West Dover Village Bridge
West Dover Village Bridge
One of the initial projects for which DVPSA.org has been founded is to find a safe way to get pedestrians across the #56 bridge on Route 100 in the middle of West Dover Historic Village District, shown in the image below.
The West Dover Historic District is a village on the National Historic Register. which includes buildings north and south of the present bridge. The bridge has long been recognized as being dangerous for pedestrians—a danger that has only increased as Dover grows and moves from being a seasonal to a year-round destination. Consequently, Dover has been working for more than a decade on finding a solution.
The current solution DVPSA is exploring is one that the town recommended more than a decade ago: building a pedestrian bridge on the western (left-hand) side of the existing bridge. All other proposed solutions, such as building a pedestrian bridge on the eastern side of the bridge, replacing the existing auto bridge, or adding a walking path onto the side of the bridge have proven to be non-viable.
Over the course of the several web pages below, we will describe what the issues are with the bridge, what objections have been raised for its construction, outline steps we can take to overcome present objections, and how we can finally solve one of the most dangerous places for pedestrians in Dover.
In addition to describing the overall issues, the overview page provides many additional links to background reports, data and imagery.
If you would like to help make this bridge a reality, please consider joining our Facebook Group or send your questions and comments to john@dvpsa.org.