To the editor:

I applaud the Portsmouth Town Council for requesting a safety study of East Main Road. Rather than asking too much, as some suggest, I would argue that Portsmouth and Middletown historically have asked too little from the state Department of Transportation, despite decades of acknowledged safety problems.

East Main Road is the “Main Street” for much of Portsmouth. Businesses, individual homes, and entire neighborhoods — including mine — have East Main Road as their only outlet, and therefore require left turns from the passing lane. Traffic lights and legitimate uses of the road, including school buses, school zones, nursery tractors, and left-turning cars, become obstacles for impatient, speeding drivers.

How many crashes, injuries, and fatalities do we need to witness before our community demands design changes to reduce speeds?

RIDOT repaving of the road is slated to begin by 2022. We need to let RIDOT know that crashes every other day (on average) are unacceptable and that more than repaving is necessary. I encourage fellow residents to pay attention to the safety study, and to join me in advocating for positive change. 

Charlotte North

17 Randall Lane

Portsmouth