A benchmark for livable progress: transportation finds common ground with environmental; economic, historic, and community concerns in northern Delaware

Public Roads,  May-June, 2003  by Robert B. King

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How the Master Plan Was Created

In a unified effort, DelDOT, DNREC, and DEDO staff members and consultants, in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), collected data and analyzed the BBP site's geology, soils, vegetation, wildlife habitats, hydrology, wetlands, and historic structures. They examined travel patterns, congestion, safety, public transit and pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and worked with the DelDOT project team to present options to the 125 stakeholder representatives.

The representatives were divided into two working groups, one focusing on transportation and the other on recreation and historic preservation. The transportation committee's objective was to create a plan that minimized impacts on the local street system and on the environment, including cultural, natural, and aesthetic resources. The recreation and historic preservation committee concentrated on reusing historic structures in the area, addressing the ongoing recreation needs of local communities, and preserving and designing open space as signature spaces for the State of Delaware.

According to Mark Chura, DNREC's manager of planning preservation and development, "The working groups looked at existing and future land uses, stream restoration, circulation, landscape design, historic structure restoration, and stormwater management. The volunteers serving on these groups spent hundreds of hours going through mountains of materials, and their diverse perspectives and thoughtful input were invaluable to our final plan."

In addition to the working groups, the team held several public workshops to gather the views of the private and corporate sectors. The team also distributed quarterly newsletters to keep area residents up to date, and an interactive Web site (www.blueball.net) informs the public, including the media, about upcoming and past meetings, and the deliberations at the meetings. The site also provides maps and sections on transportation, recreational, historical, environmental, and landscaping elements.

One of the other hallmarks of the master plan is that all the permitting of the project was completed through the environmental streamlining process. Thomas Myers, division administrator of FHWA's Delaware Division Office, says "The BBP project is a good example of how working together with the permitting agencies, like the Army Corps of Engineers and Delaware State Historic Preservation Office, can ensure a solution where everybody feels that they have gained something. All the issues were reviewed and discussed in appropriate detail so there was a comfort level for making sound decisions. A good working relationship was established that we hope can continue to be used as an example of the benefits of environmental streamlining."

Transportation Improvements

The transportation improvements with the master plan were developed through a context-sensitive approach balancing the need to ensure at least the current level of traffic service with the desire to protect the valued resources within the area. This approach enabled all the other goals of the project to be fully realized, including the rehabilitation of the Blue Ball Barn and restoration of a stream, Alapocas Run, that courses through the project. The context-sensitive approach also facilitated public consensus, with the understanding that fixing a traffic problem was just one of the many different (and sometimes competing) goals of the community.