Suggestions

Sussex County is working on creating a Master Planned Zone (MPZ) that would allow different types of dwelling units and non-residential areas in large parcels of 200 acres or more, with the intention to promote walkability and self-sustainability to reduce car traffic out of the community.

The concept sounds good. In reality, many such planned communities failed to deliver the purpose and intent.

Where do we see people walking or biking to stores in their neighborhoods? 

People walk in metropolitan cities where high-rise buildings are packed in small areas, and the robust public transportation network and lack of parking spaces cause people to forgo car ownership. Without a choice of driving around town to buy items on sale or in bulk, they buy small quantities of immediate necessities at nearby shops.

We see people walk also in centuries-old, still-thriving European towns that are not conducive to handling heavy car traffic. Only some old-time main streets in the U.S. survived to retain the nostalgic feel and are explored on foot by tourists. 

Common factors among these places are the lack of car ownership and their walkability was not by design.

In today's car-oriented culture, especially where retirees fleeing city life from surrounding states flock to settle in rural environments, it is hard to make it work.

Challenges to the concept abound: What kind of stores, medical offices, or civic areas would serve on-foot residents on a regular basis? If a bakery, restaurant, or gym is successful or one of a kind in the area, wouldn't they attract more traffic from outside rather than reducing the traffic from inside the planned community? What about a social security office, performance stage, or a library? The community would become a traffic destination, and the area roads must be significantly improved to accommodate such increased traffic volume. 

Public Transportation is Prerequisite to High Density 

Since the idea is plausible, let's discuss how to make MPZ work in Sussex County or similar areas. First of all, we need to build a robust and affordable public transportation system. Saving the huge expense of car ownership and being able to move to where public transit is available will help ease the affordable housing crisis.

DelDOT says more ridership is needed to expand public transit. I argue that the buses need to run more frequently, and the riders should be able to walk or bike to the bus stops safely. While waiting for a bus, they should be sheltered from elements, such as heat, rain, or winds.

So, before rushing to expand roads to accommodate the new housing developments that have already been approved, let's find funding to provide an affordable and robust public transit network and build contiguous bike/pedestrian paths throughout the county.