Portsmouth asks state to consider traffic light at Bramans Lane

‘Can’t see cars … until they’re right on top of you’

By Jim McGaw
Posted 7/10/17

PORTSMOUTH — Less than a month after the town asked the state to look into placing a traffic light at the entrance of Glen Farm on East Main Road, another group of residents wants a light …

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Portsmouth asks state to consider traffic light at Bramans Lane

‘Can’t see cars … until they’re right on top of you’

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — Less than a month after the town asked the state to look into placing a traffic light at the entrance of Glen Farm on East Main Road, another group of residents wants a light further south at Bramans Lane.

The Town Council Monday night voted 7-0 to ask the State Traffic Commission to study the placement of a traffic control light at the intersection of Bramans and East Main Road. The request follows action taken by the council June 12, in which it followed a recommendation by Police Chief Thomas Lee and asked the state to consider a light at the intersection of East Main Road and Linden Lane. 

Local resident Debra Clements told the council it’s a daily struggle for residents of the area to enter and exit the top of Bramans. Drivers routinely speed on East Main Road and don’t yield to other vehicles, she said.

In addition, visibility to the south is poor due to cars speeding up a hill, a problem that’s exacerbated when snow drifts accumulate in the wintertime.

“You can’t see the cars coming from Oliphant Lane (over the Middletown line) until they’re right on top of you,” Ms. Clements said.

Several people in the area have been involved in accidents, she said, including her own daughter. Ms. Clements also cited the lack of sidewalks in the area. She said she’s worried about a grandson, who has a disability and needs to catch the RIPTA bus on East Main Road.

Ms. Clements said she and her husband have been collecting signatures in the neighborhood and about 75 to 80 percent of those who signed it strongly believe that the light is needed.

Chief Lee agreed it’s a difficult and dangerous intersection. Drivers making a left-hand turn from Bramans onto East Main Road “are taking their lives in their hands,” he said.

Chief Lee said there have been 12 accidents at the intersection going back to July 2014. There were two more accidents during that timeframe at the entrance to the Gardner Seveney Sports Complex at Glen Farm, he said, although the severity of the crashes in both areas was not recorded.

Council President Keith Hamilton, who grew up at the bottom of Bramans Lane, said he suspected the accidents at the intersection of that street and East Main Road were more serious. 

Local resident Peter Roberts said the council should also request a traffic light at the corner of Hedly Street and East Main Road because that intersection has more traffic than the other two. He said it’s especially critical for the elderly and disabled residents of nearby Anthony House.

Town Administrator Richard Rainer Jr. replied that a future traffic light is planned for the Hedly Street/East Main Road intersection under the state’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

Larger safety issue

Another local resident said the need for a traffic light at Bramans Lane is just part of a larger issue of traffic safety on East Main Road. Council member Kevin Aguiar agreed, but said making concrete improvements is an expensive undertaking.

“Unfortunately, it’s a narrow corridor,” he said. “There are no sidewalks and it’s very costly to widen the road to get additional shoulders. The right of way’s there, but it’s a very large project.”

Council member Elizabeth Pedro said she supports a road diet — reducing the number of lanes from two to one, with a middle turn lane — to improve traffic safety. (A section of East Main Road on the north side of town currently utilizes a road diet, as does Bristol Ferry Road.)

“I think the road diet works; everyone’s doing a slow speed,” said Ms. Pedro. “I don’t know if people would go for it, but I like it. Unfortunately you’d have to get Middletown to agree to it, too.”

Portsmouth Town Council, Glen Farm, Bramans Lane, East Main Road

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