Traffic in coastal Delaware is bad. Proposed massive developments will make it worse. Traffic improvements are years away, according to the state Department of Transportation. Citizens are right to oppose development on U.S. 9, Del. 16 and Del. 24, due to the traffic impacts. Traffic matters.
But there is more to the development story in coastal Delaware than traffic. While DelDOT planners say that improvements might ease some congestion, many scholars question if they will. Even DelDOT representatives, in a Nov. 12, 2025, meeting about the coastal corridor, agreed that road improvements alone are not the solution.
One scholar is Nina David, an urban-planning professor at the University of Delaware, who stated that, “as roadways become wider and able to accommodate more cars, more people choose to drive during peak times. That leads to the same or worse congestion as before a widening.” She described this phenomenon as “induced demand.”
Professor David’s solution is comprehensive planning. David’s opinion aligns with that of the Sussex Preservation Coalition and other citizen groups. They have called for the consideration of the new comprehensive plan (County Council has moved up the start date for that consideration), of a new and realistic future land use map (which, by statute, is the law of the land) and of the recommendations of the Land Use Reform Working Group before approving any further major zoning changes.
Before the county approves more large-scale developments, comprehensive planning is required. Development without planning puts the cart miles down a crowded road in front of the horse.
Jack Young
Rehoboth Beach
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
