Committee backs temporary Westgate Drive connection pilot after residents push back

After listening to multiple residents who live along Westgate Drive, the Delaware City Public Works & Public Utilities Committee voted to send a proposal to council to create a temporary, paved connection between Westgate Drive and Champion Court.

Public Works Director Bill Perino presented maps, measurements and traffic counts that staff said support a small connection to improve serviceability for refuse, snow removal and emergency access. Perino showed that the present end of Westgate measures about 46–48 feet in diameter—smaller than the city’s larger cul-de-sac standards—and that modern refuse and plow vehicles require additional turning space. Perino said staff counted 16 vehicles from the Champion Court neighborhood during a recent two-hour sample and that peak delays at the nearby Lincoln–Euclid intersection were short (the longest observed delay was 32 seconds). “We look for opportunities, when funding is available or when development occurs, to make better network connections,” Perino said, arguing a small paved connection would allow safer maneuvering of service vehicles and provide a second means of access for emergency services.

Residents who spoke during public comment sharply disagreed. Amy Eiken, who lives at 61 Westgate Drive and operates a short-term rental, said any enlargement could affect driveways, sidewalks and yard appearance and asked what compensation homeowners would receive if their property were impacted. “I do not feel that we have enough evidence of reasons for it to happen,” Eiken said. Other neighbors raised concerns about property values, potential cut-through traffic by students and delivery drivers, and whether the city was using truck size as a pretext to change neighborhood character.

Committee members and staff proposed mitigations: a short no-parking zone at the new intersection, a paved but limited “soft opening” so the change is not broadly advertised, baseline and follow-up traffic counts during the pilot, and a one-year review with the option to barricade or remove the pavement if unanticipated problems arise. Perino described the pilot as reversible: “If there were such serious repercussions from it, it’s a small amount of pavement. It probably could be taken away or at minimum barricaded off.”

Councilman Corey Hoffman moved to send the temporary pilot and associated parking restrictions to council for consideration; Councilmember Frasier seconded. On roll call the committee recorded unanimous support and the item will go to full council for a final decision.