Changes coming to downtown intersections

This intersection is one that will become a four-way stop in the next few months

At a recent City Council meeting, Milford Public Works Director Mike Svaby told council that changes were coming to downtown Milford intersections. Traffic signals will soon be converted to four-way flashing red rather than operational signals. The changes were part of recommendations from DelDOT as well as a recent study of traffic signals that will be turned over to DelDOT.

“After conducting an inspection of soon to be DelDOT traffic signals but currently owned by the City of Milford, Rybinski Engineering identified some repairs and interim upgrades that need to be done now before we actually turn things over to DelDOT,” Svaby said. “Our initial objective was to get Rybinski to perform certifications for the phases and we found that some of the signals that we have are not set to current standards for phasing.”

In addition, some of the traffic signals were in need of repairs, including the pedestrian crossing boxes and cabinets with broken locks that are only held closed with a bolt. Svaby explained a few had some fiber damage and Public Works was working toward completing all those repairs in preparation for turning those signals over to DelDOT.

“Ultimately, this is to move toward a goal to take the intersections of South Walnut, Southwest Front and Causey and turn those intersections into four-way flash,” Svaby said. “They will be put on four-way flash for about a year and during that time, we will also take the Southwest Front Street intersection and, for what is now one-way for about a third of that street, we will make it a two-way street.”

During a presentation regarding another topic, Ben Muldrow of Arnett and Muldrow who helped create the Riverwalk Rebirth plan, applauded the changes to the downtown intersections.

“I am thrilled to hear the updates from department heads, especially about Mike’s updates about the two signals of Southwest Front,” Muldrow said. “As you remember, that was an initial and primary design recommendation that came out of the Rivertown Rebirth plan in 2015. I think that move, even though some citizens seem desperately afraid of four-way stops for some reason, I think that’s a phenomenal decision for the walkability of our downtown. I’m really, really excited for those changes.”