Committee on Public Works

Councilman Vargas is absent. May I have brief present? Have you absent? We had a vote. Thank you.

Can you please read number one?

In accordance and amendment of chapter 15 of the court of ordinances of the city of Providence entitled motor vehicles and traffic as amended to add sections 15 dash 18 through 15 dash 20 to article one in general.

Thank you.

And I want to you are. Can you please explain? Yeah. Yeah. You you hear chairman, or would you go on?

I'm just fine. Okay.

So I wanna thank the members of the committee for allowing me to speak on this. So this is an ordinance that we worked for over Providence Street's coalition on, and it is essentially a a pilot ordinance for no turn on red. And if I may, I don't I don't actually have the current sponsors of this legislation. Clerk will be voluntary. Can you read that?

Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much. Sure.

I appreciate it. So the the purpose of this ordinance is to make our streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists and families that are using our our streets. And there's there's quite a lot of research about no right... No no turn on red. Anyhow, that makes the situation a lot more safe for for people, particularly in downtown locations where you have a lot of just traffic, you know, people going to the mall, and then a lot of pedestrians.

So, again, the the goal is to prohibit right turns on red throughout Downtown Providence. There are already several intersections throughout downtown where you're not allowed to turn right on red, so this would basically be expanding that. And restricting right turns on red can actually reduce close calls between drivers and pedestrians pretty significantly. So the legislation aligns with our comprehensive plan and recommendations from the Greene and Complete Streets Advisory Council. But most importantly, the ordinance provides flexibility for our traffic engineer to authorize exceptions where safety can be demonstrated.

And I I wanna thank a number of people who were really instrumental in in helping shepherd this ordinance forward, particularly the the Providence Streets Coalition, Dylan Giles as well as Liza Berkin. We've been working with them pretty intimately on this on this legislation and asking the committee members to consider supporting it. Committees awaiting the whole court on the full court if the province is canceled.

Got a question for you,. When when you say, like, downtown, from where from where to where is the town? You like, in which street? Like, downtown in the police complex That's the number, or you just come over with this area here? Like

Well, the the ordinance specifically says downtown, broadly. So The entire area. Yeah. The signal intersections of downtown. And that and that would be based on the internal GIS maps that we have of downtown, which is which is defined by our our our planning department.

We have someone from the below here to testify on this too? Thank you. Thank you. Please use your right hand. Do you

I do.

The state name, mister Bobby.

Leader, sir. Energy engineer, traffic engineering, and public works.

I I also... Sorry. Be remiss if I don't think about me. So we we shared this months and months ago with the with the administration and and the traffic engineer, and we've also been in touch with the folks from from DOT. So all of those those inputs were were instrumental in in drafting this assortments before it it came before the city council.

So I wanna thank Nate for his his assistance and his feedback on this as well.

What do you think, Nick? The body is new. Yeah.

I I I agree with with the councilman that, you know, efforts to improve at FPA and Safety. You know, that's where a lot of the accident issues are in in recent history, and, you know, turn on red above that. So I'm... I am in in favor of this. I I I think we should just clarify a couple things.

Okay. Whether it's... The intent is to not allow red turn on red or not allow it when it's signed as such, with no turn on red sign. I I would be in favor of the latter. So you...

If we could just clarify that in the, you know, the right... In in the the text of the the of the ordinance.

Could you just clarify that? Sorry. What... What's the distinction that you're planning out for us?

Right. So, I mean, you could you could pass the order as it says there's no turn on red in a downtown initially and then wall signals, or or you could you could phrase it so that it's no turn on red, but it's got a design as such. So, I mean, I I I can see traffic audiences both from the state that... That's you

know Accommodate a combative sign. Right. Right.

Oh, so that's what's... Right. So someone can't get taken without, you know, signing a tunnel in that. So

I'm not asking that.

Well, what But there are many streets already with the sign that says long term. Right? Yeah.

But not not necessarily all of them.

Not all of Yeah. Right.

Yeah. And I And

I I think I think it makes us pretty safer, really, and the pedestrians. So I I have no objection to that, but... And there are mins... Ministries that already have them. So it is, yeah, similar to

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, when we the city, couple years ago, did an initiative of doing lead pedestrian interopen, and we we started to put some note on this out right there.

Yeah. Which is the part? How much I get... How much I wanna get if I try one? Because I do that every day.

Will we have advice for it?

Yeah. This is based on the the existing ordinances, but there's a there's a first instance of noncompliance, which would be a warning. When this gets adopted, and then subsequent violations will be subject to a to a $75 fine. But the the ordinance, the way that it was written was to provide people with care of warning just so there's not a heavy hand, especially as as as this gets adopted. But, again, ultimately, the the goal is to keep people safe.

So to to help pedestrians cross safely to ensure that downtown, which is highway traffic from a pedestrian perspective, is is is more safe.

Go ahead. Yeah.

And and that's what gets a little bit confusing because you're making a... You're expecting reference to downtown, but we have it already on Broad Street. We have it on Elmwood Avenue. We have it around the city. So what will be the difference, Nate?

Well, if you if you read the notice, it actually expands in 2028 to the... To all city traffic signals.

So why is it saying specifically that that

Initially. Starting in 2027.

K.

Yeah. We do have it throughout.

Yeah. I mean, it's a short time to get the remaining signs up. I mean, there are some intersections up, but it could be.

But it's around the front. Right. Pretty much you know.

Well But it it will, you know, it will

It says it's it's 28, so it will be... Basically, like, a year. So downtown

It'll be 27 for downtown. Was that