A DelDOT proposal to lower the speed limit along Rt. 13 in Dover to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities stalled in Dover City Council’s transportation committee last week.
Rt. 13 in Kent County is lined with small memorials - an indication Dupont Highway is the epicenter of pedestrian injuries and fatalities in the county.
Nine pedestrians have been killed along the highway in Dover since 2008 – half of the city’s total. A 2020 Delaware Department of Transportation study identified high traffic speeds, along with limited available crosswalks and other pedestrian improvements, as primary reasons for the death toll.
Last week, DelDOT presented Dover City Council’s safety and transportation committee a proposal to reduce the speed limit on Dupont Highway from 45 to 40 miles an hour through most of the city – a move the agency argues would open the door for additional pedestrian improvements. The proposal did not include plans for increased speed limit enforcement; instead, it would rely on new speed limit signage.
Most council members expressed support, but Councilman David Anderson argued simply posting signs with a reduced speed limit would do little to lower speeds and improve safety.
“People aren’t going to care what the speed limit is – they’re just going to follow traffic," he said. "I really don’t see the point if we don’t have the resources to enforce whatever the speed limit is.”
But DelDOT traffic studies manager Sonya LeGrand says the agency generally prefers to lowering traffic speeds before improving crosswalks and other infrastructure to reduce pedestrian risks.
“The issue is that 13 has many lanes, and people need refuge areas to be able to cross," she said, "but the lower the speed, the less severe crashes would be if incidents happen. Our philosophy involves lowering the speeds so that pedestrians would make better decisions and would feel safer when they’re crossing.”
Councilman Fred Neil notes the city could pursue state funding to purchase speed cameras to enforce reduced speed limits.
"As long as the speed cameras are not used to raise money," he said, "but to free up our police officers to do other jobs and to have speed cameras where we’re having the problems." Purchasing speed cameras, he added, would require approval from the General Assembly.
The proposal did not receive the six votes needed to go before the full council, though the committee plans to revisit the plan — and a possible proposal to reduce the number of travel lanes along the highway within city limits — at a later date.
