Extra

Talking Document
On
Innovative Transportation Opportunities for Delaware
In the 21st Century

Background

Delaware has enjoyed several unique positions in the course of the State's and Nation's history. We have benefited from our forefathers being the first to ratify the U.S. Constitution which has allowed us to define our role clearly as "The State That Started The Nation". Because of our small compact size, we have been referred to as a "Diamond Among The States". Our geographic location, in the middle of the Mid-Atlantic region, has positioned us extremely well for a number of economic benefits.

Among those benefits are our location in the northeast corridor, as well as serving as the path for the I-95 portion of the interstate highway system. Because of our small size we have enjoyed things being close-at-hand, whether it was a short drive to the mall, the State Capitol in Dover or simple being within an hour's drive to every Delawarean. Other natural features instrumental early on with our settlement and growth of commerce were the ease of access to the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay, and the several fresh water streams that offered early power to the manufacturing facilities of colonial times.

We have been blessed with private citizens who had the vision to contribute to the long range planning of the State, both for improving transportation, as well as quality of life elements. Two key examples in Delaware's growth as a state were the vision of T. Coleman duPont, who designed and funded the construction of the first dual highway in the United States by building the DuPont Highway from Wilmington to Dover. A second visionary was Joseph Bancroft the father of the Wilmington Park's system, who created what by today standards, would be called the first integrated park system by use of a Greenway. He did this with roads such as Kentmere Parkway linking Brandywine Park to Rockford Park.

The Problem

But along with the good consequences of Delaware's location in the Mid-Atlantic Region, as well as our proximity to the interstate highway system, some unintended consequences now present real challenges for the leaders of this State in the 21st Century.

The nation has matured and the symbol of progress in the early 20th Century of belching factory smoke stacks have become visualized as a source of harmful pollutants that cause adverse health effects among workers and our citizens. Our location along the mid-Atlantic region has resulted in a significant degradation of our ambient air quality through migratory ozone travelling across the nation from the west to east, further polluting the air we breathe. The easy access to the interstate highway system means millions of cars, trucks and buses travel through our state every day with the by-product of the internal combustion engines now a known contributor to a further reduction to the quality of our air. Today, Delaware has been declared as a non-compliance state in New Castle and Kent Counties due toour air quality failing federal standards. More recent testing results suggest that Sussex Conty may become non-compliant, as well.

It seems with every step forward there comes a new set of problems and challenges. The strong economy and outstanding workforce of our State has caused a growth pattern that today has become known as suburban sprawl. The perception of many of our citizens is that Delaware is growing too fast, and we are doing great harm to our quality of life. One of our unfortunate reminders is the daily congestion at certain locations throughout the State where the traffic jams are clogging our highways. This is true whether they are part of our daily commute to work on local roads, or that periodic dash to the beaches during the summer.

Today, you can take up to one hour and 45 minutes to drive from Wilmington to Nassau, Delaware, and you can take one hour pls to drive the last 5 -- 10 miles into Rehoboth, Dewey, or Bethany Beach. We can spend $200+million dollars on Route 1 and still be in a major traffic backup for more total time to navigate the final 5 -- 10 miles of the trip through bumper-to-bumper traffic. Ironically, the traffic congestion may very well bring a new problem to hand. We could just push Sussex County into the same category as Kent and New Castle as being in non-compliance status with the resultingemissions from all the cars stacking up on the highways to the beaches.

A Proposed Solution

This document is recommending a multi-prong approach to the problem, and the ideas are by new means new or original with the authors, but the timing may be right for application of transportation alternatives to help meet some of Delaware's needs for the future.

• Adaptive reuse of the Delaware River to a transit system with the new generation of high speed ferries from northern part of the State to southern Delaware, as well as from Delaware in to New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

• Installation of a light rail system either on existing rails where applicable or simpoly installing a set of tracks within the existing right of way. In many cases in northern Delaware, the B&O Railroad line had two tracks for most of its history. Although one set has been removed, space remains for a second form of transportation in the existing right of way. Light rail could be used within New Castle County, but a system running the entire length of the State should be provided for the rest of the State.

• Local monorail systems in certain business and travelling corridors for everyday commuting from transportation centers, home to work, or recreational facilities.

High Speed Ferry

Today, the second largest industry in the State is tourism. A key to attracting people into the First State, whether domestic or international visitors, is to be able to reach Delaware in a pleasant and efficient manner of travel. Delaware is about 12 -- 15 miles south of the Philadelphia International Airport, by way of the Delaware River. The daily workers commuting from Delaware into the City of Philadelphia, and vice versa, will likely continue to expand. The introduction of a high-speed ferry system from Philadelphia on a regular commuting basis, as well as runs from the airport to New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties, would tie the First State into our larger regional neighbors. The Delaware River and Bay Authority through its ever-expanding role in the economic development of the Region is a logical entity to provide such a service.

Installation of Light Rail System

Using either existing rail lines throughout northern Delaware or right-of-ways, or by installing additional lines, Delaware needs to seriously consider the re-introduction of a commuter light rail system. One example of using existing lines could be a "railbus"-type of vehicle, which is driven by one driver, articulated with 2 diesel powered cars with a total capacity of 144 passengers. An example would be the rail lines near the University of Delaware stadium on Route 4. This rail line runs from Newark through Bear, Middletown and Dover to Seaford (it is believed that this is referred to as the Delmarva Secondary Line). This rail line also includes a key transportation infrastructure item, the bridge over the C & D Canal. In the 1980's, a Delaware Commuter Rail Task Force, Chaired by Senator Harris McDowell & Vice-Chaired by Representative Dave Ennis, strongly recommended that the State of Delaware design a rail system to use this corridor.

It is our understanding that in the 1990's, an independent consultant reaffirmed the importance of Delaware's transportation program to include this transportation service running from Newark to Kent & Sussex Counties. New business growth opportunities and residential expansion in Dover is highlighting the importance of this rail service from New Castle County to Kent County in the very near future. As additional transportation proposals in this document will indicate, the locations of multi-modal transit centers are extremely important to this new transportation venture.

Monorail (New Castle County)

In the 1970's, Lt. Governor Jim McGinnes proposed a figure eight monorail to serve the entire state of Delaware. In 1980's, while establishing the foundation for the concept of Greenways in northern Delaware, Representative Dave Ennis proposed a demonstration project of a five mile long Monorail to connect the train station near Fox Point Park (by the Delaware River) to the DuPont Experimental Station (see attached news clipping). In addition a proposed spur from Brandywine Town Center, down Rte. 202 into the edge of Wilmington near Baynard Stadium, could connect with the newly proposed trolley system in downtown Wilmington. Over the years, that proposal has been expanded to serve even a larger transportation corridor, following Rte. 141 through a series of office parks. Some office locations could include Astra Zeneca, DuPont Experimental Station, DuPont Barley Mill Road, DuPont Centre Road, MBNA, Hewlett Packard, Hercules and the State Ferris Complex. Another leg of the proposed circuit could go from the transportation hum near Barley Mill Plaza to Delaware Park where it would reconnect to the new Fairplay Commuter Rail Service Station.

The final leg of this proposed service could run down Rte. 4, past MBNA, to the Delmarva Secondary rail line next to the University of Delaware Stadium. A light rail system should extend south on the Delmarva Secondary Line to Bear, Middletown, and then on to Kent and Sussex County. The Chrysler Plant should also make an inter-connecting stop in Newark on Rte. 896, with the regular SEPTA service into Wilmington and Philadelphia.

Kent County Monorail

A similar local monorail should be built from the high-speed ferry stop in Dover, near the pear in port Mahan. The monorail would cross over Rt. 13 to west Dover with the transit center near the Delmarva Secondary rail line. This transit center should accommodate the previously mentioned light rail service coming south from the Newark area and proceeding through Seaford.

Sussex County Monorail Connection

A third local service of the monorail could follow the proposed greenway from the Cape May/Lewes Ferry slip in Lewes, up the King's Highway and along the old rail line. The line is on the backside of the right-of-way being purchased by the state to connect Lewes to Rehoboth. This path goes directly behind the shopping mall on Rt. 1 on the outside of Rehoboth.

Community Feeling Reflects Growth Resistance

In conclusion, the current struggle in New Castle County to fit the expansion of AstraZeneca U.S. Headquarters into the current traffic volume of Rt. 202 and the ancillary roads along with the proposed DuPont Experimental Station expansion are causing great public concern over congestion. At the same time, the State is wrestling with the need to improve the Tyler McConnell Bridge on Rt. 141. These combined problems lend themselves to an opportunity for a dramatic shift from just expanding road capacity to new innovative thinking of other forms of transportation. The Citizen Working Group for the Blue Ball Project has demanded some provision be made for mass transit service to these locations. Similarly, the connection of the high-speed ferry system at Fox Point Park, downtown Wilmington to Kent County could prompt strong consideration for a 3 -- 4 mile long monorail for Port Mahan to west Dover. This dual approach to future transit systems could meet significant transportation demands for years to come and would demonstrate a sincere commitment on the part of the state to come into compliance with the Federal Clean Air Standards by dramatically reducing the number of automobiles on the highway.

Other Factors to Consider:

Delaware has several other strong reasons to consider the building of a monorail service in the First State. Falcon Steel, Inc., a Wilmington, Delaware-based construction firm, built the monorail system for Miami, Florida, as well as the new monorail system at the Newark, New Jersey Airport.

Daimler-Benz, co-owner with Chrysler Corporation, a long-time Delaware manufacturing facility, is also the producer of some of the most successful monorail systems in the world.

As a state already in a non-compliance situation, Delaware is supposed to demonstrate initiatives that will bring us into compliance with the Federal Clean Air Standards Act, but it is also expected that in 2000, newer, tougher federal standards will be imposed. However, federal funds are supposedly available to assist states, such as Delaware, in achieving that goal of meeting those standards.

Morgantown, West Virginia has had an on-demand monorail service for over 25 years. Boeing Corporation built the monorail cars on their system. Nearby Boeing Corporation, in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania has substantial unused space in their former helicopter production facilities. Perhaps this space could be converted into a production facility for monorail cards for this project. Also, when we asked Morgantown how they replaced their cars, they said they had never had to replace a car -- only the rubber wheels they ride on.

In Jacksonville, Florida, where they connected two dies of the town over the St. John River, they recently built a monorail ramp onto their highway bridge. We believe some modification to the Tyler McConnell Bridge renovations could be made to reduce the size of the proposed construction, if you transported workers by the way of the monorail system over that same bridge. Photos of Florida's system are attached.

The State of Delaware authorizes, in the law, private investment in some transportation projects. The project as proposed in this document could serve as a pilot project for this innovative investment arrangement. Attached is an excerpt of the statute that describes, in part, the legislative intent that encourages public/private investment partnerships in projects such as this.

The Next Step:

It is the recommendation of the authors that an expert in the field, such as Andrew Jakes, become an advisor to the State of Delaware for any one of the several scenarios described in this document (i.e., the Tyler McConnell bridge, the Blueball Project, etc.). Enclosed as the last two pages of the attachments is a copy of a news letter of Jakes Associates describing a private investment in Indianapolis, Indiana for a monorail that will not require any taxpayer dollars. During a meeting with Mr. Jakes he indicates public/private transportation opportunities may well exist for Delaware. The final page of the attachments represents an excerpt from the State of Delaware code, which authorizes private investments on transportation projects in Delaware. Some of the current Delaware businesses that may benefit from a northern Delaware people mover system are today in other states contributing dollars to similar mass transit projects.

Additional Information:

If you wish further information on this topic, please feel free to contact one of the indivudals listed below: