The Dover-Kent Metropolitan Planning Organization and consultant Rossi Group presented a yearlong transportation study for Airport Road on Sept. 8, aimed at improving safety and bicycle/pedestrian connectivity between Route 15 (Canterbury Road) and Route 113.

Savannah Edwards, senior planner with Rossi Group, said the study will analyze existing conditions, conduct traffic and crash counts at key intersections, identify problem areas and develop conceptual drawings for intersection and corridor improvements for vehicles, trucks, pedestrians and bicyclists. The study includes community engagement phases; a public-input website launched Aug. 29 and the team plans door-to-door business outreach and in-person events this fall, with concept refinement and a second public engagement in January–February and a draft report in spring.

“Once we get a good idea of what the existing conditions are, some of the problem areas, we’ll start to refine those to get an idea of what the prioritized issues are,” Edwards told council. The team said they had collected about 18 public comments by the meeting date and planned traffic counts at Bowman Road, Delaware Veterans Drive and Mullet Run Road.

Malcolm Jacob of the Dover-Kent MPO said a large distribution center planned off Route 15 also drove the need to examine multimodal access and safety. The study team cited a crash map showing clusters near Route 113 and Route 15 as locations that may need safety improvements.

Rob Pierce, planning director, asked council to help publicize the study and encourage residents to use the survey at publicinput.com/airportroad. The project team said they expect to host engagement at community events including the upcoming Freedom Festival and are exploring hosting a workshop at the food bank and other community locations.

The study will inform prioritized improvements but does not itself authorize construction or funding; those steps would occur later with design, funding and permitting.