Newport City Council held its regular meeting on Wednesday, addressing issues ranging from traffic safety to property acquisition.
The council debated a resolution proposed by Councillor David Carlin III to implement resident-only parking on several streets in the city. The resolution aimed to create 12-hour resident sticker parking from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Bridge Street, Marsh Street, Church Street, Touro Street, and Morgan Street.
Carlin argued the measure was necessary due to parking issues caused by shipyard employees and short-term rentals. “The residents of these streets, in particular, the streets on the point, are simply fed up,” he said. “Many of them do not have driveway parking. They rely on off-street parking.”
Councillor Jean Marie Napolitano expressed concern about bypassing established procedures for implementing parking restrictions. “What do I say to the streets that have gotten it? Because a neighbor went out and they got the petition signed and they talked to their neighbors, didn’t have all the angst and anxiety that we’re getting from this one,” Napolitano said.
The resolution ultimately failed to pass.
The council approved a purchase and sale agreement with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation for a property at 81 Garfield St. The agreement, not to exceed $500,000, aims to secure land for potential stormwater infrastructure improvements.
Robert Schultz, from the Department of Utilities, explained, “That location right now, during some flooding events, will have about three and a half feet of water. There’s also an existing 24-inch pipe and a 46-inch pipe that run right next to that property.”
City Manager Joseph J. Kennedy Jr. presented potential traffic safety measures, outlining options ranging from $10,000 to $40,000 for the acquisition of speed display signs and trailers.
Chief of Police Sean Duffy stated, “We did make some staffing allocation, reallocation to staffing in order to reassign an additional investigator to our traffic unit so that there’s full time, another full-time person that’s concentrating on these types of issues.”
The meeting concluded with the approval of a liquor license transfer for Chanterelle Restaurant and Thames Street Kitchen.
