Even before gas crisis, traffic to beaches had dropped
Marie Kilpatrick found Fourth of July holiday business a tad less sweet this year at the sugary center of Delaware's vacation universe.
"In past years, it would be very hard to find a parking space in Rehoboth Beach. This year, you can," said Kilpatrick, a longtime manager at the landmark Dolle's Candyland shop at the boardwalk and Rehoboth Avenue.
"I think it's because of gasoline. People are staying closer to home. We still have lines in the store, but if people buy something, where they maybe would buy a pound of chocolate before, they're buying half a pound, or pieces. People are being very careful."
So it was across much of Delaware during this summer of high gas prices and a halting economy.
Inland parks across the state reported generally brisk business this weekend, while also noting overall declines in camping or pavilion reservations, a slip in arrivals from out of state and more visits by local residents.
Traffic was described as lighter than usual along typically jammed corridors Saturday, continuing a pattern that emerged earlier in the year, according to state traffic statistics for a handful of important routes. Motor vehicle counts from U.S. 202 to Sussex County's coastal resort had fallen or were flat for the year even before $4-per-gallon gasoline arrived, according to agency counts through April.
Along northern reaches of U.S. 202, traffic was off 4 percent from April last year and nearly 12 percent from 2005 counts. Del. 1 counts north of Rehoboth Beach were off by more than 26 percent in April compared with last year, according to the Delaware Department of Transportation.
That came as no surprise to Michael Layton, third-generation owner of H.C. Layton's hardware store in Bridgeville. The store along busy Market Street has a clear view of east-west traffic across Sussex County.
"I haven't seen any campers come through," said Layton, who described traffic through town as heavy but nowhere near past levels. "People aren't traveling as much."
At Delaware Seashore State Park, superintendent Doug Long estimated business was off by 10 percent to 15 percent, although most areas were crowded for the holiday weekend.
"Unfortunately, June was just a little bit soft," Long said. "Even our reliable source, the campground, was off quite a bit. They traditionally fill up in July and August, and they will this year, too, but I think maybe the high price of fuel was kind of making people think twice."
Though gasoline prices have dropped slightly below $4 a gallon across much of the state, plenty of spots in Sussex County stuck above that mark, with $4.15-a-gallon gas reported in Lewes.
Killens Pond State Park superintendent Gary Focht said gas prices might have helped to keep crowds heavy at Killens' popular water park on Friday, although campground reservations have slipped.
"I think there are more local people than out-of-staters this year. ... I think people are very conscious about gas and how much it costs to travel. They're still visiting us but it could be a little more hit-and-miss."
In Dover, traffic along U.S. 13 near Dover Downs was comparable to last year, but had fallen by nearly 21 percent from 2006. Near Frederica, U.S. 113 traffic was off nearly 20 percent in February, the most-recent month available.
"It's been slow here and there. Usually, we're busy every day at this point in the summer, but we haven't been during the week," Mary Talbot, a manager at the Sea Shell Shop along Del. 1 in Rehoboth Beach, said Saturday. "It's pretty busy out there today, though."
At Delaware Seashore, Long said fuel sales at Indian River Inlet Marina had fallen slightly, but replenishment of the storm-battered beaches had gotten a positive response from visitors.
"The folks who have been coming here for years and years will still come," Long said. "It's the spur-of-the-moment, let's-go-down-for-the-day folks who are thinking twice, and I think the folks who have houses and used to come down quite frequently aren't coming as often."
source: delawareonline.com
