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Uncle_Tony96 t1_iu0yt7k wrote

That Wickford intersection is impressively bad. Not sure what they were thinking. Maybe it was designed for far fewer people to go through it than they actually do

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degggendorf t1_iu16rc8 wrote

Good news, it's being changed to a rotary...and people are PISSED.

https://www.independentri.com/news/article_9cc1ad08-666b-11eb-9000-b3a7606a7908.html

Or town FB page post about it, with exactly the types of comments you'd expect: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OurNK/posts/2926367324259174/

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Uncle_Tony96 t1_iu18ib9 wrote

Lmao you were right about the comments. How will a small rotary ruin the quaintness or history of the town? Although I’m not sure why they wouldn’t just put a light

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degggendorf t1_iu1a31b wrote

Because that intersection really is a breeze the vast majority of the time...outside of the summer mornings and afternoons when it really sucks, traffic from any direction can just freely flow through. All the delays a light would introduce would be totally unnecessary. Although a light that's just flashing red/yellow most of the time would probably accomplish the same.

But I'm all for the rotary. I just want to watch the world turn.

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sporkemon t1_iu1hjdl wrote

I'm curious how they're going to squeeze a rotary in that space that doesn't require drifting to make the turn, just because the space there isn't that big and it's bounded by the bridge and the businesses. I agree that a light would clog up the roads and be more trouble than it's worth. I do think the intersection of tower hill and annaquatucket by the high school needs a light, because turning off annaquatucket is hell when school gets out and it's never going to get better on its own.

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degggendorf t1_iu1wgd9 wrote

>I do think the intersection of tower hill and annaquatucket by the high school needs a light

Agreed

>I'm curious how they're going to squeeze a rotary in that space that doesn't require drifting to make the turn, just because the space there isn't that big and it's bounded by the bridge and the businesses.

As I recall, the only thing being lost is like the two closest street parking spots, and the center of the rotary will practically be imaginary...just like a 3 foot brick circle at a similar level as the asphalt so it indicates where you're supposed go, but the odd semi truck could just roll straight through.

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GotenRocko t1_iu1ekyl wrote

The first comment does have a point, roundabouts are more dangerous for pedestrians. Although that is in relation to normal intersections, not what is there currently.

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degggendorf t1_iu27jzo wrote

I think the plan is just to move all the crosswalks further away so drivers can get recombobulated after the rotary before having to think about yielding to something else

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techsavior t1_iu1snuj wrote

Isn’t “getting pissed at (x)” the official state pastime?

Edit: remove “rotaries” and replace with “(x).” It seems more appropriate for this state.

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degggendorf t1_iu1vvvw wrote

I don't think the rotaries part is specifically necessary, but otherwise, yes.

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iandavid t1_iu31jxt wrote

It probably doesn’t help that the article you linked conflates rotaries and roundabouts. There’s a difference.

It sounds like RIDOT actually wants to install a roundabout there, which is much safer than a rotary, and a much better idea.

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degggendorf t1_iu3w1t8 wrote

Thank you for the education, I didn't recognize/remember/appreciate the difference between them either.

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omjy18 t1_iu39vvw wrote

Because people don't understand circles here and it's not that hard but they make it hard

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thebirbseyeview t1_iu1lat3 wrote

I lived in NK and the only concern I had with the rotary was the potential lack of space and drivers not noticing people crossing the street. I feel like that intersection is doomed.

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degggendorf t1_iu1w382 wrote

>drivers not noticing people crossing the street

Sounds like a self-solving problem then...bad drivers go to prison and bad pedestrians go to heaven

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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overthehillhat t1_iu2afqk wrote

Wickford was originally a horse and buggy village - - -

The bridge came much later - - -

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crystalistwo t1_iu2izir wrote

That intersection worked way better when main street was the main road, and the two roads going into it had stop signs. Then they put up the yield signs that you can see in the pic, and now it's Mad Max.

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