District School House No. 2 in Charlestown. Photo: Jerrye and Roy Klotz, MD via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Cyclists who ride Old Post Road through Charlestown may soon see painted bicycle symbols on the pavement, though probably not right away. The Town Council voted 5-0 on Oct. 13 to set up a field meeting with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation about bike safety on the road, and the state’s first suggestion is more signs, with markings possibly to follow.
The request came from the town’s Block Island Sound Bikeway Ad Hoc Committee, which has been working toward a coastal bike route through town. Its current focus is the stretch of Old Post Road from the South Kingstown line to Ninigret Park, near Mills Creek and the coastal ponds.
Signs first, sharrows maybe
RIDOT has already put up bicycle safety signs along that stretch, committee member Phil Moreschi told the council in an Oct. 2 letter, The Westerly Sun reported. The next step under discussion is sharrows on the same stretch.
A sharrow, short for “share” and “arrow,” is a painted bicycle symbol with two chevrons above it. It shows cyclists where to ride in a lane they share with cars and reminds drivers that bikes belong there. It does not create a separate bike lane.
“The sharrows are unobtrusive pavement markings; the RIDOT has indicated that they could be installed at intervals of approximately 500 feet,” Moreschi wrote. “RIDOT has suggested a meeting in the field to explore the options that exist.”
Because Old Post Road is a state road, RIDOT, not the town, decides what gets installed and when. Moreschi told the council that the department currently recommends more signage first, with sharrows possibly later. He said RIDOT had also asked whether the changes would affect the road’s historic character, one reason the committee brought the question to the full council.
Council President Deborah Carney said she liked the state’s approach. “I do like the DOT’s recommendation about the signage and going forward with that, and then maybe seeing how that works,” she said. She also wanted a council member at the field meeting alongside the committee, the town administrator and the public works director, saying decisions like this should come before the council rather than rest with the committee alone.
Councilor Bonnie Van Slyke said she preferred sharrows to more signs, and Moreschi confirmed the markings would go in both directions. Councilor Stephen Stokes asked whether the work would run from Route 1 to Matunuck School House Road. It would not, for now; the proposal covers only the South Kingstown line to Ninigret Park.
The vote authorizes the town administrator to arrange the meeting, which will include two council members, bikeway committee members, the town planner and the public works director. Carney said the council would name its two members once RIDOT sets a date.
Liquor license hearing set for Nov. 9
The council also ordered notices for a public hearing on beverage license applications, scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. The list covers 15 businesses:
- Charlestown Wine & Spirits
- Rippy’s Liquor & Marketplace
- The Cove
- Foster Pier Restaurant
- Meadow Brook Inn
- The Nordic
- Charlestown Famous Pizza
- The Breachway Grill
- The General Stanton Inn
- Downey Weaver Post 34
- Charlestown Rathskeller Tavern
- Shelter Harbor Golf Club
- N.O. Bar Clam Shack
- Caf Bar
- Monahan’s Charlestown
Volunteers wanted for a school building committee
Charlestown is also looking for three residents to serve on the Chariho Unified Elementary Campus Building Committee. The appointments depend on voters approving the Chariho school bond on Nov. 3. If it passes, the committee, with members from Charlestown, Richmond and Hopkinton, will oversee design and construction planning through the Rhode Island School Building Authority process.
It is not a light commitment. Members should expect meetings at least every two weeks, with homework in between, and the first meeting is expected in late November or early December. Council agendas and committee notices are posted on the town website.
For more on the town’s coastline and how its salt ponds are managed, see our earlier look at Ninigret Pond and the breachways.
