The 2023 Annual Churchman’s Crossing Monitoring Report provides a summary of transportation and land use conditions and changes in the Churchman’s Crossing project area, including how the recommendations of the 2022 Churchman’s Crossing Plan Update are being implemented. 

This report uses an interactive online format that allows users to explore and understand the data in greater detail than would be possible with a static, printed report. The report is a “living document” that evolves over time, as conditions change. Additionally, the online format provides an interactive way to monitor and compare conditions over time as a monitoring report is developed each subsequent year. This 2023 report updates and builds upon information provided in the first monitoring report, the 2022 Annual Report.  

The Churchman’s Crossing Monitoring Committee (CXMC) was formed in 2022 to guide and fulfill the recommendations of the 2022 Churchman's Crossing Plan Update. During the 2023-2024 cycle, the CXMC met three (3) times and held a Public Workshop.  

The 2023-2024 CXMC meetings were on October 25, 2023; February 28, 2024; and April 10, 2024. The public workshop was held on May 15, 2024. All meeting materials and recordings can be found on our website here.

As discussed in the Winter 2024 Newsletter, Spotlight Topics were introduced to the CXMC meetings to help achieve the primary goal of the CXMC – to advance the Churchman’s Crossing Plan Update recommendations. Spotlight Topics highlight specific recommended projects to take a deeper dive into recommendations that were identified as priorities by the CXMC. The Spotlight Topics also help provide committee members with information that they can share with their communities.  

The Winter 2024 Newsletter described the first Spotlight Topic, Microtransit in Churchman’s Crossing. The second Spotlight Topic was presented to the CXMC at the Winter 2024 meeting and covered a deeper dive into bicycle and pedestrian improvements in the Churchman’s Crossing area. Recommendations to provide pedestrian/bicycle improvements along existing roads and connections serving existing communities were included in the Churchman’s Crossing Plan Update and ranked 3 and 4, respectively, in the CXMC’s project prioritization exercise in Spring 2023. However, specific improvements and connections were not identified in the Plan Update. The Spotlight Topic outlined how the CXMC and technical team would define and prioritize pedestrian and bicycle connections in the Churchman’s Crossing area that are actionable and eligible for further design and implementation.  

At the Spring 2024 meeting, the CXMC was asked to identify potential bicycle/pedestrian connections they would like to see in the Churchman’s Crossing area. This input from the CXMC, and analysis done by the technical team, resulted in the identification of potential pedestrian and bicycle connections shown in the map below, which was later presented at the 2024 CXMC Public Workshop. 

The Project Partners and CXMC held a public workshop for the Churchman’s Crossing area on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 from 4 – 6 PM at the New Castle County Gilliam Building. The purpose of the workshop was to: 

The informational display boards that were presented at the public workshop can be viewed here. One written comment was received at the public workshop and can be found in the 2023 Annual Churchman’s Crossing Monitoring Report.  

The public workshop also featured a pedestrian and bike network activity with the goal of gaining input from the public on which potential connections are the most important in the Churchman’s Crossing area. Results from this activity are shown in the map below. Input from the public will be used as the technical team continues to analyze potential network improvements over the Summer. The technical team will present the results of the bicycle network analysis to the CXMC when the committee reconvenes in the Fall.  

The DelDOT Projects Portal maps active projects in and around the Churchman’s Crossing area, and includes additional information about the planning, design, and construction of each project. Use the Project Portal map to view any active projects or select the links below to go directly to a specific project’s webpage.

The Dart Reimagined Final Report is now available! DART Reimagined, a year-long statewide transit study led by Delaware Transit Corporation, has identified opportunities to reconfigure the bus network and future service plan to provide a more sustainable and equitable statewide transit system. 

Through a comprehensive service review, the study identified rider needs and challenges and presented opportunities for service improvements and enhancements across the state of Delaware. 

Collaboration with riders, the public, municipalities, businesses, county governments, and state agencies played an integral part in the success of the DART Reimagined Transit Study.  

Kirkwood Highway forms the northern border of the Churchman’s Crossing project area and is a critical transportation corridor in this area of New Castle County. 

In 2023 the project partners (New Castle County, DelDOT, DTC, and WILMAPCO) initiated the development of the Kirkwood Highway Land Use and Transportation Plan.  The Plan will address near-term and long-range solutions and policies with an emphasis on strengthening alternative travel modes and options, travel demand management integration of coordinated multi-modal transportation and land use planning, and promoting more sustainable patterns of development, while maintaining and enhancing existing neighborhood vitality. 

 Two workshops have previously been held. A third workshop focused on potential alternatives was held  on June 10, 2024. The purpose of the workshop was for the public to learn how scenario planning was used to develop alternatives for potential improvements and initiatives, provide input about potential improvements and initiatives that are being considered for Kirkwood Highway, and learn about next steps and provide feedback. The informational display boards presented at the workshop as well as the presentation recording can be found on the project website.  

A date for the upcoming Fall public workshop will be announced soon, so stay tuned! Visit the project website to view previous meeting materials and sign up for the Kirkwood Highway Master Plan email list to receive project updates. 

In 2023, DelDOT launched the Be DelAWARE campaign to connect with the public after there was a near record number of fatalities on Delaware roads in 2022. Safety should be everyone’s priority and by being DelAWARE we can ensure lives are not tragically lost on Delaware roads. 

With the summer travel season in full swing and more people taking to the roads for vacations and travel, take a moment to review the Be DelAWARE mission statement and take the pledge become a HERO toward zero.