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Enlighten Me: Planners look to improve transportation infrastructure in Newport

Delaware Public Media

Planners are taking a look at transportation in Newport several years after a study recommended commuter rail service be restored there. 

 

The Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO) is working with the Town of Newport, DelDOT and New Castle County to update the 2013 train station feasibility study and examine all types of transportation infrastructure throughout the town. 

“The Town of Newport is sort of moving forward with trying to be more walkable, bikeable,” said Dave Gula, a planner at WILMAPCO. “This is more of a full transportation study— what do they have, what do they need, what do the sidewalks look like, what do the crosswalks look like?”

Gula notes anticipated traffic from the incoming distribution center at the former Boxwood Road GM plant and other planned development will be taken into account. 

He adds a new train station in Newport could impact the region.

“We could be attracting folks who live in Philadelphia now who don’t wanna live in Philadelphia because it’s so expensive,” he said. “If we see new housing go up in Newport, then they could still use that train to go back and forth to work. That takes cars off the highways. That helps Newport to grow. We may see that’s where their economic development could be from.”

Planners have already talked to stakeholders including town officials and businesses, but are seeking feedback from residents for the first time Monday. 

A public workshop about the study will be held at the Old Town Hall in Newport Monday from 5:30 to 8pm. 

Gula says the study should take about one year to complete.

 

Sophia Schmidt is a Delaware native. She comes to Delaware Public Media from NPR’s Weekend Edition in Washington, DC, where she produced arts, politics, science and culture interviews. She previously wrote about education and environment for The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, MA. She graduated from Williams College, where she studied environmental policy and biology, and covered environmental events and local renewable energy for the college paper.
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