Bob Cummings is a resident of Lewes.
On Oct. 1, the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission voted 4-1 to recommend rezoning farmland for the Atlantic Fields megamall to C-4, the highest commercial level, despite commissioner G. Scott Collins warning that its 695,000-square-foot scale will worsen traffic on Mulberry Knoll Road — a two-lane, shoulderless rural road near Beacon Middle and Love Creek Elementary schools. Collins stated: “The scale is the primary concern. ... Route 24 developments will add congestion.” Chair Holly Wingate claimed: “We may be keeping traffic contained” for Del. 24 residents. Collins countered: “I’m not sure that offsets impacts at this scale.”
P&Z chair Wingate ignored trucks entirely — the elephant in Lewes’ living room. She omitted 26-54 trucks/tankers that would be diverted daily from the Delaware Department of Transportation’s safer Del. 24, via $3 million to $4 million in Henlopen transportation improvement district concessions over safety concerns.
With 30-plus years in construction and a recusal pledge, how could Wingate omit this? The 2022 traffic impact study — done during the pandemic, with reduced traffic — projects 2,148 added trips on Mulberry Knoll (60%-70% external, according to Institute of Transportation Engineers standards), ignoring heavy trucks on a crash-free road (according to DelDOT).
My Freedom of Information Act request for roundabout plans was denied by the Transportation Department, but its letter admits inconsistency with the Henlopen plan. DelDOT recommends single-lane roundabouts but ignores truck catastrophe risks.
Here’s the roundabout reality: They reduce car crashes by 20%-50% (says the Federal Highway Administration) but increase truck crashes 15%-30% (reported the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2024). Truck drivers can misjudge less than 115-foot radius rollovers — resulting in 40-foot trailers jackknifing, crushing school buses. Gas tankers can spill 11,000 gallons, which can ignite in two to five minutes (according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration).
Atlantic Fields’ developer and DelDOT imagine that the Mulberry Knoll-Cedar Grove stretch doesn’t exist. This unwidened nightmare (22-foot and 11-foot lanes) leaves 2.5 feet of clearance between school buses (which are 10 feet wide and carry 60-70 children) and trailers (8.5 feet wide). So, I’m predicting three to seven head-on collisions over five years (0.2%-0.5% per 1,000 passages, with 1.3 million annually, per the Federal Highway Administration), with 0.6-2.1 bus crashes (20%-40% fatal, with two to 15 child deaths).
The carnage: Impacts at 55 mph shear bus frames, ejecting children onto burning asphalt; tankers spray 1,800-degree fuel, causing severe burns and asphyxiation.
The crisis: Lewes Fire Department’s Station 82 faces 15- to 25-minute delays through Del. 24 gridlock (going 10-15 mph, per the National Fire Protection Association), plus five to 10 minutes navigating the wreckage — increasing deaths 20%-30% (with one to four fatalities). State troopers face two to six rollovers, blocking access (according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation).
Council appointed Wingate and relies on the Planning & Zoning Commission’s flawed recommendation, ignoring trucks. DelDOT’s concessions prioritize profits, turning Mulberry Knoll into a gauntlet of death. County Council should have held Wingate accountable, reopened FOIA and commissioned a truck review before Atlantic Fields is addressed Oct. 21.
No U.S. megamall uses two-lane roads for trucks (see the Federal Highway Administration/National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s Report 505). Even on Del. 24, ambulances are delayed 10-15 minutes for heart attacks — minutes equal death. The comprehensive plan demands traffic management and quality of life. Reject Atlantic Fields on Oct. 21.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
