discuss.
Among those proposed recommendations was an idea to address speeding and cut-through traffic on Maryland Avenue and Island Street, a popular route for motorists traveling from Coastal Highway to Route 54. The council ultimately approved the purchase of temporary speed bumps to slow motorists.
The biggest discussion topic, however, continues to be Bunting Avenue. One of the suggestions presented to the town was a plan to convert Bunting into a one-way street, with vehicular traffic on one side and a bike and pedestrian pathway on the other.
“I’m getting all kinds of mixed signals on that idea,” Benn told members of the infrastructure committee last month. “They are either diametrically opposed or they think it’s the best thing that will ever happen.”
To better gauge public opinion, officials say they are considering a symposium to gather ideas on how to reduce traffic and improve safety along Fenwick’s easternmost corridor. In the meantime, Benn told council members last week the committee was recommending new signage be installed.
“This is mostly to stop outside traffic from using our side streets as cut-throughs,” he said. “But we felt it was an important and easy way to start addressing some of the issues we face on Bunting during the summer months.”
Benn noted that while the infrastructure committee was recommending new signage, officials were still awaiting cost estimates.
“We haven’t gotten the cost of the signage yet, so I think maybe we should hold off on this until the December meeting,” he said.
