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Council lays over Park Avenue bike-lane and parking changes after questions about traffic impacts
Summary
City staff presented a plan to install bicycle accommodations on Park Avenue that would reduce vehicle lanes and remove some on-street parking; council voted to lay the item over for further review after members raised traffic-flow concerns.
City staff presented a planned roadway reconfiguration for Park Avenue (from Bayless Avenue to Broad Street) that would add bicycle accommodations and reduce vehicle lanes in sections of the corridor, and the City Council voted to lay the ordinance over for further consideration.
Staff said the project — identified in the 2017 bike and pedestrian plan and funded with a Local Road Improvement Program grant — would install bicycle lanes along the length of the corridor. Because the existing paved width is not sufficient to accommodate full vehicle lane widths, two parking on both sides and bike lanes, the proposal would remove some on-street parking in stretches of the corridor and reduce portions with more than one vehicle lane in each direction to a single lane in each direction.
Presenters described the corridor as a chronic speeding location and said changes would slow traffic and improve safety for non-motorized users. Staff noted public outreach, including an informational meeting on June 25, 2025 that drew roughly 20–25 residents and that the First Community Credit Union raised concerns about reduced drive-through capacity during peak times.
Council members asked about traffic volumes and comparative experience on other city streets; staff responded that Park Avenue carries roughly 7,500 vehicles per day, lower than some other corridors (Cranston ranges 12,000–13,000), and that lane reductions on other city streets produced only limited short peak delays. Staff described proposals including a “cycle track” (two bike lanes on one side of the street) where appropriate and dedicated turn lanes at major intersections such as Eclipse Boulevard.
After questions about potential effects on traffic flow and business access, the council voted to lay the ordinance over. Staff provided a map and the packet includes proposed existing and proposed conditions. The project remains subject to future council approval if staff pursues the redesign and any associated ordinance changes.
