PORTSMOUTH — In two separate resolutions approved unanimously Monday night, the Town Council told state transportation officials to reconsider proposed funding cuts to local bike projects and to reject any further delays on East Main Road improvements.

Under an amendment to the state Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) that was requested Jan. 24 by the R.I. Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and the R.I. Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), funding for the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), the primary source of funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects statewide, would be slashed by 33 percent over four years.

Biking advocacy groups immediately objected to the proposed cuts, saying it would eliminate planned bikeways on Aquidneck Island and elsewhere. 

RIDOT claims it’s not eliminating any bike projects on the island, only delaying them as a result of reduced funding to the department. 

“We must use our limited funds for vital safety concerns,” RIDOT spokesman Charles St. Martin said.

Council member Daniela Abbott, an advocate for alternative transportation programs, read both resolutions into the record before the council voted to sent them to state officials and legislators.

The first resolution asks TAP and the State Planning Council to reject the proposed TIP amendment and requests RIDOT to “address the transportation budget shortfall within the more robust highway and pavement projects and leave the already underfunded (TAP) intact.”

The resolution also requests that RIDOT consider every road project a “complete streets" project and work to maximize the safety of all road users by accounting for motorized traffic, bicycles, and pedestrians in every road design.

The second resolution addresses the same TIP amendment, but focuses on a proposal to delay essential improvements to East Main Road.

The state is proposing to delay resurfacing East Main Road, from Hedly Street to the Middletown line, until 2024. In addition, it’s proposing to delay until 2027 the following work: Resurfacing, constructing a roundabout, limited sidewalk replacement, limited sidewalk extension and handicapped ramp installation on East Main Road, from Turnpike Avenue to Hedly Street.

The resolution says East Main Road, a major thoroughfare for Middletown and Newport, is “rapidly and dangerously deteriorating” and improvement projects have already been delayed for years. According to the resolution, there were 180 motor vehicle accidents on East Main Road.

The council voted 6-0 to approve both resolutions. Council President Kevin Aguiar, an engineer who works on numerous transportation, infrastructure and site design projects, abstained from both votes.  

Council members reminded residents of two upcoming hearings on the proposed amendments, and urged them to attend to speak out against the cuts.

The first will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 25, at Narragansett Town Hall, 25 Fifth Ave., Narragansett. The second is at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28, in the second-floor Conference Room A at the R.I. Department of Administration, 1 Capitol Hill, Providence.

“This isn’t just for our town; these cuts are across the board,” said council member Keith Hamilton, adding that the state needs to do “a much better job fixing our roads.”

Glen Manor House

In other business Monday night, the council unanimously approved a two-year contract extension for the longtime resident managers of the town-owned Glen Manor House, Katie and Don Wilkinson.

The action came more than two years after the council voted to ask town staff to analyze the condition of the building, recommend improvements and provide recommendations on how to maximize benefits for the town going forward.

Town Administrator Richard Rainer, Jr. said he and the head of the Glen Manor House Authority met with members of the Preservation Society of Newport County in August 2017 to discuss the business model in place at the Manor House, and to solicit their ideas. 

“The result of that meeting was a resounding affirmation of what what we were doing at that property, an affirmation for the business model,” Mr. Rainer said.

After that, the town also solicited studies on the building’s business model and architectural aspects from Roger Williams University. Both reports also agreed with the Preservation Society’s conclusion, he said.

In addition, the Glen Manor House Authority recommended extending the Wilkinsons’ contract for another two years, with the possibility of an additional two years. 

In a letter to Mr. Rainer, Authority Chairperson Karen Menezes said in the approximately 25 years the Wilkinsons have been managing the property, rental sales have increased dramatically, allowing more than $1.7 million to be spent or reserved for restoration and improvements, while adding more than $3 million to the town’s general fund.

More action

In other business:

• The council accepted the Harbor Commission’s recommendation to change the date a late fee is charged on commercial moorings from march 15 to May 1. The change was requested by some marina owners to more closely align the times they pay the town for commercial moorings with the time their customers pay the marinas for the moorings.

• The council accepted with regret the resignation of Glenn Allen from the Portsmouth Canvassing Authority, effective when his term expires on April 8. The council expects to appoint a successor at its next meeting.

• Marybeth Clark was appointed to the Conservation Commission and Mil Kinsella to the Dog Park Operating Committee.