To the Editor: I was thinking about “Crapponaug” the other day. For those of you who do not have to brave the area between West Shore Road or Post Road or Veteran’s Memorial Drive, …
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To the Editor:
I was thinking about “Crapponaug” the other day. For those of you who do not have to brave the area between West Shore Road or Post Road or Veteran’s Memorial Drive, this is the area previously known as Apponaug and you may be asking why it has not so affectionately been renamed. Well, any of us who have to trek between Warwick, West Warwick, Coventry, East Greenwich or even Cranston will tell you why. It has been, and continues to be, the topic of much discussion. But what I was wondering was why it was done in the first place. The conclusion that I came up with is “Aha, City Hall is in its midst.” Yes, City Hall is set off beautifully by this “improvement.” They even provided a “bike path” for about 50 feet at the end of Centerville leading to the bridge – and I might add the bike path seems to lead nowhere but into oncoming traffic.
In the meantime, I know of at least one business who has “bit the dust” due to these “improvements.” There have been well over 100 accidents. Daily I see people getting ticketed for confusion in not knowing which way to go (maybe there is a motive there as well.) I even saw an out-of-towner stop right in the middle of the circle oncoming traffic in utter dismay. So it was probably basically a bureaucratic decision made to aid other bureaucrats. Isn’t that how all decisions are made today? The heck with the little people like you and me. In the meantime, the rest of West Shore Road and Sandy Lane look like “Burma Road.” I even lost a transmission in my car to the roughness of Sandy Lane. How about helping your constituents for a change? Instead of spending a ton of money on illegals, help us.
Trump is earmarking a lot of money for infrastructure and wants to cut the current 10-year waiting time on roads to one year. Why don’t you Democrats work with him and get us some decent roads?
Peggy Porter-Quinlan
Warwick
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richardcorrente
Dear Peggy,
I can't agree with you more. This project cost taxpayers a fortune, and it has made things worse, not better. Police Chief Stephen McCartney has stated that accidents are up "approximately 700%."
When I first looked at this project, I noticed that we were reducing the amount of road "square-footage" by about 40%. I wondered how we could possibly improve traffic flow if we reduce the roads traffic travels on, by so much.
As Mayor, I would never have agreed to the circulators. They look pretty, but they cost us a reduction in safety. That's too high a price to pay.
Happy Spring Peggy.
Happy Spring everyone.
Rick Corrente
The Taxpayers Mayor
Thursday, February 15, 2018 Report this
davebarry109
Peggy, do please avoid Apponaug. Those of you who cannot handle the roundabouts are a hazard to humanity. Any fool who comes to a complete stop in the roundabout is, well, a fool. There is no need for anyone who can't drive in a circle to enter Apponaug. You can arrive anywhere by using Post Rd from E. Greenwich up to the rotaries. You can get off 95 at Rt113 to get down Rt 5 or through Greenwood without using the roundabouts. You can get to W. Shore Rd by taking Rt113 all the way to W. Shore and doubling back. So, you 'lesser' drivers, please go 'round the roundabouts by studying a map and help the rest of us who can drive navigate without danger.
Thursday, February 15, 2018 Report this
Portquin
To Dave Barry 109- I am an excellent driver and can drive anywhere. . You are missing the point. It is the many people that come upon this without prior knowledge who have a problem. That was a person from our of state who stopped in the middle - you must have missed that part. Many many people have voiced their opposition to this new circle. Plus you must have missed the part that it did not add to people's convenience but detract from it and that money could have helped other roads that needed it so much more. You must have missed the point and tried to blame me the individual who voiced an opinion that you did not agree with. Sounds snowflakey to me.
Thursday, February 15, 2018 Report this
patientman
Driving through Apponaug since the circulator has been finished is a much better experience. I've seen bad drivers get in trouble, but less seldom all the time. If driving there is unnerving for you, avoid it. I love the change. And I'm no cheerleader for local government. When they get it right we should give them credit.
Thursday, February 15, 2018 Report this
janderson
I love the new Apponator as do many many others as well Peggy. It is smooth, seamless and saves time. Rotaries are also popular in other states. I also love our great city of Warwick and what it has to offer. Your letter and negative rhyme of Crapponaug makes you come off sounding kind of like a jerk.
Friday, February 16, 2018 Report this
Thecaptain
Once again, NO KNOWLEDGE CORRENTE opens his pie hole proving yet again what an incompetent fool he is. The mayor had no decision making capabilities in this project as it was a state mandated and federally funded project. He continues to give evidence as to his complete lack of understanding of the simplest of issues.
Sunday, February 18, 2018 Report this
HerbTokerman
To be politically incorrect, RI drivers must be a bunch of retards if they can't figure out rotaries. They exist in all other parts of the country without any problems. Personally i think that it is much better with the rotaries than it was without them. You can breeze right through rather than getting stopped at lights.
Sunday, February 18, 2018 Report this
CrickeeRaven
Totally agree, Thecaptain. The fake "mayor" has also contributed to the hazards of driving through Warwick by placing clearly illegal campaign signs on traffic control boxes -- an issue that you have rightly pursued and addressed: https://warwickpost.com/cote-corrente-political-signs-illegally-posted-city-traffic-control-boxes/
The most telling part of the article is the fake "mayor's" reply to the reporter's questions:
"When asked to comment on the legality of posting the signs, or whether he was aware posting them is illegal, Corrente declined to comment, saying, 'No.'
'No, I won’t speak to that,' Corrente said when asked to elaborate."
Of all the many, many examples the fake "mayor" has willingly and repeatedly presented of his unfitness for office, this ranks right up there with failing to file correct campaign finance reports and refusing to answer for paying campaign funds to an individual who previously paid the delinquent tax bill on his claimed residence.
https://warwickpost.com/gop-chair-files-election-board-complaint-against-corrente-for-failing-to-report-ad-hq-spending/
https://warwickpost.com/digit-spinner-richard-corrente-fudges-numbers/
Refusing to answer for his illegal behavior is the height of arrogance; coming from someone whose candidacy so decisively failed in 2016, it's the clearest indication yet that he cares less about people in Warwick than feeding his own runaway ego.
Happy 258 days until honest, taxpaying, fact-seeking voters reject the fake "mayor" again.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018 Report this
davebarry109
Peggy, you say you are 'an excellent driver' but can't handle the rotaries? Good drivers should have no problem driving in a circle. And the person stopping in the roundabout being from out of state is not relevant. It takes nothing more than common sense to enter a rotary/roundabout. They are in use all over the world. Again, I implore anyone who has difficulty to avoid the roundabouts. You can get everywhere in Apponaug without endangering our lives.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018 Report this
Think41ce
I guess this is what happens when you don't educate people. How ignorant are you Peggy? I'd love to hear your response to the following:
Please tell us how well traffic moved through Apponaug before - it was great? It didn't need improvement? It was easy? It was safe? Here's a repeat of what I previously said on past articles:
Look at AAA – in May 2017 they released their Fact Sheet and they say that converting key intersections to roundabouts is the number one safety improvement they can make. That is a FACT. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety promotes roundabouts and their benefits constantly, again, a fact. The car insurance companies who pay out accident claims fully support and endorse roundabouts. Think about that for a second. The people who have to pay for all the accidents want more roundabouts because they are safer and cause less harm and damage. Did you know that some states have a “roundabout first” policy? That means you have to prove a roundabout won’t work before a signal can be put in. These are facts, not speculations. How do you not see how well these are operating? You must be blind or ignorant or both.
Why is it that you think you are smarter than a panel of National Experts who have monitored projects nationwide for 25 years and determined that this was the best course of action? Roundabout corridors work all over the country to the benefit of everyone. I refuse to believe Warwick is some strange other universe where people are incapable of grasping the simple concept of a circle. You can obey and understand blinking lights – why can’t you handle a simple yield sign and lane paint markings?
What do you think some of that money Trump lets out is going to be used for? HINT: MORE ROUNDABOUTS.
Like others above have said, if you can't handle a simple circle, stay out of Apponaug so you don't hurt anyone. In fact, just stay off the road all together.
By the way, the extension is A BRAND NEW ROAD - does that not fall under the "decent road" category?
Friday, March 16, 2018 Report this