Delaware Greenways has initiated the Brandywine Valley Carrying Capacity and Preservation Study, which will result in a Scenic Conservation Plan to preserve the beauty of the Brandywine Valley National Scenic Byway while providing for sustainable growth and development. The Plan will focus on integrating land use and transportation in a way that preserves the historic, natural, and scenic landscapes of the Brandywine Valley, while providing convenient mobility for the residents, visitors, and businesses along this corridor.
The study and planning process will include significant public participation components. A steering committee of community leaders has been convened, and many of its members were involved in the establishment of the Brandywine Valley National Scenic Byway. A series of public meetings to discuss growth scenarios for the study area, plan preferences, design guidelines, and other issues will be conducted during the process.
Two technical reports that form the a part of the basis of the Plan have been completed. The first report, the Existing Conditions report, presents an inventory of existing environmental, demographic, infrastructure and transportation conditions in the Brandywine Valley and along the Brandywine Valley National Scenic Byway. The second report, the presents the results of an analysis of the viewshed in the study area. The viewshed analysis represents both a quantitative analysis using the geographic information systems capabilities of Delaware Greenways staff and a qualitative analysis as seen through the eyes of a special committee of viewshed analysis volunteers.