Delaware News Journal
Residents and business owners will have a chance to comment on proposed changes to Wheatleys Pond Road in the Smyrna-Clayton area at a workshop from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25 at the Clayton Fire Hall, 300 East St., Clayton.
The overall goal is to increase safety for drivers and pedestrians, said Clayton Town Manager Paul Johnson.
“One of the purposes of the workshop is to see what improvements the public is looking for,” Johnson said.
The focus is from the Walmart distribution center truck entrance to the west, past Rodney Street and Bassett Street, across the railroad tracks, past School Lane to Huntington Drive at the Huntington Mills housing development.
Wheatleys Pond Road is part of Route 300, a major east-west artery connecting Route 13 in Smyrna with Route 301 in Maryland.
The road in the focus area is basically the border between Clayton on the north side and Smyrna on the south, until west of the railroad tracks when both sides of the road are in Clayton with some exceptions for properties not in either town.
Changes are being proposed to handle the increased traffic and pedestrian activity in that area as the number of businesses, housing developments and apartments has increased, Johnson said.
Some of the plans are:
At the workshop, people can drop in anytime to see the proposals and talk to representatives of the groups conducting the meeting: the Town of Clayton, in partnership with the Dover/Kent Metropolitan Planning Organization and its partner, Century Engineering, a Kleinfelder Company.
“The first step is the Dover/Kent MPO doing a feasibility study on the road, with engineering and safety recommendations,” Johnson said. “Then it will be turned over to the Delaware Department of Transportation for ranking on the priority list of road projects.”
Depending on the ranking and available funding, changes could be several years away, Johnson said.
In a press release, the Dover/Kent Metropolitan Planning Organization said feedback from the public will play "a crucial role in shaping the final recommendations and ensuring that the project addresses the community’s needs.”
For more information on this study, see the Wheatleys Pond Road intersections page on the Dover/Kent County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s webite or call the organization at 302-387-6030.
The Dover/Kent County Metropolitan Planning Organization is a federally funded nonprofit that works with local, state and federal governments and transportation organizations to ensure that transportation planning and projects are done in compliance with federal mandates.
Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate, development and business news. Reach him at [email protected].