Newark’s Main Street will see safety improvements as a new school year starts at the Univ. of Delaware.
Two UD students died last school year while walking on Main Street, prompting Newark city officials to act to make the road safer for pedestrians going forward. Both vehicles involved in the accidents were evading police.
The city started making improvements August 8 in partnership with the Delaware Department of Transportation. Newark City Council approved adding several new safety measures at its June meeting, including additional stop signs, rumble strips, pedestrian crossing signage and all-way stop control at two locations.
Newark city manager Tom Coleman said they hope the changes have a specific impact.
“We want to reduce the number of large gaps in traffic that can occur, mostly on the east side of town because those large gaps provide a runway that someone can get up to a high, high speed,” Coleman said.
During the upgrades, people walking and driving in the area should be cautious and expect minor delays, according to DelDOT.
Coleman conceded it’s difficult to address speeding by people who are ignoring the law.
“So our best option was to try to reduce the opportunities for a vehicle to get up to a high rate of speed by creating more congestion, but not trying not to increase the overall travel time to get from one end to the other,” Coleman said.
City officials also have medium- and long-term safety improvements in the works. Those include reducing the speed limit to 15 or 20 miles per hour, increasing fines and expanding sidewalks.
Newark City Council also approved a speed monitoring system for residential areas last month, with city officials saying a camera on Main Street is also on their to-do list.
