North Kingstown hearing draws large turnout as council revisits long‑planned Wickford mini roundabout

The Town Council and town manager reviewed the history and engineering behind a proposed mini roundabout for the Wickford Village intersection of Brown, Phillips and Boston Neck roads and opened the floor to an extended public comment period.

Town Manager (name not specified) told the council the plan was developed with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, local public‑safety officials and business and neighborhood stakeholders in 2020–21 and that RIDOT invested about $209,000 to prepare designs and engineering for a small, mountable center island. He said the Federal Highway Administration considers roundabouts a proven safety countermeasure and that state and local traffic studies showed a mini roundabout would shorten pedestrian crossings (to roughly 20 feet at the main approaches) and reduce vehicle speeds compared with the existing intersection.

The discussion mattered because Wickford Village is a high‑pedestrian area and the intersection has an unusual right‑of‑way pattern that has caused confusion, the manager told the council.

Supporters in the meeting pointed to the engineering record and to local safety testimony. “This proposal has none of that. It’s more like a dot in the middle of the street,” said George Brennan, a resident who served on the local advisory committee and who described the mini roundabout as a small, mountable design that accommodates trucks and emergency vehicles. Several business owners and the Wickford Village Association said they had previously reviewed and endorsed the mini roundabout.

Opponents warned of unintended consequences for pedestrians and village businesses during construction. Kim Greenberg, who lives and works near the intersection, said she has seen “near‑miss” incidents there and urged immediate, interim measures — clearer signage, cameras or enforcement — while the proposal proceeds. Other speakers said the village’s commercial mix has changed since the initial 2020–21 public process and urged more current, to‑scale visualizations showing how the mini roundabout will look and function.

Council members pressed for clarity on a handful of topics raised in public comment: whether pedestrian‑activated beacons would be allowed (RIDOT and FHWA guidance cited by staff says those devices are restricted on state highways), how long construction would last (town staff told the council RIDOT estimates 6–8 weeks) and what signage and outreach RIDOT and the town will provide before and during construction. Several speakers asked the town to seek construction‑period measures to help village businesses and to time work to reduce peak disruption.

No formal vote to accept, reject or alter RIDOT’s plan was taken. Council President Gregory Mancini said the council’s role was to hear public comment and that the town manager would reply to RIDOT’s recent letter unless the council directed otherwise. The manager said he plans to follow up with RIDOT and to post the full presentation and design materials on the town website for people who asked for larger, to‑scale visualizations.

The meeting included a roll call of public speakers: by the council’s count that night 31 people spoke in favor and 8 opposed; the manager later reported written correspondence and additional contacts that brought the meeting’s cumulative tally to 47 in favor and 29 opposed.

The council did not adopt or block the project at the meeting; the record will remain open to formal RIDOT processes. Town staff said they will present more detailed construction timing, signage plans and pedestrian crossing details in future sessions and will continue coordination with public safety and business stakeholders.

A copy of RIDOT’s schematics and the town manager’s PowerPoint were promised online after the meeting for residents who asked for scaled visualizations and study citations.