Why Should Delaware Care?
With DART’s recent proposed bus changes, concerns have been raised for northern Delaware locals about the discontinuation of Route 52, which provides service from center city Wilmington to Centerville. The proposed termination of the route could lead to limited access to cultural institutions, health care services, and business for students, workers, and residents alike.
Proposed changes to public transit routes could hurt the Greenville and Centreville areas by cutting access to some of Delaware’s most-visited museums from center city Wilmington, according to officials.
Last month, the Delaware Transit Corp. announced proposed changes to its DART bus routes with the aim to improve on-time performance, connections and service reliability, transit officials said.
The proposal is a part of a three-phase plan initiated by DART that began with its May service change in which it added services.
This time, DART plans to alter and remove routes throughout Delaware’s three counties, but some see this as disruption to the local communities.
Last week, DART hosted three public input sessions in Wilmington, Georgetown and Dover, where locals were able to voice their concerns and ask questions pertaining to the changes.
The proposed discontinuation of Route 52 in Delaware’s northern Brandywine Valley, among the other changes, is set to take effect on Nov. 17.
This will affect our students, this will affect some of our employees, and it will potentially keep people who thought, ‘Well, hey, we could take the bus out to Winterthur.’
chris strand, winterthur ceo
Locals say this change threatens to disrupt access to key institutions and businesses across Kennett Pike, sparking significant concern among residents, students, and business leaders.
Route 52 services several schools including A.I. du Pont High School, the Tower Hill School and James H. Groves Adult School.
Losing this route could affect students who rely on the bus for transportation, possibly leading to decreased attendance or difficulty accessing education.
Residents of Greenville Place Apartments and seniors who reside at Stonegate and the Country House may also find themselves isolated without the bus services, making daily commutes and errands more difficult.
In addition, employee access to businesses could also be affected, as well as larger institutions like ChristianaCare’s Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine and Rehabilitation Institute, the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science and the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library.
Winterthur CEO Chris Strand expressed disappointment in the proposed loss of the local bus route.
Winterthur, a historic estate off Kennett Pike, was founded in 1839 and grew under the care of the du Pont family, who eventually turned it into a renowned museum that has been open for over 70 years.
Strand says that the institution is now home to two graduate programs in addition to other student and local activities that will be affected by the bus proposal.
“I feel like we’re just one part of the puzzle, but this will affect our students, this will affect some of our employees, and it will potentially keep people who thought, ‘Well, hey, we could take the bus out to Winterthur,” they won’t have that as an option now,’” said Strand.
The historic landmark currently has 300 employees, some of whom rely on Route 52 to get to work.
“For us, it’s employees and students who want to come here to Winterthur to study or to work, and Uber and Lyft aren’t really a viable alternative because it’s so expensive,” Strand explained.
DART officials say that the discontinuation of Route 52 was a recommendation that came out of the DART Reimagined, a year-long statewide transit study that identified opportunities to redesign the bus network and service plans to create a more sustainable and equitable transit system in the state.
The three-phase plan which they say will be completed over the next five plus years, will aim to ensure that fixed-route services are placed in areas that generate a minimum level of ridership for each trip.
“Once completed, access to public transit (within a quarter mile) will increase from one third to half of all Delawareans, with a specific focus on vulnerable populations,” said Julie Theyerl, the chief customer experience officer for DART.
Theyerl said that about half of Route 52 is also served by Routes 10 and 20.
Currently, Route 52 operates eight roundtrips each weekday, with an average of 4.6 riders per trip and in the area proposed for discontinuation, the average ridership is 3.4 riders per trip.
Be a part of the debate
DART’s public comment period remains open until Aug. 16, giving the public a final chance to weigh in before a decision is made. Comments can be submitted by email, mail, phone or online before Aug. 16. For more information on the proposal and public hearings click here.
