Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Rehoboth Beach eyes next set of street upgrades

City of Rehoboth

The next round of street renovations is under consideration in Rehoboth Beach.

 

And the task force overseeing plans wants to strike a balance between aesthetics and business needs.

Rehoboth Beach streets are slowly undergoing renovations designed to create a cleaner aesthetic and attract more tourists. Rehoboth Avenue was overhauled back in 2006 and the second phase of the Lake Avenue renovation is underway.

 

The Wilmington and Baltimore streetscape task force met Wednesday to discuss the next two streets under consideration. Task force members voted on recommended options for the streetscape designers to explore - including burying utilities underground.

 

Hotel chain president Alex Moore says these are important decisions.

 

“We had someone coming in looking at retail space, they drove down Rehoboth Avenue and drove right back outta town, they were a high end retailer and didn’t want anything to do in Rehoboth back then," says Moore. "And now we’re evolving, we’re much better placed and by getting these two streets looking as good as Rehoboth Avenue it’s gonna be another transformation for the town and it’s only gonna help everybody.”

 

Moore says the short term loss of longer construction times and higher costs will pay dividends in the future.

 

He adds this renovation isn’t scheduled for another few years, after businesses have time to recover from pandemic losses.

 

The task force also shot down making both streets one-way. Commissioner Ed Chrzanowski says public opinion opposed changing traffic patterns.

 

“I’d say 95 percent of them that live in or work on these streets are not in favor of them and don’t see how it would work or how it would be valuable," Chrznaowski says.

 

The task force agreed turning one way streets would only divert traffic to other roads and cause more congestion.

 

Their recommendations head to the Board of Commissioners on Friday, for approval to send to the design contractor.

Roman Battaglia grew up in Portland, Ore, and now reports for Delaware Public Media as a Report For America corps member. He focuses on politics, elections and legislation activity at the local, county and state levels.
Related Content