Photo by Jim McGaw, East Bay Newspapers (shows East Main Road in Portsmouth RI)
East Main Road safety improvements, including protected bike lanes, are on the docket for the Middletown Town Council on Monday, March 4th, 2024, at 6:30pm at Middletown Town Hall, 350 East Main Road.
At this meeting, the Town Councilors will hear a recommendation to pilot traffic calming to reduce crashes and increase safety on East Main Road during upcoming pavement work. This is an important opportunity to test the effectiveness of proven safety designs on the Middletown segment of this notably dangerous road.
The recommendation will be presented by Bari Freeman, representing Bike Newport and the islandwide project “Ride Island“. The docket further includes the Town Administrator presenting a memorandum from RIDOT regarding traffic calming measures for East Main Road. See the meeting agenda HERE and note items 17 and 19 respectively.
A pilot project could convert East Man Road from a 4-lane to 3-lane road including a center turning lane and protected bicycle lanes. This design follows Federal Highway recommendations for design and for planning the pilot reconfiguration in conjunction with the pavement work.
The interest so far expressed by RIDOT, Council members, and the Middletown Police focuses on the safety record of these traffic calming practices and the potential to improve safety on East Main Road.
About Road Diets and Center Turning Lanes:
The Federal Highway Administration stresses that this recommended “road diet” will reduce lane changes and result in consistent and safer speeds over longer distances leading to significantly improved safety, including:
- reduction of rear-end and left-turn crashes that are due to the dedicated left-turn lane;
- reduced right angle crashes as side street motorists cross three versus four travel lanes;
- the opportunity to install protected bicycle lanes, separated from motor vehicles;
- the opportunity to install transit stop and pedestrian refuge islands; and
- in general, a more community-focused Complete Streets environment that better accommodates the needs of all road users.
Additionally, this conversion can be accomplished:
- with minimal impact on total travel time;
- without changes to the road bed;
- at low-to-no additional cost; and
- with the ability to return to the original configuration if it does not work out.
Safety improvements to East Main Road are a priority project in the Ride Island Bike Plan, which is dedicated to establishing a safe bicycle network for Aquidneck Island. You can read and download the plan here.
Please consider attending the meeting if you are able.
Some informative links:
Federal Highway One-Pager on Center Turning Lane Road Diet
Report on Ride Island
Bike Newport