November’s general election ballot will give Wilmington the choice of borrowing $44 million to fund a menu of priority transportation projects in the city.
After a supportive public hearing Tuesday night, Wilmington City Council voted unanimously to schedule a bond referendum for Nov. 4; if the electorate approves, it would drive a $55 million package of improvements to, or construction of, roadways, crosswalks, trails, aesthetics and other resources in the city limits.
Update: The city has released a printable summary of the projects (here) that clarifies totals of $35 million for roadways and $20 million for bike and pedestrian resources.
It would require a 2 cent property tax increase to support, effective July 1, 2015, according to the city manager’s office.
“The people of Love Grove support this bond 100 percent,” said Ron Sparks, a former city councilman who has long advocated for a new road into Love Grove, an initiative the bond would support.
Today, there’s only one way for vehicles to access that neighborhood–King Street, and a set of railroad tracks run right across it.
On June 28, 2013, a train derailment on that very spot meant no one could come or go for nearly an entire day. Frustrated residents told the city council it was the perfect case in the argument for better access, which they’ve demanded for years.
They say it’s not just a quality-of-life issue, but one of public safety.
Related story: Love Grove residents plea for new access
It’s now on a list of $35 million in roadway projects in the overall funding package proposed. The new access would begin on Creekfront Drive, cross Burnt Mill Creek and end at One Tree Hill Way.
Sparks was one of roughly a dozen residents, almost all of them from Love Grove, who spoke up in favor Tuesday night.
But it’s up to the city’s voters to see it through, Mayor Bill Saffo said, noting outside funding sources are drying up.
Sparks during his remarks had noted at least $500 million in infrastructural improvement needed in the city limits, and that this is a good bite of it.
“If we want to take care of our roads and infrastructure,” Saffo said, “we as citizens are going to have to either do it–or possibly not do it, if you decide to vote against it….”
He said the proposal’s failure would be a “travesty.”
Click here for the full list of projects slated and here for a booklet explaining them.
Ben Brown is a news reporter at Port City Daily. Reach him at [email protected] or (910) 772-6335. On Twitter:@benbrownmedia
