ENHANCED STOP SIGNS PLANNED IN MIDDLETOWN
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (FEBRUARY 10, 2025) – The Town of Middletown will install enhanced stop signs in multiple locations.
As part of the community’s efforts to provide a better, safer experience on local roads, flashing stop signs will be going in initially in the Chase’s Lane neighborhood and along Green End Avenue near the Green End Pond reservoir.
Town officials said the goal is to draw additional attention to the presence of mandatory stops in areas where there have been issues in the past.
The enhanced stop signs will replace existing stop signs and light up as vehicles approach. No new stop signs will be installed through this program.
“Traffic safety is certainly one of the items that we hear about the most with the town,” Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said. “We’re taking a multi-phase approach to helping make Middletown safer for everyone and will continue to do so as potential solutions emerge.”
Over the past two decades, Middletown has worked aggressively to make itself a better community to drive, bike and walk.
In concert with efforts by the state Department of Transportation, most of the major intersections in town have been redone, including installation of dedicated signalized pedestrian crosswalks.
Sidewalks and bicycle lanes have also gone in along many stretches, most recently upper Aquidneck Avenue between East Main Road and Green End Avenue.
The town has pursued “traffic calming” measures of its own on local streets as well. The most visible instance was putting in “speed humps” on Chase’s Lane, Forest Avenue and Turner Road.
Last year, the town also experimented with temporary speed bumps, signs and other devices to impact traffic on Paradise Avenue.
At the group’s last meeting Town Councilor Charlie Roberts asked for a town-wide study of traffic on Middletown streets, something Brown said he would report back on at a future session.
Police Department leadership has also pledged to ramp up its enforcement of speeding and motor vehicle regulations throughout town.
As for the enhanced stop signs, Brown said the town and Police Department will see how they work and whether they’d be effective in other areas after they’re tested along Chase’s Lane and Green End Avenue.
If you have non-emergency concerns about traffic and related motor vehicle safety issues, file them at https://mdl.town/Helps online under the “Traffic Safety Concern” heading towards the bottom of the page.
“This is an area where there’s clearly no one solution,” Brown said. “It’s also an area where we’ve heard our residents and businesspeople and we want to do what we can to help make it safer for everybody.”
Document Link: https://mdl.town/NYCU-Enhanced
About Middletown
The Town of Middletown is a vibrant municipality located on Aquidneck Island, known for its scenic beauty, historic landmarks, diverse economy and strong sense of community. For more information about all we have to offer, visit MiddletownRI.gov online.
Media Contact
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401-842-6543
msheley@middletownri.com