Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Traffic Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Seaford council approves emergency gates and traffic-calming after police cite spike in crashes
Summary
Following a police presentation linking increased crash rates to delivery-vehicle cut-throughs, Seaford City Council unanimously approved traffic-calming measures including emergency-access gates for Oak, Delaney and Pennsylvania streets and directed continued patrols and monitoring.
Seaford City Council voted unanimously June 23 to implement traffic-calming measures in the Westview neighborhood, including emergency-access gates designed to block delivery-vehicle cut-throughs and route traffic to Stein Highway.
The decision followed presentations by Lieutenant Walter Little and Police Chief Marshall Craft, who said recent studies show a sharp rise in crashes along the corridor since an Amazon facility increased local traffic. "Delaney ... had 13,480 vehicles that passed through there," Little said after a short radar-box study, while the chief summarized a three-year pre/post crash analysis showing 19 crashes before Amazon versus 45 afterward — a 136.8% increase overall and a 171.4% increase in neighborhood crashes.
Chief Craft recommended a package of measures including gates at neighborhood road ends, targeted patrols, continued monitoring with JMAR radar boxes, and later evaluation of speed humps if needed. "Put the gates up," Craft urged during his presentation; he said gates would be fitted with mechanisms to allow first-responder access and that the city would attempt to coordinate two gates with the state Department of Elections (two proposed gate locations abut state property).
Council members discussed alternatives — such as speed humps and stepped implementation — and received a staff estimate for three gates (about $6,000 each in one quoted bid, plus modest lighting costs and maintenance considerations). Concerns included the possibility of shifting collisions to Stein Highway and the need for state cooperation where gates would abut state-owned parking lots.
Councilwoman Grassed moved to accept the police recommendation to implement traffic-calming measures in the Oak/Delaney area, including installing gates if the Department of Elections declines to place access control; Councilman Quillan seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The council directed staff to proceed with gate procurement, work with the state on two gate locations, install emergency-access mechanisms and lighting, and continue directed patrols and further data collection.
