Portsmouth to state: Get rid of blue RhodeWorks signs

They’re ugly and they take up a a lot of good scenery in Portsmouth.”

John Vitkevich on RIDOT's RhodeWorks signs.

PORTSMOUTH — John Vitkevich now has an ally in his quest to get rid of all those “ugly” blue RhodeWorks signs in Portsmouth and the surrounding area: the Town Council.

The council Monday night voted unanimously to send a strongly worded resolution written by Mt. Vitkevich — albeit with a few minor changes — to the R.I. Department of Transportation (RIDOT). The resolution demands that all 16  (by last count) RhodeWorks signs in Portsmouth be immediately removed, along with a promise from the state not to install any more in the future.

Right after the vote, Mr. Vitkevich rushed off to the Tiverton Town Council, which also met Monday night, to make the same request. He also plans on speaking with the Bristol and Middletown town councils.

The placards — there are about 200 statewide, Mr. Vitkevich said — remind drivers of upcoming RhodeWorks projects and include Gov. Gina Raimondo’s name.

Mr. Vitkevich has been on a crusade since last fall to have the state remove the signs, which he said are unnecessary, a waste of taxpayers’ money, cause sign pollution and put drivers’ safety at risk.

“They’re ugly and they take up a a lot of good scenery in Portsmouth,” he told the council. “I think it’s time for the Town of Portsmouth to take a stand.”

One sign in particular makes his blood boil — at the corner of Sprague Street and East Main Road, which he calls a particularly dangerous intersection.

Mr. Vitkevich has sent numerous e-mails and has made several Access to Public Records Act (APRA) requests to RIDOT for more information about the signs, including their cost and future locations. 

He said while RIDOT supplied a list of 155 sign locations statewide as of last October 2016, it denied information regarding their cost, future locations and funding source. RIDOT Director Peter Alviti denied his request to appeal, and now the matter is under review by the state attorney general’s office.

In interviews with The Portsmouth Times and other newspapers, RIDOT spokesman Charles St. Martin said the signs cost about $135 each, a figure Mr. Vitkevich called unrealistic.

Local resident Peter Roberts agreed that the signs cost far more than RIDOT’s estimate. “They’re expensive,” he said.

Mr. Vitkevich found a sympathetic ear in the council. “These things don’t serve any useful purpose,” said council member J. Mark Ryan, who made a motion to add the demand that no future signs be installed.

The council voted 6-0 to send the resolution to RIDOT. Council member Kevin Aguiar, who works with RIDOT on occasion, abstained from the vote.