Sent this last week, and cc'd Carcieri. Wanted to give it time to wend its way to Providence, but also wanted to put the DOT and the Governor on public notice that they are running a road through our town which fails to meet Federal standards. (Hey, as Tailgunner Gleason says, "Listen to the State!" Oooh, I need to put that on a T-shirt...)

Jerome F. Williams, Director
Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Two Capitol Hill
Providence, RI 02903

Dear Director Williams,

Conditions on East Main Road in Portsmouth, also known as Route 138, have long been a source of concern for both the local community and your Department, and we thank you for the work you have done for our town in planning for critically needed improvements. But the time for planning is over: action is desperately needed, and soon.

This week, a Portsmouth High School freshman was struck and critically injured only yards from the spot where a senior citizen was killed 18 months ago. And this week’s accident did not involve a drunk driver at night; this was an off-duty police officer in clear afternoon conditions. Strong evidence that this is a design, not human factors issue.

The State Police investigator, Captain James Swanberg and Portsmouth’s Police Chief Lance Hebert are quoted in yesterday’s Providence Journal acknowledging that the "normal flow of traffic" is "35 to 40 miles an hour." You are obviously aware that such speeds are incompatible with uncontrolled pedestrian crossings on 9-12K ADT four-lane roads with no medians (As per Table 11 on Federal Highway Administration Highway Research report (http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pubs/04100/04.htm), and yet those are the conditions which exist on this State Highway.

We need the roundabouts your Department has planned for East Main Road, and we need them now. Please let me know what steps RIDOT plans to take. Thank you.

Kind Regards

Ball's in your court, Governor...