Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S1004 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2023 -- S 1004
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7	7	LC002923
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9	9	S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
12	12	____________
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14	14	S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N
15	15	CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND PROV IDE
16	16	RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE PAWTUC KET CORRIDOR
17	17	Introduced By: Senators Cano, Kallman, Britto, and Acosta
18	18	Date Introduced: May 15, 2023
19	19	Referred To: Senate Housing & Municipal Government
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22	22	WHEREAS, The Mineral Spring Avenue (Route 15) corridor between Route 146 and the 1
23	23	new Pawtucket/Central Falls train station is an important transportation route that connects the 2
24	24	City of Pawtucket to neighboring communities and regional transportation networks; and 3
25	25	WHEREAS, The corridor contains a variety of land uses, including commercial, 4
26	26	residential, and industrial areas, as well as cultural and recreational destinations; and 5
27	27	WHEREAS, In recent years, there has been a growing interest in improving the 6
28	28	Pawtucket corridor to reduce congestion, make it safer, more efficient, and more accessible for all 7
29	29	users of all modalities, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and motorists; and 8
30	30	WHEREAS, With the new investment in transit infrastructure coming to the area, 9
31	31	momentum has grown for creating safe and accessible connections to the station. Ongoing 10
32	32	projects in the immediate vicinity of the station -- such as on Exchange Street, Goff Avenue, and 11
33	33	Pine Street -- will expand transportation options for people traveling to, from, and through the 12
34	34	City of Pawtucket’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) District; and 13
35	35	WHEREAS, In addition, new residential, commercial, and office developments planned 14
36	36	in the TOD District will bring more people to the area at all hours of the day; now, therefore be it 15
37	37	RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created 16
38	38	consisting of thirteen (13) members, all of whom shall be familiar with designing roads safely for 17
39	39	all modes of transportation including: three (3) of whom shall be members of the Senate, not 18
40	40	more than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; 19
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44	44	one of whom shall be the Mayor of the City of Pawtucket, or designee; one of whom shall be the 1
45	45	Mayor of the City of Central Falls, or designee; one of whom shall be the Mayor of the Town of 2
46	46	North Providence, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the Blackstone Valley 3
47	47	Tourism Council, or designee; one of whom shall be a member of the RI Traffic Commission, to 4
48	48	be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be the CEO of RIPTA, or 5
49	49	designee; one of whom shall be the Associate Director for Planning, Rhode Island Division of 6
50	50	Statewide Planning, or designee; one of whom shall be the Chair of the RI Transportation 7
51	51	Advisory Committee, or designee; one of whom shall be the Director of the Rhode Island 8
52	52	Department of Transportation, or designee; and one of whom shall be from the Office on 9
53	53	Highway Safety, to be appointed by the Director of the Rhode Island Department of 10
54	54	Transportation. 11
55	55	The commission shall appoint, by majority vote, an outside firm with familiarity on 12
56	56	traffic design as a non-voting consultant/member to assist in producing a plan consistent with the 13
57	57	goals of the committee. 14
58	58	The purpose of said commission shall be to submit recommendations to improve the 15
59	59	Pawtucket corridor in order to reduce congestion, make it safer, more efficient, and more 16
60	60	accessible for all users of all modalities, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and 17
61	61	motorists by reviewing signal timing, performing a corridor analysis, implementing a Multimodal 18
62	62	Traffic and Safety Efficiency Assessment (MTSEA), and producing a plan consistent with the 19
63	63	goals as follows: 20
64	64	 Upgrades to the Route 15 corridor from Route 146 to the train station project to 21
65	65	accommodate all users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists, by improving 22
66	66	pedestrian crossings, adding bike accommodations, and implementing traffic calming 23
67	67	measures; 24
68	68	 Improve access to key destinations with the Pawtucket/Central Falls train station and 25
69	69	provide more efficient access for people to connect with important destinations such 26
70	70	as local schools, parks, and businesses; 27
71	71	 Initiatives to promote active transportation by creating a safer and more inviting 28
72	72	environment for walking and biking in order to encourage people to use these modes 29
73	73	of transportation more often; 30
74	74	 Sources for necessary funding to help meet the objectives of a corridor study which 31
75	75	are to identify the needs of all users, develop a vision and goals for the corridor, 32
76	76	evaluate design alternatives, analyze their impacts, and identify implementation 33
77	77	strategies to achieve the vision and goals; 34
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81	81	 Improve the quality of life for Rhode Island residents by providing safe, accessible, 1
82	82	and well-designed public spaces, streets, and buildings, including incorporating green 2
83	83	spaces, installing green stormwater infrastructure where applicable, providing 3
84	84	pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and helping to create more vibrant mixed-use 4
85	85	developments; and 5
86	86	 Recommendations to remedy the “Walk Bike PCF” study from January 2020, that 6
87	87	reviewed comfort level of streets and crossings in the cities that indicated the Mineral 7
88	88	Spring Avenue Corridor (Route 15) resulted in a “High Stress” LTS score. 8
89	89	Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at 9
90	90	the call of the President of the Senate, who shall appoint a Chair of the commission. 10
91	91	Vacancies in the commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment. 11
92	92	A quorum of the commission shall consist of a majority of its membership, and the 12
93	93	membership of the commission shall receive no compensation for their services. 13
94	94	All departments and agencies of the state, shall furnish such advice and information, 14
95	95	documentary or otherwise, to the commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or desirable 15
96	96	by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. 16
97	97	The Joint Committee on Legislative Services is hereby authorized and directed to provide 17
98	98	suitable quarters for the commission; and be it further 18
99	99	RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the 19
100	100	President of the Senate on or before May 7, 2024, and the commission shall expire on June 7, 20
101	101	2024. 21
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108	108	EXPLANATION
109	109	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
110	110	OF
111	111	S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N
112	112	CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND PROVIDE
113	113	RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE PAWTUC KET CORRIDOR
114	114	***
115	115	This resolution would create a thirteen (13) member commission to study and provide 1
116	116	recommendations for improving the Pawtucket Corridor, and would report back to the President 2
117	117	of the Senate on or before May 7, 2024, and would expire on June 7, 2024. 3
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