Opposition to Roger Williams one-way plan

Dear Mayors Elorza and Fung:

For 36 years, I have driven from my home at the edge of Roger Williams Park, to the traffic light at Park View Middle School on Park Ave. in Cranston, via a short section of FC Greene Blvd at Haddon Hill Road - this is a critical daily link for me to get to pretty much every obligation I have on a daily basis. Recently, brand new one-way signs have been posted (but covered), at the intersection of Haddon Hill Rd. and FC Greene Blvd. in Roger Williams Park. The new one-way signs continue along to the rotary at Montgomery Avenue, which will direct auto/truck/bus traffic northward, to a Beachmont Ave. in Cranston, in order for drivers to get to Park Ave and Routes 10 and 95.

Traffic now heading south from points along FC Greene Blvd from the rotary at Montgomery Ave., which splits with the south side in Cranston and the north side of the street in Providence, will need to hit Broad St. in Providence, or, continue through the Park to the entrance on Elmwood Ave. in order to get to routes 10 and 95.

All-side streets that feed onto FC Greene Blvd along this route will now need to egress on to Broad St. or Warwick Ave., and then onwards to a right onto Park Ave., in order to access routes 10 and 95 and points west.

This new routing sends vehicles down Beachmont Ave., and puts you directly in front of Chester Barrows elementary at morning rush hour, or, to a very steep Haddon Hill Rd. and Western Promenade, which enter (maybe) Park Ave., before the traffic light at the entrance to Roger Williams Park at Park View Middle School, making new long lines along three roads imminent.

There are no traffic controls on any of these streets, save a Stop sign, which will create a wildly dangerous situation for the scores of kids, parents and school buses that use these streets during the school year. Hazardous conditions will be increased exponentially for the students who walk these roads as side-street traffic becomes a nightmare. This new routing is a totally unnecessary impediment to the safe and orderly flow of traffic in this area, especially during the morning commute, when many cars and buses use these streets to traverse the Park to pick-up and drop off students in the Edgewood and Washington Park neighborhoods . This by-way is also used by many, many workers who use FC Greene Blvd in the Park to get to Rt. 10 and 95 and their jobs. This street is a big collector road and there are no other options for people in this area to get to the highways, unless they are all routed through the one-ways in Roger Williams Park to Elmwood Ave and Broad St in Providence, which will result in another excruciating wait at both of these already busy lights. Traffic is now pretty awful on Park Ave. in Cranston in the mornings and it's unlikely commuters will graciously allow a new glut of cars onto Park Ave. from these side streets. Traffic back-ups will become unnecessarily worse along Broad Street, Warwick and Park Avenues, if this new routing scheme is implemented. This is a major inconvenience for hundreds if not many more, residents from both Providence and Cranston, who use this section of roadway in their daily commute. These residents also support the Park with their recreational use too.

This section of roadway is always busy and a one-way on FC Greene Blvd. will set up a dangerous and unnecessary traffic nightmare, which can be totally eliminated by the removal of the proposed one-way routing from the Park Avenue entrance through to the rotary at the end of Montgomery Avenue in Washington Park. This is a terrible move for our residents and I implore Mayors Elorza and Fung to work together to remove this one-way designation from this section of Roger Williams Park, to safely accommodate the school children, workers and even bicyclists, who transit this roadway on a daily basis. Thank you, Mayors.

Lynne Harrington Edgewood