RIDOT posted a press release on their site yesterday providing a little detail about the $10M they will be spending over the summer to make RI roads safer.
I was pleasantly surprised to read that about the
conversion of Coddington Highway in Middletown from a four lane roadway to a three lane (one lane in each direction and a center-turn lane) roadway with dedicated bike lanes.
This is a road I often use on my way to and from Newport after winding may way through what used to be Navy housing from Burma Rd. Coddington Highway has always felt a bit like a “highway”, not only by name, but also through it’s construction. Yet it boasted a 25 mph speed limit, which nobody ever headed.
In more troubling news, we read that RIDOT is making
improvements to rural roads by adding rumble strips
Obviously, this is of concern to cyclists because rural roads are a source of enjoyment and rumble strips do present a navigational difficulty for bicycle users, as they remove a significant amount of usable space from the shoulder, and present a hazard when needing to be crossed when leaving the shoulder to re-enter the roadway. We are in contact with RIDOT to determine where, if anywhere, they have been added and what the review process is for where they will be added.