PORTSMOUTH/MIDDLETOWN — Following a public hearing that lasted well over two hours Monday night, the Middletown Town Council voted 5-2 to reject a motion to support a road diet for East Main Road in that town. 

The decision will likely put an end to any plans for similar lane reductions in Portsmouth, at least for the foreseeable future.

On April 8, the Portsmouth Town Council voted 4-2 to adopt as a “philosophy” a proposed road diet for East Main Road from Turnpike Avenue to the Middletown line that was presented by Ride Island, an organization that advocates for a connected pathway network to allow for safe cycling and walking on Aquidneck Island. 

The decision came despite last year’s recommendation by the R.I. Department of Transportation (RIDOT) against lane reductions for a major stretch of East Main Road due to high traffic counts. 

A road diet involves reducing a configured four-lane highway to two lanes, with a center turning lane. There are already several road diets in Portsmouth, including on East Main Road north of Turnpike Avenue, Turnpike Avenue, Bristol Ferry Road, and a section of Route 114 east of Turnpike.

Council members acknowledged on April 8, however, that a road diet along the longer stretch of East Main Road wasn’t possible without Middletown’s support. The meeting featured testimony in favor of the lane reductions from Middletown councilor Tom Welch, but he was one of only two members who voted for supporting the road diet on Monday.

The Middletown council meeting also featured testimony in support of the road diet from Portsmouth councilor Daniela Abbott. She cited “the number of crashes, the inadequacy of the road design with the tight shoulders and narrow lanes.”

RIDOT’s road safety assessment of 2020 recommended against a road diet along that stretch of East Main, citing high traffic counts. “They did not, however, discuss the safety benefits. They mentioned to us there would be a 50-percent reduction in crashes, but they did not include that in their report,” Abbott said. 

She told Middletown officials that it was time for RIDOT to “take a fresh look at it,” with a new “corridor study from top to bottom as to what would be appropriate for that road.” The entire stretch of East Main doesn’t necessarily need a road diet, she added, but improvements are obviously needed.