Residents of Admiral Kalbfus Road in Newport brought their neighborhood safety concerns to the State House on January 7, 2026. Admiral Kalbfus Road is a residential street in Newport that is frequented by drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, and also Class 7 trucks weighing over 25,000 lbs. The Newport City Council, supported by residents of the street, had requested that RIDOT establish truck weight restrictions on this road to improve safety for all road users.
OnJanuary 7, 2026, the Newport administrators, City councilors, and residents of Admiral Kalbfus Road presented their case for restrictions on heavy-trucks before the State Traffic Commission (STC). The commission vote at the end of the session was a 2-2 tie, resulting in failure of the motion.
The residents’ case was summarized by Newport Chief of Police, Ryan Duffy in his letter of support for the restrictions. “The presence of large commercial vehicles on Admiral Kalbfus Road presents an avoidable risk to public safety. The interaction between Class 7 vehicles and the dense, multi-modal traffic often found on Admiral Kalbfus – including passenger vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians – creates hazardous conditions. By restricting large trucks from this specific corridor, we can significantly reduce the potential for serious accidents and improve the overall flow of traffic.”
This video shows heavy trucks struggling to make the turn from West Main Road onto Admiral Kalbfus Road, scraping against a load-bearing telephone pole and riding up onto the sidewalk. The affected pole is attached by wires to a transformer pole across the street. The proposed truck restrictions would require these large trucks to use the established Coddington Highway truck route.
At the STC hearing, the residents made a powerful case. They were supported by Newport Mayor Charlie Holder alongside five additional Newport City Council members, as well as the letters from Chief Duffy and Superintendent of Newport Public Schools Colleen Burns Jermain who wrote: “The groundswell of support to establish the restrictions needed to direct trucks away from this residential road is our community expressing the urgent need to improve safety.”
After considering this testimony, the Commission was divided. Two commissioners, Chief Matthew Moynihan and Captain Jeffrey L’Heureux, representing public safety organizations, voted for truck weight restrictions, while commissioners Steven Pristawa and Lindsey Sasso, representing the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, voted against. With a 2-2 vote, it was a tie, and the motion failed.
Resident Jennifer Amaral, presented the resident case to the STC. She later shared, “The fact that there was not a majority vote from the STC in favor of the truck restrictions was surprising and disappointing. It is common sense to direct heavy trucks to a Highway instead of through a residential neighborhood. The State invested over $10 million dollars into improving the JT Connell/Coddington Highways and adding safety features such as the separated bike path. Why make that investment only to continue to direct large heavy trucks on a roadway that cannot safely support them?” Dr. Amaral is an engineer and professor at the University of Rhode Island and is a member of the Bike Newport Board of Directors.
Bike Newport’s Executive Director, Bari Freeman, worked with the residents to prepare the case and was present at the hearing. “The State Traffic Commission hearing led to a very concerning vote. A well-documented case that presented the significant risks to residents, children and the general public, resulted in the two public safety officials voting for the truck restrictions, and the two traffic engineers voting against them, “ she shared. “What happened here? Why does truck convenience ever trump public safety? Following this vote, the significant dangers and risks still exist. We need now to focus on advancing other safety improvements beyond the failed truck restrictions.”
What comes next?
While the Commission did not recommend truck-weight restrictions, Bike Newport is committed to advocating for traffic-calming measures that make this residential street safer for all road users. We’ll continue to provide updates on this ongoing situation.
Read More:
- Read this memo and this timeline of events, prepared by residents, for an encapsulation of the issues on Admiral Kalbfus Road.
- Read the letter from Superintendent of Schools Colleen Burns Jermain here.
- Read the letter from Police Chief Ryan Duffy here.
- Read this 2024 update on the situation posted by Bike Newport for historical context.
Bike Newport