Preserve Portsmouth sent an e-mail to supporters this morning urging everyone to attend the Town Center workshop this evening, 7pm, at the Town Hall. They included a letter to the Daily News written by the Town Center Committee:

Due to the large number of accidents along the section East Main Rd from Town Hall to the intersection of Turnpike Ave, this area - Town Center -- has been identified by RIDOT as being listed as a "High Hazard" location in need of reengineering. Police records indicate in the time period between 2007 and 2009 there have been an average of over 2 ½ accidents a month on this stretch of road as well as the death of one pedestrian and serious injuries to another. This year, through March, this area has experienced an increase to 4 accidents per month with one pedestrian recently being sideswiped while trying to cross at the light located at the intersection of Turnpike and East Main Rd.

A Federal Appropriation has been received through Senator Reed's Office to do the engineering of the safety improvements proposed by the State DOT and - since it was secured through the efforts of the Town Center Committee at the direction of the Portsmouth Town Council -- the Town is assured it will be proactively involved in the decision-making process and plans for the proposed modifications. RIDOT has other priorities and limited funds so it behooves us to work intimately with them to ensure road improvements are undertaken with the best interests of the Town and the safety of its citizens in mind. This Appropriation will bring the road safety engineering project close to a "50% development stage" and, in the process, will detail the ramifications of including roundabouts, wider travel lanes, shoulder areas, safe crosswalks and sidewalks determining if and how they will work. When completed, this effort will put the road into the "construction" category of the State's Transportation Improvement Program, meaning it is ready to be built pending funding. Having been the one who secured this appropriation, the Town will have input throughout the process.

Dating back to 2003, there have been numerous public meetings as well as contact with businesses and residents in this area of town. There have been two public workshops, most recently at the High School where DOT made a presentation to several hundred people and received overwhelming support from the people attending. Other smaller town-wide and neighborhood presentations have been made including one open to everyone at the Library. And, meetings have been held with the Portsmouth Business Association, the Portsmouth Rotary, and the Portsmouth Garden Club and, at every turn, the committee has always received the permission of the Town Council to go forward with any and all of their actions.

As to development possibilities in the area, nothing is being done by the Town Center Committee to foster more growth. It has always gone forward with ideas and potential scenarios to improve that area with the best interests of the Town and its citizens in mind. The Town does not own or control any land in the area along East Main Road. Any new development will come about through private investment. The Town, through the Committee's hard work, has placed itself in a position to control what is built and what it will look like. Plus, new zoning regulations have been put in place that only clarify conditions under which property in the area, that have long been zoned as "commercial", can be developed. The Committee also looked into alternative ways for the property owners to handle their water run-off and waste water, including a common septic system in several locations near to Town Center...not just the property along Turnpike Avenue. And, there have been initial reviews of ways to beautify and create a sense of place in the Town Center area. Including sidewalks, safe crossing areas, planted median down the middle of the road, better curb cuts, architectural design guidelines to name just a few.

But, none of this is a fait accompli since everything depends on safety of the roadway.

The Town needs the release of the $950,000 to make East Main Road safe as soon as possible! No more studies are needed...RIDOT has determined that the next step is the engineering design in order to refine the details of the plan. But, the citizens once again need to be heard as to what they would like to see happen in this area. We invite everyone who lives in Portsmouth to become a part of this process. Hear what DOT has to say at this workshop about our road and how we can make it safe. Please come to the Town Council Workshop on Monday, May 3 at 7 P.M. in the Portsmouth Town Council Chambers.
— Portsmouth Town Center Committee

Resources:
Previous coverage here
Portsmouth Town Center web site

Editorial note: People have asked me when I'm going to post last week's meetings, and I apologize. I'm completely slammed at work, and I'm afraid that you can probably expect substantially reduced original content for the next couple of weeks.

The Portsmouth Town Council chambers were packed tonight, and most of the more than 60 people in attendance were wearing stickers showing support for the Potter League and their request for support for their capital fund. Unfortunately, due to miscommunication about deadlines for materials, the group was unable to do their presentation and action was deferred until Monday, May 4.

Christie Smith, the executive director, was allowed to make a brief statement and reiterated much the same thing said in her interview here: Regionalization works, there is a precedent for capital contributions, and this is a cost avoidance. Board chair Sheila Reilly added that "We never have or never will abandon animals of any community," and asked for a show of hands to see how many in the chamber had adopted from Potter. It appeared to be a majority.

Their request was rescheduled — with the rest of "civic support" — for next Monday night. For the uninitiated, "civic support" is exactly the same kind of euphemism as "unsuitable for placement" in animal-shelter speak. Unless there is a massive turnout that can sway the Council in a very difficult economic year, this one is looking at a needle.

Sigh. At least the packed house got treated to an otherwise very interesting session.

Chief Lynch (and his firefighters) got a standing ovation from the room for their work fighting the fire at the boatworks last week, and he reported on the outstanding mutual aid response, as well as the great work of our department. Including Portsmouth Lt. Jimmy Souza who, despite sustaining a broken leg, continued to hook up water supply and activate a hydrant, and waved the first responding rescue truck because he believed there was a civilian casualty.

Bob Andrews of the Portsmouth Economic Development Committee (PEDC) reported very preliminary results from the initial economic workshop in March and reminded everyone to attend the followup on Thursday (see more details and sign up here.) Dame Judy Staven, however, had a bone to pick with the results from the first go-round. "Is that the one where we were putting all the little dots on the lines?" Staven asked. "We all had 6 dots. We could put as many dots as we wanted. How can this be valid if one person could put six stickers on one line."

Not having been at that meeting, I can only assume that Ms. Staven is totally unfamiliar with the notion of dotmocracy, a neologism for the well-established facilitation technique used in many workshop settings to help visualize energy around topics and make consensus visible and shared.

"It's a standard industry practice," Councilor Jim Seveney pointed out.

"I disagree with that," said Staven. But don't think she was totally alone out there on that limb, sawing away. Tailgunner Gleason had her back. "Your point is well taken," said Gleason.

I'll leave the last word to PEDC chair Rich Talipsky. "All our meetings are open," he said. "If the public wants to make comments about our analysis, I invite them to come to our meeting."

In other new business, the Council unanimously voted to support a resolution brought in by State Senator June Gibbs, urging the legislature to nix straight party voting. Jim Seveney tried to get an amendment tacked on that would have put the question to the people of the state, but it had no traction. And who would trust "the people," given one of the factoids Gibbs used to support her position. "In Central Falls 50% vote straight party and I'm sure they don't know what they're doing," said Gibbs.

Did I hear that wrong, or did the Honorable Senator just diss the folks from Central Falls? I'm not party-line partisan on this issue, but that argument makes me puke. And while I'm largely indifferent, the fact that Operation Clean Government and the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition have lined up in support makes me want to fight the idea, well, just because.

Then it was Business Development Director Bill Clark's turn at the podium, with the same item he brings to the Council every year: a request for the state to consider funding work on the Town Center project. Council President Peter McIntyre raised a concern that the newly kicked-off Aquidneck Island Planning Commission study of traffic on the Island might alter or negate some of the proposed features *cough* roundabouts *cough* and was one of the two votes against. At least I found his objection thoughtful and reasoned. Tailgunner went off on a tangent arguing that the proposal was trying to "accommodate developers" and "I'm at the point where I can say I can't go any further." She tried to argue that it was analogous to being a private property owner. "I needed to install a septic system. I didn't ask Mr. Hamilton to pay for it."

Can we decide, people, whether we're going to treat government as a business (in which case, we're investing in our infrastructure) or as a steward of the public good (in which case, we're creating the economic conditions for entrepreneurs to thrive.) Either way, arguments from private property don't work. Actually, wait a second, maybe they do. If I want to rent my house, I probably need to put in a new septic system. I don't have $25K handy, so I go to BankNewport and get a loan. And where do you think that money comes from, Ms. Gleason? "Why, the money's not here," I say, going off into the "Wonderful Life" Jimmy Stewart voice that drives my wife crazy, "It's in your house...and your house...and your house." Yeah, Tailgunner, when you put in your septic system, I'll bet you asked A WHOLE FREAKING LOT OF PEOPLE for money. You just did it through the intermediary of a bank. You asked other people to lend you money, which you anticipated paying back because of the increased value of your property. Just like investing in public infrastructure pays a community back by creating jobs and broadening the tax base. But I digress.

Councilor Plumb put it succinctly: "It's going to cost money anyway," he said. "If we don't do any of that we're going to have to go to property taxes above the cap. If we don't approve the town center, [we're still] going to have to fill the [budget] gap. We have a crumbing infrastructure." He tried to appeal to the intelligence and talent of folks in Portsmouth at coming up with approaches to smart growth. "We have Middletown as an example," he said. "Portsmouth is smart enough to come up with a plan."

Expect much, much more yammering and sputtering at the yet-to-be-scheduled workshop on the Town Center.

Finally, in a rare feel-good proposal, Councilor Huck Little suggested part of the Glen be tilled and set up as a community garden. "Remember the Victory Gardens in '42," he asked. While some of the logistics need to be ironed out (water, and, as audience member attendee and master gardener James Garman pointed out, fencing to deal with inevitable deer) the Council voted to support the move and tasked Town Administrator Bob Driscoll with working out the details.

Meeting adjourned about 9:05.

Tonight's meeting of the Portsmouth Town Council was anticlimactic for those interested in the School Committee vacancy: the Council voted to table until the position could be advertised, setting a deadline of May 4. But there were some fireworks around an apparently innocuous item, a proclamation making April "Fair Housing Month."

Former Councilor Bill West asked to speak to the item, and brought up last week's Wastewater workshop. "Someone got up to say that people in Providence wanted to have low income housing in Portsmouth, and that sewers would bring low-to-moderate income housing. The room applauded, but I heard nothing from the Council," said West. "How can the town have a 'fair housing' proclamation and not address that issue?"

Council President Peter McIntyre noted that there had been quite a crowd in the room and it was possible the remark had been missed. Jim Seveney said that there were a lot of things said, "and if any [Council] member tried to rebut all of the comments that came across as inflammatory, we wouldn't have gotten done what we needed to accomplish."

Editorial note: By the time I got there last Wednesday night, it was so crowded I couldn't get into the meeting, and I haven't yet watched it on tape. I'll try to find the exchange and post it.

In other business, the Council unanimously reappointed several members of the Town Center committee, over the objections of Cheshire Kathy Melvin, who wanted to "table the activities of the Town Center Committee until it is economically feasible to believe that this is a project that has any opportunity for completion." (Could the fact that the Town Center project got Federal funding recently be making some people concerned that this might actually happen? Let's see what happens at the upcoming workshop.)

Portsmouth Police Department Chief Lance Hebert got two favorable decisions from the Council, one on providing a local "pay by mail" option for summonses issued by the Harbormaster (which would allow 100% of the payments to go to the Town, instead of the current 60/40 split with the State). The Council also approved the Chief's request to use existing funds and some stimulus money to replace the Harbormaster's aging boat.

"The Harbormaster had to be towed in 3 times last year. It's not just a case of not being ready for emergencies, it's quite embarrassing," said Hebert.

The Council authorized Town Finance Director Dave Faucher to proceed with a request for bids for a new 23-foot boat, estimated to cost about $60K.

The Council also approved the items in the Community Development Block Grant (including the skate park here in Island Park), so that will proceed.

Future meetings will be a joint session with the School Committee at 6pm on April 21, and budget workshops to be held on April 22, April 29, May 4, and May 6. Meeting adjourned just after 8pm.

By Mark Katzman

Last night's Town Council meeting was sparsely attended. Absent were councilors Dennis Canario, and also Karen Gleason who, I believe, has now missed three meetings in a row.

Placed on the agenda by Finance Director Dave Faucher was a report that was presented by a professional Actuarial Adviser with regard to Post-Employment Benefits Valuation. This was a very dense and complex report, filled with actuarial and finance terminology. The bottom line, however, is that there currently exists 13 million dollars of liability, which we are currently paying off at the rate of 1.5 million dollars per year. A discussion on how we might limit future liability ensued, with ideas such as increasing the number of years service or increasing the retirement age. The expert reported that these efforts would be helpful, but the immediate effect would be “fractional” and any such effort would do nothing to change our current liability level.

Town Administrator Bob Driscoll reported on the status of Governor Carcieri’s proposed State Budget/cuts to communities. In spite of all the rhetoric, much is still unknown about what the actual impact to towns will be. Council President Pete McIntyre suggested the Town impose an immediate freeze on overtime, but Driscoll pointed out that over 90% of all current overtime is for either snow removal, police, or fire, areas where we can not afford to cut. McIntyre accepted this news unhappily, but gracefully, and I give him credit for not attempting to grandstand over the issue. Incidentally, compounding the overtime issue is the fact that we have had so many snow storms already this year that have fallen on weekends — a time when overtime pay is required.

There was and is much angst over how we can possibly afford such things as our underfunded retirement liabilities. The truth, however, is that much of these costs, and much of our increasing costs, have to do with health care — a matter that is a national issue. It is probable (I hope) that changes effected under the Obama administration will have a dramatic effect on the health care cost burdens that are currently borne by towns, states, businesses and individuals across the country. There is very little we can do to more effectively plan at this point. The truth is that if/when the stuff hits the fan (financially speaking) then we will have to deal with it. My only hope is that when the time comes we will all focus on dealing with the situation, rather than wasting time tying to affix blame on those that came before us for "creating this situation."

Mr. Rizy of the Melville Park Committee reported that there has been up to now essentially very little in the way of actual or formalized rules for Park visitors. They have proposed rules that essentially reflect those currently in place at State parks, such as requiring people to carry out any trash they bring in, keep dogs on leashes, pick up after dogs ("mitts" are available on site) and no use of metal detectors (use of which encourages random and unauthorized digging). Camping has gone on essentially unregulated, but in practice the only known campers have been Boy Scouts. The new rules would require camping only by permit to "Organized Groups." Councilor Jim Seveney jested, "As opposed to unorganized groups?" and Rizy retorted, to much chuckling. "Why do you ask? Is the council planning to go camping at Melville?"

Attorney C. B. Chappell addressed the council on behalf of the owners of the west-side shoreline property that is best known as the former location of Albin Yachts, with a request to change the current zoning from "Industrial" to "Residential – 40." He pointed out that the current high-end condominium developments in the adjacent Carnagie Abbey properties were actually built in an "Industrial Zone" through a variety of legal hoops and loopholes. He suggested that his client could do the same thing, however, they are being upfront in asking the town to recognize that this land is NOT going to be used for industrial purposes, but instead will be (happily) utilized for high-end development that will bring in tax revenues, while not adding significantly to the need for town services (including schools). No vote was taken, but the Council appeared to agree with Mr. Chappell, and will begin the process required to change the zoning designation of this property, and perhaps the adjacent properties as well.

Bob Driscoll presented a report from the DOT on what the DOT considers to be "Shovel Ready" projects (i.e., projects that might be funded under the Obama administration.) On the list was the Sakonnet River Bridge — but not on the list was the Island Park Escape bridge. Mr. Driscoll was asked to write a letter to the DOT in this regard. Resident Kathy Melvin rose and provided a diatribe on her fears of the DOT funding what she repeatedly called "The Turn Arounds." She meant, of course, the "Roundabouts" — which is another way of saying “The Town Center Plan.” She has voiced opposition to the town center plan, considering it a waste of money. I believe the Town Center Plan is a good plan, but not a waste of money because at this time absolutely no money has been allocated for it. It is - a plan – a hope – a dream even. It is okay to have such things. Ms. Melvin feared the plan would be funded by a "DOT that cannot be trusted." After politely listening to Ms. Melvin, both Driscoll and McIntyre pointed out that her remarks were really on a matter that was not on the agenda.

Council President Dennis Canario and Chief Lance Hebert look on as Town Clerk Kathy Viera-Beaudoin swears in police officers.

The Portsmouth Council Chambers were packed with more than 60 people for the swearing in of half-a-dozen police officers to new positions (2 Lieutenants, a Sergeant, and a Detective). All the officers got a hearty round of applause from the Council and audience.

Most of the family, friends, and State Troopers left after that, but there were still about 25 folks there as the Council formally adopted the budget for 2008-2009, which Town Clerk Kathy Viera-Beaudoin read into the record. And, for the record, it comes in under the S3050 cap, with total tax levied at $40,364,490. It was a tough budget process, but, finally, it was over.

That was the end of the fun for the evening.

There was a landmine, as expected, in the item on Solid Waste. Committee chair Ernie Caron took the podium to explain the draft Request For Proposals (RFP) which was rejiggered following the appearance by Waste Management after the last unsuccessful attempt to award the contract. You'll recall that they did not believe the RFP had been properly circulated, and similar concerns came up this time, and loudly, from the Council.

Councilor Jim Seveney wanted to revisit the issue of a mandatory pre-bid conference, suggesting that it either be optional, or that it be canceled if only one bidder showed up. "There's got to be a better way than the last experince we had," said Seveney. "We're doing the same thing we did the last time that didn't work."

When Caron mentioned that to avoid a repeat of the last time that he and the committee had done some "advanced calling," it raised questions for several on the Council.

"What's going to happen if someone who's not on the list wants to bid?" asked Council President Canario. He worried this was reminiscent of the situation with Waste Management, where they felt they had not been notified. "I just want to make sure we don't get ourselves put in that predicament."

Tailgunner kept arguing that the last time had been "a glitch in the computer," which Councilor Seveney disputed. "I don't think that's a matter of fact," he said.

"There are at least two two companies interested," said Caron, trying to argue that the situation would not recur. But that only got the committee in deeper.

"How could they know," asked Seveney, "Before this Council has even seen it?"

Tailgunner tried to move on to another issue. "It's resolved in my mind," she said.

But Canario was having none of it. "My question still remains," he said. "Who was called, who was not called?" Neither Caron, nor committee member Judy Staven could remember who they had called. But Caron reassured the Council, "There was no solicitation whatsoever."

Eventually, they did move on, and discussed the minutiae of the RFP, including not allowing the operator to subcontract security. Canario wanted to be sure the Town had control over who was checking stickers. Gleason, on the other hand, wanted to be sure "We'll still have the spirit of recycling."

(Like the guy checking your sticker is going to say, "Irashaimasen!" Get real, Tailgunner.)

Then Caron had to defend the proposed change to regulations to prohibit personal construction debris from the transfer station.

"Where is a homeowner going to take it?" asked Canario.

"If I have a home and I'm stripping shingles, hire a dumpster," said Caron, who suggested that maybe they could have a separate construction debris container. When asked about how people could get their debris into such a thing, he opined that perhaps they could build some steps.

"If you're gonna put in stairs, you better plan to put a defibrillator down there," said Canario.

None of this was going over well with the Council. Seveney moved to table, and the whole item got put off to a workshop next Monday June 30.

The Council then took up a revised letter of to the State about the Escape Bridge, which had been stiffened up with some language and supporting detail about the importance of this route for evacuating Island Park. Bob Gilstein described the actual deterioration, which is mostly in the under-decking of the bridge where the bonding between the road sections has worn away, leaving the reinforcing bar connectors exposed and rusting. Like most RIDOT nightmares, this appears to have been another maintenance failure. The Council unanimously approved the letter requesting rehabilitation or replacement.

In other biz, the contract of Bill Clark, Director of Business Development, was approved for another year. A dispute about the condition of a house on Stagecoach Road ended up in Town Solicitor Kevin Gavin's lap, in an attempt to draft an ordinance that would provide some leverage in promoting better upkeep.

And the Council was considering the tentative ranking of respondents to an RFP for streetscape design work in the Town Center when Tailgunner wanted to revisit the whole idea. She was not sure the foot of Quaker Hill was the "best location" and wanted everyone to keep an "open mind" about moving it further up East Main Road. "Maybe up to Park Avenue."

"If this is being brought up now, where were we for the past 5 years?" Canario wanted to know. The Council approved the RFP ranking 5-1, Gleason opposed.

Then there was an insanely dragged-out discussion about the ponds at Melville Park, which, it was argued by Melville Park Committee Chair Ed Rizy, needed engineering analysis. "If you do nothing," said Rizy, "Melvile Park Campground will be called Melville Swamp Campground."

It was a very colorful turn of phrase, but by now it was almost 10pm, and the Council cut to the meat of the item, which was to do the first phase of the analysis for $12K. Tailgunner tried bravely to get the Council to spend almost three times as much for the whole package, but her motion failed, 5-1.

Tina Dolen announces traffic study

The Portsmouth Town Center project took a step closer to reality tonight, with the Town Council hearing good news from our local planning agency and an encouraging progress report from The Mayforth Group, the consultants developing the funding strategy.

Tina Dolen, the Executive Director of the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, announced that they had secured $500K from RIDOT for a "holistic," island-wide traffic study.

"We made proposal to RIDOT to conduct a corridor study," said Dolen, "A comprehensive analysis of how traffic moves across this island, as well as making sure that it flows." And she promised that two items of interest to Portsmouth would be fast-tracked: the Town Center and the potential impact of Burma Road.

This was of particular importance, given that the first part of this evening's meeting was taken up with a protracted discussion of re-striping East Main Road. Not part of the Town Center per se, the item was continued from Monday night, since RIDOT was here. And Bob Smith, the Managing Engineer of road design, confirmed that this had the solid support of the DOT.

Citing the "success of the restriping of Turnpike Avenue," Smith described a reconfigured East Main Road that would be two 12-foot travel lanes, with a 12-foot center turning lane, and 2-foot shoulders. Not only would it be safer for pedestrians, who would have less live traffic lanes to cross, but it would help reduce the rear-end collisions which make up the majority of accidents on that stretch. And since it's just a matter of removing the current lane markings, it could be done fairly quickly.

Police Chief Lance Hebert spoke in favor of the proposal. "You can only enforce so much," he said, and added that when it comes to speed, "we are our own worst enemies." He stressed that more important than adding cops with radar was making the road safer through design, with wider lanes and better visibility. "I believe that this design will do that," he said.

There were a couple of notes of concern from local property owners about mail deliveries and the risk of collisions in the shared turning lane, which Smith addressed with descriptions of how similar roads work elsewhere. Tailgunner Gleason took the questioning in a bizarre direction. She zeroed in on the crosswalk at the foot of Patriot Drive, and argued that it should be blasted off the pavement ASAP.

"Let me ask you a real dumb question," said Gleason. "Do you need to do the job?" What she had in mind was sending sending our Portsmouth DPW out to take off the markings. Smith patiently explained that it was a bit more complicated — a bad grinding and paint job could actually make the markings more prominent at night. And Town Solicitor Kevin Gavin reminded her that East Main Road is actually a State Highway. "It's the state's duty," said Gavin. "We have to remember it is not the town's responsibility." Oh, good idea Ms. Gleason. Can you imagine the liability if the Town improperly removed a crosswalk and something happened there? Way to add value, Tailgunner.

The Council approved a resolution asking RIDOT to do further analysis, and Smith promised to come back in a month or two. Then the Council finally got to the Town Center.

Carol Dietz, the chair of the Town Center Committee, did a quick recap of the project and next steps. They have developed a web site, and are ready to got out with two RFPs, a design study of the look-and-feel (a "streetscape" study) and an analysis of the bike/walking path. Committee memeber John Corbishley talked about a visual identity program in partnership with local businesses to help build awareness and begin to mark the section of road as different, something that could help with traffic safety even before the potential start of construction in 2011. After some back and forth, the Council agreed to let the Town Center committee earmark $20K of their Federal grant money. But Councilor Peter McIntyre wasn't happy about it. "I have a problem with spending that kind of money for that purpose."

Also quite unhappy was Cheshire Kathy Melvin, who questioned whether there was any data to support the idea that businesses would be motivated to locate in the proposed area, and called the whole project "an idea limping from Federal grant to Federal grant."

But Town Administrator Bob Driscoll did not let that go unchallenged. "Fundamentally," he said, The Town Center project is a traffic safety project. The goal is to make East Main Road safe in what is a very dangerous location." The attractivness to business, said Driscoll, was a side benefit. "Once the idea got out into the business community, they realized that having traffic slow down would be better for businesses. You're looking at the effect and confusing it with the cause."

"Maybe I'm having a dense moment," said Melvin, "But how does a dense concentration of small businesses add to the safety of the traffic condition?"

I know she's heard the answer before, but Driscoll tried again. "People drive the speed they perceive as safe. Right now, when you drive down East Main Road there, you don't see Clements, you don't see Posh and Naughty, you don't get the visual clues to drive slowly."

"It's a roundabout way to get to traffic safety," Melvin responded, prompting widespread chuckles. It seemed to take Melvin aback for a second until she realized why people were laughing. Because the project has roundabouts, you see. Get it? Uh, anyway. After more discussion, the Council voted 6-1 to approve the earmarking for the identity program, with Gleason the lone holdout.

I'm going to skip Bob Gilstein's review of the data on roundabouts. If you haven't see it at one of the previous workshops, you can get the skinny at the Town Center site. (Wait for the movie to download. Takes a minute, but it's fun to watch.)

Rick McAuliffe, Mayforth Group

The last item on the agenda was a preview of the funding proposal developed for the Town Center committee by the Mayforth Group, an advocacy consulting firm with deep experience in both Providence and Washington, D.C. Okay. That's a euphemism.

"We are lobbyists," said Mayforth Group chairman Rick McAuliffe, "Hired to work on a plan to identify Federal, state, and private funding." And with VP Erin Donovan, he did just that, quickly walking the Council through the report they'll be handing over later this month.

Considering that the total outlay for the project may be as much as $15M by the time DOT begins work in 2011, knowing we have the support of our Congressional delegation, as McAuliffe confirmed tonight, will be key. "This is a high priority for them," he said, adding that they received strong support from Rep. Patrick Kennedy, and were pleasantly surprised by the interest and knowledge Sen. Whitehouse showed. "It was surprising how much he knew," said McAuliffe, adding that Whitehouse knew the color of some of the houses along that stretch of road.

In one example that shows how wide a net they're casting, McAuliffe described how they helped the committee apply for funding for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ). "We made the argument that [the roundabouts] would mean cars not idling at a stop sign."

They are also working at the state level, where they are advocating legislation that would reduce the cost of relocating utility lines. "Rhode Island is the only state in the country where DOT pays the utilities. In every other state in the country, DOT tells the utilities and they pay for it." And, at a question from the Council, McAuliffe said it's not just shifting the burden to the ratepayers, since our bills are in line with Massachusetts and Connecticut.

McAuliffe also said that he received word from Senator Reed's office of plans for a stimulus package in September focusing on infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. Having that kind of program, said McAuliffe, "greatly enhances our opoortunity to get money this year."

Unfortunately, the Council was trying to wrap up the meeting, so McAuliffe didn't get a chance to go through all their slides, but did promise the report will be posted on the Town Center web site within two weeks.

It was a most impressive presentation. Even McIntyre was pleased, saying "We should have had YOU on first."

Agree completely. Having people in our corner like Mayforth, with their clear research skills and access are a must to put wheels on a project this big. And I know, there are probably some doubters out there who hear the word "lobbyist" and cringe. But remember: Lobbyists are only evil in the third person, as in "their lobbyists." In the first person, as in "our lobbyists," they are money in the bank. Literally. And that's just what we need to make this happen. Kudos to the Town Center Committee for hooking up with these folks.

More than 150 residents endured a sweltering evening in the Portsmouth High School auditorium to hear and discuss the proposal by the RI Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and the Town Center Committee for dealing with traffic on East Main Road. The solution takes the form of three roundabouts: one at Town Hall, one at Foodworks/Brooks, and one at BankNewport/Clements; it seems like the right idea, but residents had a lot of questions.

Why is the Town Center connected with the traffic project? According to the presenters, the goal is to anticipate and plan for desirable growth. "It's chicken and egg," said Carol Dietz, the chair of the Town Center Committee, who led off the evening with a description of the Town Center project. "We know there's going to be development" on that stretch of East Main Road. But in order to achieve the goals of walkability and character, careful planning is required. "Without traffic calming," she noted, "There is no Town Center."

Is this just more horrible rotaries, like down by the Pell Bridge? Nationally-known traffic consultant and roundabout expert Howard McCullough was on hand to get the residents up to speed on the ideas behind roundabouts. Unlike rotaries many may be familiar with from trips to the Cape, a roundabout is significantly smaller, and this reduction in size actually increases traffic flow by reducing speeds and opening up gaps. Compared to old-fashioned rotaries, said McCullough, "We doubled capacity by making the roundabouts one-third of the size." The key, he said, is "low speed, but continuous movement."

Is it safe? Yes, said McCullough, safety is the reason roundabouts have been picking up momentum across the country. "They are by far the safest at-grade intersection," he said, with astounding data on reductions in both severe and minor accidents, including zero fatal pedestrian or bicycle crashes at US roundabouts. "I can't do anything else to get a 76% reduction in crashes without closing the road."

If roundabouts are so great, why don't we see more of them? Robert Smith, a road design engineer with RIDOT admitted that it had taken their department some time to warm up to the notion of roundabouts, but that it had rapidly become a preferred solution. The only way to really fix East Main, he said, is to "Completely change the character of this road, and that's what we think needs to be done to address this problem."

How will this work? The plan Smith showed, with four 11-foot-wide travel lanes, a center median that would provide a stopping place for pedestrians, and wider shoulders would be 56 feet in total, an increase 16 feet, and there is continuing refinement of just how the roundabouts would be oriented to minimize impact on abutting propoerties. At present, the plan is in the study and development phase, and the next step, getting on the State's Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) and proceeding to a 30% design phase could take up to three years.

Town Center chair Dietz stressed the need for citizens to reach out to our Congressional delegation, and even had pre-printed postcards available to contact Kennedy, Reed, and Whitehouse. "It won't happen anytime soon without your help," she added.

The presentations lasted only an hour, but the Q&A went on until 10pm. There were a lot of great questions and observations. Questioned about the width of the road and eminent domain, Smith stressed that RIDOT aimed to do projects with a minimum of impact, and that there was no financial impact on the Town in cases where there was a need to reimburse homeowners.

The question of short-term fixes came up more than once, especially the urgent problem of pedestrian crossings. Bob Roccio, a RIDOT traffic engineer got up to field that one, and stressed that an infrequently used press-to-walk signal can lull pedestrians into a false sense of security, and that local drivers who rarely see it red are most likely to run it.

Given that the roundabout proposal seemed to be the right answer, Town Councilor Len Katzman urged RIDOT to act quickly. "We need a comprehensive solution. With the injuries and fatalities, I don't know how there could be a higher priority."

Sal Carcellar made the excellent point that we have Route 24 dumping traffic into Portsmouth, and the real solution to the pass-through volume is a highway that connects all the way through to Newport. Smith agreed wholeheartedly: "It would give you back East and West Main," he said, but noted that when RIDOT proposed it — twice before — they were "run off the island."

Asked if solutions for East Main are really either/or, (for example, could there be a traffic light at East Main and Hedley in the short term) Smith seemed open. "If it gets into the TIP, we'll still look at the short term," he said. "In the past, we have taken interim measures."

While the general sense of the questions was pretty positive about the roundabout proposal, there was also a lot of frustration about the 7-10 year timeframe. While I think we should all do what Carol Dietz proposed, and contact our congresscritters, I think there are probably still tactical measures that need to happen in the short term. But at least RIDOT heard this firsthand, and the citizens of Portsmouth did a good job tonight getting their concerns out on the table.

The following is a letter from Carol Dietz, Chair of the Portsmouth Town Center Committee, who worked with the RI DOT to develop the Town Center plan. There's a critical meeting with DOT on June 26, and I urge everyone to read Carol's post, look at the plan, and come to the meeting to press the DOT for action.

The recent tragedy on East Main Road in Portsmouth in which a high school freshman was seriously injured once again points out that something must be done to calm traffic and improve pedestrian safety in the area that runs from Town Hall to the Town Library and includes several shops and senior citizen housing complexes. But getting it done will take the concerted effort of Portsmouth citizens, town officials, and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.

A few years ago town residents formed a Town Center Committee and took a look at this section of East Main Road with state and national experts to see what could be done to create “a sense of place.” To no one’s surprise high traffic volumes and speed were identified as big barriers to creating a walkable town center. Traffic and planning experts believe the traffic could be tamed by redesigning the road. Working with Portsmouth residents, they came up with a Town Center plan that included traffic calming measures such as roundabouts, landscaped medians, and enhanced pedestrian crosswalks, thus creating a walkable community.

In communities across the country, traffic calming has been proven successful on heavily traveled, four lane streets such as East Main Road. Speeds, accidents and bodily injuries have been dramatically reduced. And, business districts have become healthier as well.

The Town Center Plan, developed in collaboration with state transportation officials, aims to slow speeds on East Main Road by changing the character of the road. It proposed three roundabouts, one at Town Hall, one at the intersection at Clements Market and a third in between. The roundabouts will keep traffic moving rather than creating the huge backup of stopped traffic now experienced at the one existing traffic signal.

Without roundabouts it’s likely more traffic signals will be added at the Brooks/FoodWorks areas as that property is developed, as well as in front of Town Hall. As more traffic signals are added, driver frustration rises and inevitably people drive faster to avoid red lights. The backup from three signals and the desire of most motorists to quickly “get to” the next light so they can “get through” the area would only make the situation worse! Three roundabouts, on the other hand, will keep traffic moving and introduce at least three separate areas that are designed so that a motorist can’t go any faster than 25 mph and pedestrians can cross safely.

Another feature of the Town Center Plan is a landscaped median that separates vehicles traveling in different directions. A median with plantings visually encloses the road, and has been shown to slow down traffic even when a road is still as straight and as wide as before there was landscaping. Creating a median also reduces the number of drivers making left turns and thus reduces accidents.

Pedestrians who cross East Main Rd today do so at considerable risk. There are no crosswalks in slow or stopped traffic areas. Traffic never stops at the intersection in front of Clements Market and, if it did, there would be huge backups as all four traffic signals brought motorists to a complete stop so a pedestrian could safely cross in any of four directions! Instead, three crosswalks are now placed away from that intersection, where crossing is least expected and just where the traffic is speeding up on the straightaway or are at peak speed when traveling down the hill.

Everyone is saying we need to do something NOW. The Town Center Project is the answer, but that will take some time before it will happen. A pedestrian activated stoplight placed somewhere between the bottom of Quaker Hill and the intersection at Clements is the best temporary solution. However, that is just a Band-Aid and not a solution to the overall problem. To have a walkable community we need to do what RIDOT has proposed...change the character of the road. To do this we need the support of the whole community. We need to tell our Legislators that this is a priority!

A public meeting with Rhode Island DOT, the Town of Portsmouth, and the Portsmouth Town Center Committee will be held on June 26 at the Portsmouth High School Auditorium at 7 p.m. to talk about the Town Center plan and proposed design changes to East Main Road. This is your chance to be heard...please come!

Carol A. Dietz
Chairperson
Portsmouth Town Center Committee

In a relaxed meeting tonight, the Portsmouth Town Council heard presentations from the committee working on the Quaker Hill/Turnpike Ave center, and representatives of the Potter League on their new building plan. It was a cordial meeting, a welcome break from the stress of court today, and a reminder of what Town Council meetings used to be like. Carol Dietz of the Town Center Committee (TCC) kicked it off.

"If properly developed," said Dietz, "It will give Portsmouth a sense of place." The emphasis, she said, was on traffic calming and walkability, to be accomplished by installing 3 roundabouts -- one at the top of the hill, one at Foodworks, and one at Clements.

After doing their initial work (Download the PDF) from 2002-2005, the 15-member TCC was on temporary hiatus last year as they waited for the State DOT to sign off on the roundabout concept. Not only did the State approve, but they are now aggressively pushing roundabouts in other communities.

The TCC was before the Council tonight looking for ratification of by-laws and reappointment of members in what amounts to a real kickoff for the group, and approval to begin shopping RFPs for design and communications work (all of which will be paid for out of a $190K Federal grant.) The appointments were accepted, the other items had minor rework and will be resubmitted to the council soon. Expect to hear much more about this as the TCC gears up for a workshop where they'll bring the DOT here in late June.

Most Aquidneck Islanders are familiar with the Potter League, the folks on Oliphant Lane who shelter the Island's stray and homeless animals, conduct education and outreach programs, and support animals and their companions. Exec Dir Christie Smith and President Sheila Reilly talked about their service line and vision.

"You talk about regionalization," said Smith. "The one regional program that works on Aquidneck Island is the Potter League." Indeed, the Potter League, for more than 30 years, has been the shelter for Newport County, and a very cost-effective one for the towns.

Portsmouth, which accounts for 20% of the stray and abandoned animals at Potter, provides just 4% of their funding with our annual contribution of about $48K. As Smith and Reilly pointed out, Portsmouth could never run a shelter for that number.

As many know, The Potter League has just embarked on a major facility renovation. Their current building, last upgraded in the 1980s, is too cramped to accommodate current volume, and the design of shelters has moved on from the concrete and chain-link pens of twenty years ago to something more welcoming for adopters, as well as providing space for education (both for the animals and people.)

To this end, they plan to break ground in May on a new 7.5M facility, and they are asking each of the communities on the Island for an additional 150K donation, spread over 3 years. This still sounds like a bargain to me, even added to our yearly contribution.

Update: Just had to add this snarky tidbit. Tailgunner Gleason, always looking for ways to save the taxpayer money, asked the Potter League president "Have you thought of fundraising activity?"

Sheila Reilly, principal of the nationally known market research firm the Reilly Group, former chair of the Aquidneck Island Land Trust, one of the biggest fundraisers in Newport County, gently replied to Gleason that they were in fact in the first phase of a multi-stage capital campaign.

But Gleason persisted. "Because, you know, kids like to collect pennies."

Make of that what you will.