Residents press council on street safety; Hammond Street traffic study expanded to wider neighborhood

Residents used the Citizens' Forum at the June 11 Newport City Council meeting to press for more street safety measures and for better application of the city's Complete Streets rules. The council then voted to commission a traffic engineering study focused on Hammond Street and the surrounding neighborhood and amended that request to cover a larger area identified by city staff.

Barry Freeman of Bike Newport told the council he and his board sent a letter asking the city to ensure road projects follow the Green and Complete Streets ordinance (City code section 12.04.050), which requires plans for new streets or major improvements to consider all road users. "We haven't been seeing this applied in the work that's being done on our roads," Freeman said, citing Wellington Avenue — recently repaved — as an example without visible bicycle accommodations. He asked how project reviews document adherence to the ordinance and whether exemptions are formally reported.

Eric Komirma (transcript: "Eric Komirma," Bedloe/Bedlow Avenue resident) told the council speeding and cut‑through traffic on neighborhood streets is a growing safety problem and asked for more stop signs, additional police enforcement or speed cameras, and better enforcement of weight or commercial‑vehicle restrictions. "Some people are treating our streets like it's a highway," Komirma said. "It's disrespectful to our community quality of life and creates real danger for pedestrians and cyclists." He proposed adding several three‑way stop signs on Bedloe Avenue and increasing police presence if camera enforcement is too costly.

Councilor David Carlin introduced a resolution requesting an engineering traffic study on Hammond Street and nearby blocks to assess traffic patterns and recommend improvements. The city manager said the administration supports the study and recommended including surrounding streets cited in the Transportation Master Plan. Councilors amended the resolution at the manager's request to expand the study area to include streets between Bellevue Avenue and the specified cross streets, incorporating a larger, contiguous area to avoid piecemeal studies that could shift traffic problems to adjacent blocks.

The amended resolution instructs the administration to collaborate with Hammond Street residents to define the study components and timeline, to report on feasibility and funding options, and to make results publicly available. The manager said funding might be placed in next year's capital improvement program but that planning and data collection could start sooner if resources are available.

Councilors and staff also voted earlier in the meeting on a separate traffic item: the Interdepartmental Traffic Commission recommendation to amend the parking ordinance designating certain residential parking streets and to remove Kilburn Court from a timed restriction (moving it to a 24‑hour designation) — that recommendation was approved.

Ending — Next steps: The administration will consult with residents on study scope and timing and return with feasibility and funding information. The study’s results are expected to guide any subsequent traffic‑calming installations or parking changes.