Milton looks at DelDOT speed safety program

Milton officials have begun taking a preliminary look at whether the town should get involved with Delaware Department of Transportation’s Electronic Speed Safety Program.

The program is an automated speed enforcement system that detects the speed of passing vehicles. The system is set up to capture images of cars that are traveling greater than 11 mph over the speed limit. If a car is caught speeding, a citation is generated and sent to the registered owner of the vehicle. 

Mayor John Collier said the town is taking a preliminary look into whether this system is feasible and sustainable for Milton. Part of that study is discussion by the town’s streets and sidewalks committee.

Councilwoman Randi Meredith, chair of the committee, said, “The discussion was just for committee awareness of the technology. The program has many requirements that have to be met at a local and state level with multiple parties involved in the application, and the associated costs are not insignificant. I just think it's important for committee members to know what tools are in the toolbox.”

She said at this time, there is no proposal to enter the program and no timetable to implement it. 

The system was created by an act of the General Assembly and signed by then-Gov. John Carney in June 2023 as part of an effort to reduce speeding and improve traffic safety. The system was originally used for work zones, primarily in New Castle County on the I-95 corridor, but DelDOT has made the system available to municipalities. 

Speeding in Milton has been a hot-button issue for some time, and the town has taken measures to try to reduce it, such as installing more radar signs and adding a new handicapped-accessible sidewalk with bumpouts at the intersection of Chestnut, Wharton and Atlantic streets. DelDOT, which maintains and has authority over the majority of Milton’s roadways, has also taken steps to reduce speeding by installing four-way stops at several intersections, including Chestnut/Wharton/Atlantic streets, Mulberry/Wharton/Federal streets and at Harbeson Road, Chestnut Street and Shingle Point Road. 

Still, speeding is an issue that rankles residents. Earlier this year, a social media firestorm started when an Atlantic Street family installed a camera to capture speeders and posted videos to a website. That evolved into a resolution in front of Milton Town Council in February that would have requested DelDOT ban parking on Atlantic Street. That resolution failed and the matter was worked out amicably.