Route 1 summer traffic -the truth (Wilmington, Dover: real estate, oceanfront, rental)

[nuts2uiam]

Those of you that are looking to relocate to this area have heard the nightmare of the summer Route 1 traffic also known as beach traffic. Some background for those new to the boards, I was from Long Island and traffic was my world. So that at least will give you an idea of my perspective.

Yesterday, (Saturday) I went to Beebe Hospital to visit a friend. I arrived at 11:55 in exactly 14 minutes door to door and I was traveling the 6 miles in a northbound direction. Left the parking garage at 1:35 and arrived back home at 2:08. Now that is a little better than double the time it took to get there.

Was I in traffic? Yes. However, and this is the important thing, I was never in a dead stop for minutes on end and not moving. There were gaps between the lights and while heavy traffic the timing of the lights did keep the traffic moving.

Maybe because of where I am from, I am more tolerant about the traffic than many others, but, JMO, it is not as bad as some make it out to be. Now, obviously, a native like RDLR and BeachLiz, to name just two can compare it to the "good old days" before aliens like myself invaded the area. I too, can make that comparison to where I came from and agree with them. It is called "progress, greed, demand and lack of vision" among others.

It is still early in the summer and I will revisit this thread later on, but for now, I have to say that it really isn't all that bad.

I will also share a tip I use all the time. Go to the Del Dot (Delaware Dept of Transportation) website below and click on traffic cameras and select the region and camera of your choice and you will see the traffic live. Or select traffic flow and you will see the stats on delay time, number of vehicles etc.

No idea why it says weather.

Delaware Department of Transportation - DelDOT Map

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by nuts2uiam

Now, obviously, a native like RDLR and BeachLiz, to name just two can compare it to the "good old days" before aliens like myself invaded the area. I too, can make that comparison to where I came from and agree with them. It is called "progress, greed, demand and lack of vision" among others.

Well, I almost said "Give us a break".....but I choked it back.
The thread is mis-labeled "the truth". It's really newcomer's opinion based on a short trip between Rehoboth & Lewes.

For those making the trip from the North, forget about the old days, this is now:
At Dover, jump on Bay Road, and head south down towards Lil' Heaven, where the new construction is going on, (you can sit at Lil' Heaven in some stand-still traffic and do some texting). Keep going south through the soon-to-be Thompsonville by-pass (North of Milford) where more new construction is going on. The cement barriers along that section are close enough to scrape the side of your car, and I only go 45-50 mph. But the out-of-staters speed by. Glance to the right, and say hello-goodbye to Milford, and we're sailing now.....only to hit another slowdown because they're constructing a State-of-the-Art Soccer/Lacrosse complex on the east side near Frederica! Head south past Red Mill, then over the Nassau bridge, where you can come to a stand-still again as you enter the traffic lights, bicycles riding in the turning lanes, and chaos. (While you're sitting, there's time to check the text messages again). On a Thursday or Friday night, I've done that trip from Dover to Rehoboth in 1 1/2 hrs. or more (only because sometimes it's a necessity of my business). One late Friday afternoon it took me over 2 hours to get to Dewey Beach from Dover. Geez, I only wanted to go to the Bottle & Cork to see Little Feat, and I wasn't too happy as I missed their opening song. It typically takes me 40 minutes to get to Rehoboth.
So now, we have a balance here........2 opinions, a newcomer from NY and a native of Delaware.
Good Luck!
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/...ams/341846001/

[nuts2uiam]

RDLR you are right. I should have labeled it At the beach on Rt. 1, then once you hit Dewey the speed limit changes and bottlenecks can become commonplace. Changing the description to "at" still changes it in my mind. Maybe it is just my narrow description of the issue, along with my former reality which was 13 miles on the Long Island Expressway going westbound when most were going eastbound and that took me 45 minutes on a good day.

When we were vacationing as young people we went to upstate NY but never thought about the northbound traffic as being mountain traffic til we were actually in the mountains. I guess that is why I am not considering the south bound traffic as "traffic on Route 1. So to be clearer, the traffic on Route 1 from the intersection of route 9 all the way through Rehoboth up til you get to Dewey is the area I was addressing.

[rdlr]

Glad it went well for you, Nuts!
I've had one heck of a time fighting traffic for over a week, out of necessity because I work and drive all over. Wilmington and north were not as bad as what I experienced south, surprisingly.

[Pocopsonite]

Here's a third perspective. I grew up in New Castle County. We have lived in PA since 1983, and have owned vacation property in Dewey Beach since 1976. We rent during July and August, but the idea was always to spend several weeks in spring and fall once we retired in 2004, and maybe move permanently to the beach eventually.

When we first started going to Dewey in the early '70s, it was busy on summer weekends, calm and quiet on summer weekdays, and had a smattering of visitors during the shoulder season. Dewey (and Rehoboth, to a lesser extent) was close to deserted November - April.

Traffic got worse and worse over the years. One Memorial Day in the late '90s, it took us well over an hour to drive the 5.2 miles from north Dewey to Arnell Creek, not far from the McDonald's on Route 1. That's when we stopped coming down for Memorial Day and Labor Day. It wasn't fun getting to Dewey from southeast PA on holidays, and you couldn't go anywhere after you got there. So what's the point?

But we continued to enjoy trips during the shoulder season, and even in the dead of winter once we had a 4-season place. We love the terrific restaurants in Rehoboth, and the weekend festivals were a lot of fun.

In the past decade, though, it just isn't very much fun anymore. The traffic on a Tuesday afternoon in March on Route 1 is as heavy as rush-hour traffic where we live in a Philly ex-urb. You can't get a parking space in Rehoboth within 2-3 blocks of the ocean, which is where our favorite restaurants and shops are.

So we visit less and less often, and mostly it's to do what's required to keep a vacation rental property attractive to prospective tenants.

Sadly, we don't like vacationing there anymore and we have definitely decided we don't want to live there full time. Just goes to show, it's hard to make long-term retirement plans because you never know what the place will be like after several decades.

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by Pocopsonite

Sadly, we don't like vacationing there anymore and we have definitely decided we don't want to live there full time. Just goes to show, it's hard to make long-term retirement plans because you never know what the place will be like after several decades.

I can relate. In the 1940's my parents had a Mom & Pop store on Rt. 13 near Smyrna. Every Tuesday we closed the store and motored on down to Rehoboth Beach, and then south to camp on the oceanfront at Indian River. There were very few cars on the road, and if we saw one, we kids waved and hollered out the car windows. That was when we could pitch a rag-tag tent on the ocean front and sleep in it overnight. Usually, we were awakened in the morning by the gentle waves washing up on the shore and inside of our tent. We built a bonfire in the morning, cooked breakfast, and fished all day long. What great memories we experienced. I really can't stand it there now.

[DelawareLiz]

OV perspective: traffic down my way is pretty much hell all summer, every day from May--September on route 26 and roads leading to it. If you go out, it's early morning or sometime after 1 p.m. IF it's not raining. Raining? STAY HOME because they are EVERYWHERE. Don't even try to head north on a rainy summer day because traffic will be backed up for miles once you hit the inlet. They are all at the outlets. I don't travel north EVER during the summer unless I must--such as a car appt. at a dealership. I've even rescheduled my annual doc visit to October because I cannot risk dealing with it raining on my travel day and sitting in traffic for hours to travel fifteen miles.

Traffic after Labor Day during the week is doable, but there is MUCH more of it compare to when I first moved there in 2002. Weekends are still pretty horrific until January although Bethany has much less compared to OV during that time. Bethany crowds and traffic calms down faster than OV traffic due to fewer year-round residents.

I am lucky that I don't work all summer and can plan my life around the madness. I drive to my local running spot early in the morning and since I'm headed west when I'm done I don't need to worry about beach traffic. I go to the gym in the afternoon. However, on a summer rainy day it can take me 20-30 minutes to travel two miles to the gym.

Like rdlr, I've gotten to the point that I cannot stand the way things have changed. We leave the country around every July 4th because of all the insanity, chaos, and noise.

[skeddy]

When I moved full time to LSD a few years, I crossed off looking in Rehoboth/Lewes immediately because of the traffic. It's fine from October to May but I avoid it during the summer. I almost feel sorry for people that arrive here for vacations during the summer, especially during the July 4th holiday. IMO Rehoboth has changed a lot in the last 10 years. It has a much more urban vibe since they increased bus service to vacationers from Philly, etc.

While not perfect, give me the Ocean View - Bethany Beach area. If you want to go to Rehoboth or Ocean City to shop, they're 10 miles away. I own a property in OV that I Airbnb all summer. I was 90% booked for the summer by April 10th. The Delaware Seashore is a popular place.

[rdlr]

I guess.....to each his own. Some people love the crowds, traffic, waiting in restaurant lines to be seated, and chaos. I don't call that a "vacation". Yet, every year the crowds get bigger. I do have a pang of thinking our beaches were taken away from us. It's the fault of the tourism industry hungry for the money. And, it's the fault of our Delaware politicians who've driven us into deep debt, and who now are struggling to find a solution. Can't leave out the developers who advertise low cost housing, low taxes, slower way of life, and low cost of living.....Now, very much exaggerated. The nice senior citizen school tax credit has been reduced, and now there's been a hike in the Delaware Transfer Tax on real estate. I doubt if that will slow down the caravans of newcomers, because it's still better than where they come from.

[jtees4]

Unfortunately, I still live on Long Island....and I totally get what you are saying. I planned on moving to DE a few years ago, but that was not possible due to family obligations. Now there is a chance I will be moving to VA at some point. I have made many many many trips between NY and DE (all DE areas), and NY and VA in the last few years. I totally get what you are saying. and based on my own experiences I totally agree. It is not nearly the same. Is it real traffic in DE? YES, but you have to live on LI to really understand. It really is that simple. Even when I hit bad traffic in DC, it's still not quite as bad....it is more predictable I guess is the best way to put it. A no traffic trip to NYC for me would be 1 hour. I have had weekend mornings at 5AM where that was a 2 hour trip! Other times it is "almost" smooth sailing. There is no rhyme or reason. It's horrible. I love Long Island, but when you have you travel off it....it's horrendous.