Workshop seeks community feedback on transportation

posted on: 10/27/2015

Do you travel by foot, bike, car, bus or other means in the City of Dover? Do you often think, “I wish I could tell someone what I think about traveling in Dover.”? Have you ever been driving from one place to another, and thought, “I’d walk, ride my bike or take the bus here if…”? Well the City of Dover wants to hear these and other thoughts on the transportation network.

On Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, at 6:30 p.m., in the McConnell Center cafeteria, the City of Dover will host a public workshop as part of the City’s update to the Transportation Chapter of the Master Plan. This informal workshop will be an opportunity for citizens and public officials to ask questions and share their thoughts regarding the transportation needs of the community.

Earlier this year, the Planning Board created a steering committee to oversee updating the Transportation Chapter of the Master Plan. According to Assistant City Manager Christopher Parker, the chapter is 15 years old.

“Dover’s current chapter was written in 2000, and while it was very comprehensive and laid the framework for much of the current network improvements Dover has accomplished, we have to be diligent about reviewing and updating this important guidebook,” Parker said.

The Nov. 2 meeting is an opportunity for residents, business and property owners to speak with steering committee members, staff, and the City’s transportation consultant, VHB, on transportation issues. Unlike the recent downtown pedestrian and vehicular access study, which was completed earlier this year, this chapter of the Master Plan looks at all of the City, and not just one area.

“We want feedback on how people make their way from one side of the city to another,” Parked said. “We are looking to hear what works and what needs improvement, around Dover.”

This session is a continuation of ongoing Master Plan work, under way since the City of Dover completed a community-wide visioning process in 2012. In 2014, the City completed a Land Use Analysis chapter of the Master Plan, and has scheduled further updates over the next few years. Dover’s Master Plan can be found online here.
The Transportation chapter is intended to identify the transportation actions needed over the next 10 years to realize the following vision for the City as expressed in the current Master Plan: “Dover has an excellent and fully interconnected transportation system for pedestrians, bicyclists, motor vehicles and a public transportation system that is supportive of, and responsive to, new technology and continuous improvement.”

Goals for this chapter include reviewing opportunities for traffic calming, expanding the City’s complete street network and reviewing opportunities for mass transit in Dover. At the workshop the consulting team will have three areas for residents to give feedback and ask questions about. Each area will have maps and graphics, which can be used to generate conversation about the topic. Those three areas are:

• Traffic congestion and crash locations
• Transit, bike and pedestrian connectivity
• Neighborhoods, traffic calming and land use patterns

According to Parker, the City and community benefit from public participation in this document and process.

“I’ve found that in Dover, we have passionate members of the community, and they are also vocal about concerns and areas where we excel,” he said. “We plan better in Dover as a result of that participation and from it planning staff and the Planning Board have a better understanding of what the community views as important when we put together land use regulations and the Capital Improvement’s Program. I think it sets Dover apart from other places, that we are not just interested in public comment, we plan better because of it.”

Community members are encouraged to participate in local planning, as it is important to Dover’s long range growth and development.

Parker noted, “Dover’s Transportation Master Plan, along with our Vision and Land Use chapters will be instrumental in creating the Dover the community wants to have for the next decade. We need to be proactive and thoughtful in our review and consideration of the transportation issues we face as a community, and lay out a positive path we can take to improve our transportation networks.”

If unable to attend the workshop, the public is still encouraged to participate through reaching out to the Department of Planning and Community Development, located in City Hall, or by phone at telephone 603-516-6008.