The state said a "road diet" on East Main Road north of Wyatt Road might be in order in #MiddletownRI to help with safety and other concerns.
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CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
EAST MAIN ROAD DIET COULD BE IN STORE
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (MARCH 11, 2024) – East Main Road north of Wyatt Road could be trimmed to one lane in each direction in Middletown.
Known as a “road diet,” the proposal from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) was discussed in detail Monday night by the Town Council in Town Hall.
According to a memo last summer from RIDOT consultants Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB), the area is prime for the upgrades during upcoming road work planned by the state.
After a thoughtful conversation, the council agreed to keep the conversation going and schedule a meeting with RIDOT in coming weeks to hear more and get feedback from residents and businesspeople. Although there appeared to be general support from most on the council, no decisions were made on the matter.
“I support this. It’s a nightmare out there,” Councilor Christopher Logan said. “I travel that road every weekend to visit my father and it’s like a raceway on a four-lane road that should probably be a one lane road…I’m not even going to talk about where Turner (Road) meets there because that’s a harrowing slight turn.”
“This road diet is not just for the safety of people on bikes or pedestrians,” Councilor Emily Tessier said. “This is mostly for the safety of people who are driving. Two hundred crashes per year on East Main Road to me, that’s wild. That’s a lot. I’m sure we all know someone who has been in a car crash on East Main Road.”
Over the past two decades, RIDOT has worked hard to upgrade and improve its roads across Middletown.
Almost every major intersection and roadway has undergone improvements from long stretches of East Main and West Main roads, Two Mile Corner and the intersection of Valley Road-Green End Avenue to upper Aquidneck Avenue, the most recent project.
The letter from VHB’s Amphone Soupharath indicated there would be one lane of travel north on East Main and one south, bisected by a center turn lane. The move would also create shoulders on either side of the travel lanes to make it safer for bicyclists and others in the area.
In addition to reducing vehicle speeds, Soupharath wrote it would make it easier to make turns and better for those not driving vehicles.
On the flip side, he projected it would add minutes to travel times, creating delays and congestion, particularly during the busy summer months. He also said it would make it more difficult for vehicles to pull out from unsignalized side streets because of reduced breaks in traffic.
To read Soupharath’s complete memo, go to https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/11695/240304_19 online.
Earlier, the council heard from Bike Newport Executive Director Bari Freeman, who supported the “road diet” concept. In her comments, Freeman said the move would make the entire stretch safer for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians alike at a minimal costs.
Freeman acknowledged the proposal was not the ideal, but it was a good stopgap until a dedicated bike path and other work was completed by RIDOT several years down the road. She also noted that if the “road diet” created more problems than it was worth, all that would be required to fix it was “road paint.”
To see Bike Newport’s entire letter to the council, visit https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/11721/Bike-Newport-East-Main-Road-Diet-Memo online.
“We all know that the lane configuration of East Main Road is dangerous and stressful,” Freeman said. “The road has four travel lanes, no turn lanes, mostly no shoulder and side streets and driveways on both sides of the road. We all know what it feels like to have to stop in the travel lane and wait to make a left turn. It’s scary to sit there and feel rushed.”
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/11764/NYCU-Diet