In their most recent stimulus certification (PDF), the DOT of the little-but great state of Delaware expressed a little lonely sadness in a project description for their famous toll plaza in Newark:
I-95 Newark Toll Plaza (25-090-02)
Justification: This toll plaza experiences high levels of congestion due to the current plaza configuration. As approximately 55 percent of travelers through the plaza utilize E-ZPass, congestion would be drastically reduced with high-speed lanes. This plaza is a regular complaint of motorists traveling through this state, and leaves travelers with a negative impression – in many cases their only impression — of Delaware, impacting reputation, business, tourism and economic development.
I don’t know whether they were playing for some Charlie Brown sympathy, but they might give off a better impression if they got some FRA money for the Wilmington Rail Station, or even fixed their graphs. Don’t worry, we’ll come visit soon!
I feel bad for Delaware in the transportation way. No airports, and people just complain about Delaware’s tolls.
Well, they have a pretty good bus system.
Agreed, they should have spent a little on sprucing up Wilmington Rail Station. The city and private developers have spent a TON in the past decade turning the area between the Station and the river into the city’s most lively entertainment district. A properly done train station, and a good ad campaign, could entice people to hop off their Amtrak, party, and hop back on. The way that Amtrak’s pricing works, they usually don’t charge you anything extra to hop on & off like that. It’s a cash cow waiting to happen.
Advertising would be a big boon, but I really never enjoyed my trips to Wilmington. Perhaps if they go ahead with building wind farms off the coast, environmentally conscious types will move in and add a good social core to put it back on the map. Hopefully they won’t gentrify the fine housing stock too much, but add enough affluence and social currency to make it a destination again.