| R 420 |
| 2023 -- S 1004 Enacted 06/14/2023 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE PAWTUCKET CORRIDOR |
Introduced By: Senators Cano, Kallman, Britto, and Acosta |
| Date Introduced: May 15, 2023 |
| WHEREAS, The Mineral Spring Avenue (Route 15) corridor between Route 146 and the |
| new Pawtucket/Central Falls train station is an important transportation route that connects the |
| City of Pawtucket to neighboring communities and regional transportation networks; and |
| WHEREAS, The corridor contains a variety of land uses, including commercial, |
| residential, and industrial areas, as well as cultural and recreational destinations; and |
| WHEREAS, In recent years, there has been a growing interest in improving the |
| Pawtucket corridor to reduce congestion, make it safer, more efficient, and more accessible for all |
| users of all modalities, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and motorists; and |
| WHEREAS, With the new investment in transit infrastructure coming to the area, |
| momentum has grown for creating safe and accessible connections to the station. Ongoing |
| projects in the immediate vicinity of the station -- such as on Exchange Street, Goff Avenue, and |
| Pine Street -- will expand transportation options for people traveling to, from, and through the |
| City of Pawtucket’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) District; and |
| WHEREAS, In addition, new residential, commercial, and office developments planned |
| in the TOD District will bring more people to the area at all hours of the day; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created |
| consisting of thirteen (13) members, all of whom shall be familiar with designing roads safely for |
| all modes of transportation including: three (3) of whom shall be members of the Senate, not |
| more than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; |
| one of whom shall be the Mayor of the City of Pawtucket, or designee; one of whom shall be the |
| Mayor of the City of Central Falls, or designee; one of whom shall be the Mayor of the Town of |
| North Providence, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the Blackstone Valley |
| Tourism Council, or designee; one of whom shall be a member of the RI Traffic Commission, to |
| be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be the CEO of RIPTA, or |
| designee; one of whom shall be the Associate Director for Planning, Rhode Island Division of |
| Statewide Planning, or designee; one of whom shall be the Chair of the RI Transportation |
| Advisory Committee, or designee; one of whom shall be the Director of the Rhode Island |
| Department of Transportation, or designee; and one of whom shall be from the Office on |
| Highway Safety, to be appointed by the Director of the Rhode Island Department of |
| Transportation. |
| The commission shall appoint, by majority vote, an outside firm with familiarity on |
| traffic design as a non-voting consultant/member to assist in producing a plan consistent with the |
| goals of the committee. |
| The purpose of said commission shall be to submit recommendations to improve the |
| Pawtucket corridor in order to reduce congestion, make it safer, more efficient, and more |
| accessible for all users of all modalities, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and |
| motorists by reviewing signal timing, performing a corridor analysis, implementing a Multimodal |
| Traffic and Safety Efficiency Assessment (MTSEA), and producing a plan consistent with the |
| goals as follows: |
| Upgrades to the Route 15 corridor from Route 146 to the train station project to |
| accommodate all users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists, by improving |
| pedestrian crossings, adding bike accommodations, and implementing traffic calming |
| measures; |
| Improve access to key destinations with the Pawtucket/Central Falls train station and |
| provide more efficient access for people to connect with important destinations such |
| as local schools, parks, and businesses; |
| Initiatives to promote active transportation by creating a safer and more inviting |
| environment for walking and biking in order to encourage people to use these modes |
| of transportation more often; |
| Sources for necessary funding to help meet the objectives of a corridor study which |
| are to identify the needs of all users, develop a vision and goals for the corridor, |
| evaluate design alternatives, analyze their impacts, and identify implementation |
| strategies to achieve the vision and goals; |
| Improve the quality of life for Rhode Island residents by providing safe, accessible, |
| and well-designed public spaces, streets, and buildings, including incorporating green |
| spaces, installing green stormwater infrastructure where applicable, providing |
| pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and helping to create more vibrant mixed-use |
| developments; and |
| Recommendations to remedy the “Walk Bike PCF” study from January 2020, that |
| reviewed comfort level of streets and crossings in the cities that indicated the Mineral |
| Spring Avenue Corridor (Route 15) resulted in a “High Stress” LTS score. |
| Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at |
| the call of the President of the Senate, who shall appoint a Chair of the commission. |
| Vacancies in the commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment. |
| A quorum of the commission shall consist of a majority of its membership, and the |
| membership of the commission shall receive no compensation for their services. |
| All departments and agencies of the state, shall furnish such advice and information, |
| documentary or otherwise, to the commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or desirable |
| by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. |
| The Joint Committee on Legislative Services is hereby authorized and directed to provide |
| suitable quarters for the commission; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the |
| President of the Senate on or before May 7, 2024, and the commission shall expire on June 7, |
| 2024. |
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| LC002923 |
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