The city of Wilmington is seeking feedback on its plans to redevelop the east side of the Riverfront.
The project is focused on improving traffic patterns for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists between South Market Street and the Christina River. Plans call for dedicated bike lanes, widened sidewalks, park space, and bus bump-outs.
“So the riverwalk will be incorporated into the edge of the study area, kind of mirroring what happened on the other side of the Christina River," Acting Director for the Office of Economic Development Sean Park says. "And there's meant to be more access for Southbridge to connect with the Riverfront East and to the Riverfront as well. So there's access through the Wetlands Park and there are some proposed trails that DelDOT is looking to build connecting C Street to the Christina River Bridge.”
At an open house Wednesday night, Park said the project is getting federal dollars as part of the Rebuilding America's Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program.
As part of the sustainability aspect, Wilmington is preparing an Environmental Assessment for the Federal Highway Administration, which will describe what environmental resources could be impacted by the project.
Pat Martino is Director of Transportation for RK&K Engineering -- and says the first step is cleaning up contaminants on site.
“It's going to have an element of cleaning up the site, an area that has a lot of contaminants on the site, and making that site more useful for people to access, you know, new jobs, new homes, businesses, you know, that sort of thing," Martino says. "It'll also provide the Riverwalk, which provides pedestrian and bicycle access as well as other recreation.”
At the open house, Martino noted most people were asking about the timing of the project – particularly construction, which won’t begin for a few more years.
The environmental assessment is expected to be complete this time next year, and there will be several more public meetings seeking feedback.
To learn more and submit feedback, visit riverfronteastconnect.com.
