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Stretching from Rogers Road to Memorial Drive, the Route 9 corridor near New Castle is home to roughly 16,500 residents spread across a dozen neighborhoods that line both the east and west sides of the highway. On any given day, a large number of tractor-trailers, many heading to or from the Port of Wilmington, rumble past modest homes, churches, corner stores and clusters of children waiting for school buses near the edge of the road.

The corridor has long been described as a place full of pride and history — a haven for Black families displaced from Wilmington in the 1960s who sought stability, first homes and opportunity. Yet, decades of industrial zoning, flooding and disinvestment have left visible scars.

Annette Lyn has lived in the Rosegate community in the Route 9 corridor for about 10 years. She describes her neighborhood as youthful — filled with children riding bikes and playing ball outside. Yet, she says, the good moments don’t always outweigh the bad.

“The bad times weigh out more of the good times. I try to keep my grandkids, ‘cause they live with me, indoors, but you can’t always keep them indoors, which is part of the lacking,” she said. “They need a playground. They have one, but it’s in a bad spot and maybe they need to upgrade it.”

She points to Rosegate Park in her neighborhood — a space she says could be a haven for kids but instead feels neglected. Right across the street from her home, there’s another small park neighbors call “the circle,” where several children wait each morning for the bus. To her, it’s a symbol of what’s missing.

“They need benches for the kids like when they wait for buses or even just to sit out in the circle or even a picnic table,” she said. “It lacks trash cans. I’m not saying have a whole bunch, maybe one or two.”