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Council approves roadside memorial ordinance and proposes memorial garden with tree‑planting option
Summary
The council approved an ordinance allowing city removal of roadside memorials after a minimum 15‑day posting and passed a companion resolution to create a memorial garden program that would include city‑planted commemorative trees.
The Woonsocket City Council on June 16 approved changes to the municipal code to regulate roadside memorials and also passed a resolution creating a memorial garden program that would offer an alternative to ad‑hoc memorials in rights‑of‑way.
Vice President Councilwoman Sierra introduced the ordinance (25 O 41) and the related resolution (25 R 81). Sierra said the code change would allow the director of public works and the safety director to remove roadside memorials no sooner than 15 days after they are created, except when the memorial contains a dangerous item such as a lit candle that poses an immediate hazard. Sierra framed the policy as a response to memorials that have been neglected and become unsanitary or hazardous.
On the resolution creating a memorial garden program, Sierra said she had contacted a local supplier, Central Nurseries in Burrillville, which "agreed to sell the products" at a discounted price so that citizens could purchase trees and the city would plant and maintain them at no cost to families. During discussion Councilwoman Gonzales expressed support for a memorial garden and Councilwoman Fox noted the proposal could help the city's effort to reach Tree City USA status. Director D'Agostino and Council members discussed logistics including how long removed items would be stored and who would determine where plantings would be placed; parks and recreation and an appointed garden society were suggested as possible managers.
Council members clarified the policy would include outreach to families before removal and that items removed from public rights‑of‑way could be held by the city with a grace period for retrieval. Councilmember questions included whether the program should begin at Cold Spring Memorial Park; Sierra said she favored starting there because it needs beautification and has a riverfront path.
The resolution and ordinance both passed 7–0 (ordinance on first passage), and the council directed administration staff to work with the sponsor to finalize implementation details.
