Govt Incompetence: DE on track to smash 2021 crash fatals

First 2 months of 2022. Multi-year sampling periods confirm the

trend we are on. Click on image above for the latest numbers.

Cross-posted from Ogletown Resilience

Statistically, Delaware is heading for a road safety disaster in 2022 - in particular New Castle County. Speeding, aggressive and distracted driving is rampant, with injuries and fatalities on pace to surpass even Florida. Despite strict laws to the contrary, many (if not most) offenders have a State-approved aftermarket and/or modified exhaust system. These behaviors account for why virtually nobody rides a bicycle for transportation or recreation -- even after 10 years of Complete Streets policy implementations.

There is virtually no pro-active law enforcement, particularly within Delaware's vast unincorporated zones. Police are few and far between, and spend most of their time answering 911 calls. An active and growing minority of drivers know this, as evidenced by the many vehicles now sporting fully tinted windows (also illegal). Even the City of Newark won't enforce the most deafening and disturbing of "loud mufflers". The lack of such basic government services has Delaware ranking criminally awful (CFPI), especially in matters of transparency. It is a top-5 worst State to live on several key socio-economic fronts, and consistently ranks as most dangerous to walk or ride a bicycle .

Mean Streets: designing cars like Dearth Vader

Our safety and quality of life is being destroyed right in front of our eyes; vehicle assault and violence is deafening our ears and ruining our health. County and State legislators offer token support, sometimes introducing bills that build on existing laws -- but these come up woefully short on enforcement. Organizations that claim to advocate for bicycling and connectivity have either given up on road safety or appear to be co-opted.

Minus a paradigm shift, and a mass conscience re-awakening toward the common good, things are only going to get worse. The suburbs, which comprises the vast majority of Delaware's built environment, are "entropy made visible", and will not be rescued unless we collectively change our thinking.

The above assaults are becoming more and more prevalent, even on Delaware's "quieter" neighborhood streets. We are trying to obtain 911 call data, that shows that this is among the most frequent emergency call types in New Castle County (stay tuned).

Above: "Bike Lane" on Red Mill Road in Ogletown. Authorities often question as to why so few people ride in Delaware, yet the answer is laid in rubber for all to see.

DE for Retirement and Quality of Life: FAIL, thanks to Townsend and Cohorts

Articles are plastered all over the internet show that, time and time again, Delaware is not a recommended place to retire or to expect a high quality of life. It is the second smallest State next to Rhode Island, and the 4th most corrupt State next to Wyoming, where corrupt Democrats massively subsidize business interests and relax corporate laws to attract major companies to relocate here. This is probably the only reason that more people aren't fleeing Delaware, unlike other States with well-established quality of life issues. The "1st State" is also #1 in bicycling fatalities, the 3rd dirtiest, 5th loudest and ranks 5th in parental doping -- among others.

That Senator Bryan Townsend and his Democratic legislative minions refuse to care about quality of life in "The 1st State" anytime it favors big business couldn't be more readily apparent. They'll even go so far as to tear down the environmental legacy of past govt officials and legislators, and aid and abet land-use profiteers (developers) in all manner of secrecy. They crush, and then laugh at citizen-led grassroots campaigns aimed at improving DE's socio-economic status and thus making the State a healthier and more attractive place to live. Only some of these are highlighted on this website; there are hundreds, if not thousands of similar examples throughout DE's history. Today, these gross injustices are overwhelmingly spearheaded by Democrats -- the State's long time controlling political party. The result? If you're in any way progressive, Delaware is no place to live. Unless drawn for business purposes, and/or if you're desperate for a job in banking, pharma, or bio-tech, other States and areas of the U.S. are far more attractive.

• These States Offer the Best and Worst Quality of Life (Fortune)
• 10 Best States for Quality of Life (USN&WR)
• These 10 States are the best places to live in America (MSNBC)
• 2017 United Van Lines Mover's Study (UVL)
• The U.S. States People Are Fleeing (and moving to) (Forbes)

... and not one of the country's top 25 best places to live is found in Delaware:

• The 25 Best Places to Live in the U.S. for Quality of Life in 2019 (USN&WR)

In matters of land-use, Delaware's corrupt legislators go around telling everyone that more suburban sprawl translates to more tax base, which in turn, produces a lower cost of living and thus higher quality of life. Not only is this argument fallacious, but cost of living is not the only concern for the State's residents and prospective residents. Studies like this one highlight the fiscal impacts of land uses on local governments, and that these lies come home to bite in nearly every case. Why? Because on average, each new dwelling unit (including in DE) costs $1.25 in required govt services for every $1 in new taxes generated. By design, the suburbs are a failed model; a failed living arrangement that costs govt more than any tax base can recoup. But you'll never hear Townsend, Rep Osienski, and their legislative allies ever discuss this, and what solutions exist (never mind propose) to bring livability and possibly retrofit said living arrangement.

In summary, Delaware - primarily New Castle County - will never rank among the most attractive places to live for reasons too numerous to list all of them here. But chief among the environmental causes are terrible driver behavior, deadly conditions for multi-modal roadway users, deafening vehicle noise, lack of place-making, lack of locally accessible regional parks, no dedicated open space funding, and deeply entrenched and notoriously corrupted County and State legislatures. This unattractive quality of life, at the hands of corporate greed and profiteering, will be these legislator's "legacy" -- their "gift" to future generations (including their own children) and there's little any of us citizens and Advocates can do to stop them.

Car-nage: HB-185 and Delaware's Bike-Ped Dead

Too bad Senator Townsend doesn't have his priorities straight when it comes to safety at the human scale. Delaware consistently leads the nation in walk-bike injuries and fatalities, but the Senator (District 11 and gunning for higher) doesn't care. Instead, he fights for, and passes HB-185, a bill to facilitate even greater speed and more driver aggression and reckless behavior.

Delaware is once again poised for a dismally high position -- if not taking the nation's top spot for walking fatalities again this year. Ditto for bicycling - in a runaway - but we will cover that in a future article. Here, in no particular order, we will examine what we believe are the top 5 reasons for why this is so and will likely never change under Delaware's thoroughly corrupted Democrat party leadership:

Even with a flashing beacon, motorists still have
the right of way to continue, at speed, through
DelDOT's crosswalks without penalty.

1) Motor vehicle right of way through crosswalks and intersections. Delaware gives motor vehicles priority and right of way through mid-block crosswalks and radial turns, and puts the onus on pedestrians to create his or her own opportunity to cross. This doesn't change even with DelDOT's flashing beacons installed at a few of them; peds are still sidelined, and must make the first move -- hoping cars will stop. In no way is this progressive or conducive to pedestrian safety, and is completely backwards in approach.

The way it should be. With a little enforcement.
Mass sees far greater compliance using this simple
sign than DE will ever see using beacons.

2) An antiquated traffic code for pedestrians. There are numerous discrepancies and problems that a complete overhaul of Delaware's vehicle code is LONG overdue. The language is so antiquated that it even includes a holiday as impacting where and how to enforce it, including "soliciting contributions shall not apply on the Saturday immediately prior to Father's Day". Advocates volunteered many hours of time and did an overhaul, presenting it in legislative bill form to Delaware's Pedestrian Council. Ultimately, the State's defacto walking advocacy org, Bike Delaware, infiltrated the Ped Council and quashed the effort.

Crosswalks through highway-speed kill zones.

3) Wide lanes, slip lanes, and unregulated radial turns that induce high speed and discourage defensive driving, even in known pedestrian hot spots. Instead of traditional crossroads, most of Delaware's suburban thoroughfares consist of radial turns to keep motor vehicles moving as quickly as possible through intersections. This seriously compromises pedestrian safety, since the beginning and end of the crosswalk is unregulated and never signalized. As they are induced to maintain speed, motorists seldom yield, and usually just barrel on through even when pedestrians are present. This is not at all conducive to pedestrian safety, and not only adds to the danger, it discourage walking in the first place.

Non-drivers will often create "goat paths", as

the State and its Counties will not seek out and

try and include these important connections
with area rehab & reconstruction projects.

4) Very few pathway facilities that make safe connections between existing communities, commerce, and civil services. Lack of connectivity in development codes, and an ignorance of livability concerns throughout most of Delaware's planning history have all but sealed the fate of its suburban dwellers. Bike Delaware at one time made mention that connectivity is their mission, which includes piecing together what few streets do connect to try and create low stress networks. But for the vast majority of disconnected and unincorporated suburbs, they have yet to demonstrate how interconnecting pathways can be added without violating private property rights and/or invoking imminent domain -- never mind the exorbitant costs involved. In the end, those walking and biking are inevitably forced out onto arterial roads and their high speed intersections to reach most destinations.

5) Very little police presence and law enforcement to begin with. It is no secret that the police in Delaware -- in particular State and County -- are either stretched way too thin or even working without a contract. In what's become a culture of "anything goes", progressive reforms that include, e.g. stronger crosswalk signage with actual fines posted will remain out of the question. Unless a rare sting, the police are never around to actually enforce it, except perhaps in court after an injury or fatality. It is not uncommon at all for residents in unincorporated areas to go weeks or months without seeing a squad car in their region. When everyone knows that they can stretch, bend or break even the most basic laws of civility and predictability, higher crash counts inevitably follow. While the actions of the pedestrian (or bicyclist) is always cited as contributing or not, a gross lack of defensive driving due to paltry driver education, no redundant education, and virtually no law enforcement is a far greater problem overall.

Summary: Though certainly not alone in this, Delaware's built environment is a microcosm of the death and carnage now accepted as "normal" in the U.S. -- normal by placing motor vehicle traffic at human scale. Earlier govt planners, engineers and architects foisted this upon us by trashing livability in favor of "Stroads" that incorporate driveways, streets, parking lots, etc as directly connected to highways. Post WW2 design should have included frontage, service, and ring roads, and other treatments that allow highways to stay just that: relatively uninterrupted carriage ways between larger destinations with ample walking-biking cross-through (tunnel under) opportunities. Now dangerous by design, the State and its Counties (along with their Advisers and Advocates) are unable or unwilling to provide the needed tools and coping strategies.

View the proposed updated Delaware Vehicle Code for Pedestrians in pdf format, that was quashed by Bike Delaware after its presentation to Senator Dave Sokola, with no further discussion. It was crafted by using the best of language from progressive States, e.g. Washington, Oregon, Mass, etc where motorist's respect for non-motorized road users is visibly higher than in Delaware, and the statistics are there to back it.

View the 2018 pedestrian fatality statistics for the whole of the U.S. Delaware took a "rest" from the top 5 in 2018, but is set to return in 2019.

Read an article in Strong Towns comparing Streets, Roads, and "Stroads", and what we can do to eliminate the latter in favor of livable streets and communities.

Watch James Howard Kunstler on YouTube destroy the very notion of cars mixing in at human scale.

Townsend and Son celebrate environmental destruction on Labor Day

From Senator Townsend's Facebook page:

This toddler loves heavy equipment, dirt, and the book “Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.” Thanks to BG for taking the time to help make a little guy’s story times into a reality -- and thank you for all workers who help build the progress, safety, and values at the heart of Labor Day!

What kind of world does Townsend expect to leave his children given the myriad of scientific data and reports coming at us daily about the grave situation our planet is now in? According to The Guardian among countless others:

=> Up to 1M species are at risk of annihilation, many within decades, according to a leaked draft of the global assessment report, which has been compiled over three years by the UN’s leading research body on nature.

=> The 1,800-page study will show people living today, as well as wildlife and future generations, are at risk unless urgent action is taken to reverse the loss of plants, insects and other creatures on which humanity depends for food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate.

And here's the Wilmington News Journal, for a more local perspective:

=> Nearly half of Delaware’s native plants are either threatened or already extinct. More than three-quarters of the state’s freshwater mussels are gone. One in five of our native fish species have disappeared.

=> It’s time to recognize species loss as a canary in a coal mine and act now, while we still can. Wildlife has no borders; neither does extinction, and neither should our response. I urge our congressional delegation to support RAWA now, before it’s too late. 

Let's revisit Townsend's page where he attempts to vindicate himself of wrongdoing in selling out the 180 acre Orphanage Property, its wetlands and critical habitat area -- and with that, the last remaining chance for a regional park for his Ogletown constituents:

=> This picture is one of deep hopes more deeply dashed. As a state senator, I have been proud to pass key legislation for Delaware and to serve constituents in my district. Sometimes my efforts have been unsuccessful. One of the deepest regrets I will ever have is that I was unsuccessful in my efforts with State Rep. Ed Osienski to preserve the open space on the orphanage property along Route 4 near Ogletown. This land could and should have become a regional county park for densely populated, hard-working neighborhoods. Instead, it will become mixed housing.

=> What happened is a complicated story, and Rep. Osienski and I have posted the details [here]. But this photo shows how I feel about it. I grew up in one of the neighborhoods next to this open space and flew kites here as a child. I wanted to fly kites here with my son someday, in a county park. I wanted every child and family along Route 4 to be able to do so, for generations to come. It meant so much to me as a legislator and as a father who grew up in this community. I did all that I could, and I will always regret that my efforts fell short.

Now lets talk about what really happened, by simply looking at Senator Townsend's campaign donor list, breaking it down among several categories including individual donors. His legislative companion, Ogletown's State Rep. Edward Osienki, is similarly weighted with builder interests.

No wonder the two concealed the Chestnut Hill "Preserve" from their constituents for two full years from the time it was first conceived in 2013. Doing so kept environmental and quality of life Advocates at bay, and allowed the development plans to reach a point of no return. From there, the two could make excuses and lie their way to its finished conclusion.

Senator Townsend (along with his Democrat minions in the House and NCC Council) will have to answer someday for why he trampled the wishes of the overwhelming majority of his constituents. He will have to answer for his failure to defend their quality of life in an entire region of Delaware, and in the grand scheme of things, hastened climate change and mass extinction.

CDC: Mental Health and (lack of) Green Space

Senator Townsend's taking Chair of the Senate Health, Children, & Social Services committee in 2017 is, once again, hypocrisy at its absolute worst. In this case, Mr Townsend denied a clear, common sense remedy by refusing to champion place-making, green space and a regional park right in his own District 11. An entire region of New Castle County has now lost that opportunity forever, with only more traffic congestion (and road rage) to show for it.

• According to the Centers for Disease Control, the effects of the community design choices we make and the opportunities those choices afford or deny us are only just now beginning to be understood. Such effects not only can influence community members’ physical health but their mental health as well.Effects on mental health can include both increased stress and cognitive impairment, which in turn can have physical health implications. Some of this increased stress can be caused by long and taxing daily commutes necessitated by development patterns that separate our work or school locations from our homes. This increased commuting-related stress may be related to the perceived increases in the rates of “road rage.”
• Researchers have discovered that when some people who are injured or ill are exposed to open, undeveloped land, also known as green space, they recover faster than others who were not exposed. In another study, researchers examined the cognitive functions of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to determine the effect that the children’s surroundings had on learning and their ability to concentrate. The researchers found that exposure to parks and other green spaces improved the children’s ability to focus and concentrate.

See also: Access to Parks and Open Space by the Institute for Local Government:

• Residents of neighborhoods that lack park and recreation facilities are more likely to exhibit health disparities. Increasing park acreage and facilities per capita and improving access to existing parks are important ways to support physical activity.

And THIS article, by the Trust for Public Land:

• Parks and open space outside of cities produce economic benefits as well. Parks attract non-resident visitors who put new dollars into local economies. Proximity to parks and open space enhances the value of residential properties and produces increased tax revenues for communities. Open space captures precipitation, reduces stormwater management costs, and by protecting underground water sources, open space can reduce the cost of drinking water up to ten-fold. Trees and shrubs reduce air pollution control costs. And of course, there is the value to human communities of protecting the habitats of wild creatures who live near us.

Saving Face: The Hypocrisy of HB-200

Excerpt from the article in "Blue Delaware" HB-200 - Clean Water Plan:

“This is a critical first step towards addressing the crisis-level needs we see throughout Delaware,” Senate Majority Whip Bryan Townsend said in a statement. “From chronic flooding, to aging sewer systems, to drinking water that isn’t drinkable, Delaware desperately needs sustained investment in water infrastructure. “This bill represents initial steps down a path of true commitment to meeting our water challenges. Let’s show immediate progress, and then push for even more investment to promote our economy and the health and safety of all Delawareans.”

Senator Townsend can try, but he cannot hide from his tainted environmental record. He wouldn't champion saving the 180 acre Orphanage Property -- its forests, fields and wetlands -- for future generations to enjoy (and possibly need for allotments). At the same time, he relaxed coastal zone protections in favor of heavy industrial development. His position as "Chair" of the Clean Water Task Force is laughable at best, a bad joke for a man whose record runs contrary of what this "task force" says it wants to accomplish. According to this paper from the Environmental Protection Agency:

Urbanization increases the variety and amount of pollutants carried into streams, rivers, and lakes. The pollutants include:

• Sediment
• Oil, grease, and toxic chemicals from motor vehicles
• Pesticides and nutrients from lawns and gardens
• Viruses, bacteria, and nutrients from pet waste and failing septic systems
• Road salts
• Heavy metals from roof shingles, motor vehicles, and other sources
• Thermal pollution from dark impervious surfaces such as streets and rooftops

These pollutants can harm fish and wildlife populations, kill native vegetation, foul drinking water
supplies, and make recreational areas unsafe and unpleasant.

=> It also contributes heavily to flooding, especially in low-lying areas like the Orphanage Property, with its high water table.

Also check out this paper (pdf), from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Excerpt:

 . . . with the increase in man-made impervious surfaces, such as roads, rooftops, and parking lots, the volume of stormwater runoff has drastically increased. As the runoff flows over the land or impervious surfaces, it accumulates debris, chemicals, sediment or other pollutants that can drastically impact water quality.

By his very record, Senator Townsend has never seen a development project he didn't oppose, regardless of its impacts on water and the environment in general. Sacrificing wetlands, paving over natural permeable surfaces, and creating torrents of polluted run-off is very much on his agenda. A look at his campaign donor list -- loaded with developer interests -- tells us all we need to know.

Townsend's "Democratic" Party is an Environmental Fraud

In the Autumn of 2016, Advocates for Saving the Orphanage Property (STOP) also worked hard on a campaign to have the Delaware Democrat Party include open space preservation as a plank in their 2017 platform. This was not an endorsement of a particular party; the Democrats are the State's State's controlling party at this time. Unfortunately, despite repeated follow-up attempts, it was dismissed, swept under the rug and never even voted on.

Open Space and Farmland Preservation is supported by the overwhelming majority of the electorate, regardless of party affiliation. Countless studies have shown the importance of parkland, natural habitat, and bio-diversity in a community's overall health and well being. Ordinary folks know this. Yet the party that sells itself as stewards of the environment is nowhere to be found, as evidenced by their silence on STOP.

Below is the breakdown of those who signed on in support of the plank. It was grossly inadequate considering how many (D) legislators there are in Dover. Conspicuously absent was newly elected Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, whom advocates reached out to on multiple occasions without success. Townsend, of course, was expected on there as a cover for the mass campaign contributions that he accepts from the building lobby.

The best advice for those who care about the environment in Delaware is to join, engage with, and vote Green or other 3rd party. Or, if you insist on supporting the 2-party duopoly fraud, choose the "other" party (R) as a protest vote, i.e. "throw the bums out". Let us not forget that a highly respected former Republican Governor had put in place coastal zone safeguards that Townsend and his (D) minions have since relaxed. Most of the environmental damage we are seeing now -- and the lying to cover for it -- has occurred with Democrats in solid majorities.

Par for the course: The start of clear-cutting and the paving of forest and habitat area for a major housing development, also in Townsend's District 11 on Salem Church Road. Townsend could have been a champion of conservation by Saving the Orphanage Property, and in the process, won the last opportunity for a regional park in Ogletown. He chose not to, and even saw fit to conceal the development plans from his constituents and area Advocates.

Chestnut Hill "Preserve" run-off channeled to FEMA Type A flood plain

According to officials at the NCC Dept of Land Use (DLU), the Chestnut Hill "Preserve" will see much, if not most of its runoff channeled to Leathermans Run, a tributary of the Christina River. The final stretch of Leathermans is on the State's FEMA map as a type "A" flood hazard. What this means for adjacent residents (i.e. Woodshade to the southeast, close to where Senator Townsend lives) isn't clear, but it can't be positive.

Will the green hash marks of the flood plain need to be redrawn, possibly overlapping property lines? Even without the Orphanage Property paved over, Todd Estates and Breezewood residents were used to seeing the grasslands and woods fill with standing water. It was a very low land and has a high water table -- before the development raised it. This water and more will now be heading to the Christina via Leathermans Run or will simply "absorb into the ground", according to officials and developers.

With Senator Townsend's refusal to champion the preservation of the Orphanage Property as State and/or County parkland, he blew off any notion that flooding could be an issue. Apparently, he relies on the "miracle" of civil engineering to tame the natural environment no matter what the challenge. 

We are at the dawn of the Anthropocene, runaway climate change, and what should be a biodiversity emergency of epic proportions, yet Senator Townsend (and his fellow Democrat legislators) would rather condemn future generations and follow the money trail. He aids and abets developers in habitat destruction, forest clear cutting, and the paving of wetlands, or he would have fought to save the Orphanage Property.

The purple line represents the Salem Village Tax Ditch. The village is routinely threatened by
runoff, and the ditch helps protect communities like Chelmsford by channeling large
amounts of stormwater to Leathermans Run. Some units and their outbuildings are seen
sinking into the ground, which is unstable to begin with. It can be argued that this
development, and others nearby should never have been built in the first place.

Martha Denison explains the critical purpose of the Tax Ditch, that is used to protect low
lying neighborhoods from flooding. This stretch, in Chelmsford, is part of one that circles
Salem Village, as seen in the above map. Also pictured is Angela Connolly.