Providence city councilors sent a proposed downtown ban on right turns at red lights back to the Committee on Public Works on Oct. 15 for further study and discussion, City Clerk Tina Mastroianni confirmed.
The measure has not been enacted. Its proposed Jan. 1, 2027 start date depends on further Council action. In an Oct. 26 email to Six State Signal, Mastroianni said neither Public Works nor the committee handling a separate license-plate-reader proposal had scheduled a meeting on the measures.
Public Works had approved the proposal Oct. 7 before sending it to the full Council. The revised text supplied by the clerk removes a planned citywide expansion in January 2028 and its associated penalty. It keeps the downtown restriction. A first violation would draw a warning, and later violations a $50 fine. The earlier draft proposed $75.
The proposal defines downtown as Providence Police District 1, with its boundaries shown in an exhibit. The exhibit in the public record is labeled as a residential parking map, with colored street markings for parking rules. The map states that it is for planning purposes only and is not adequate for legal boundary definition. Mastroianni said Oct. 26 that she had not received a boundary map.
The text would require no-turn-on-red signs at downtown signalized intersections by Dec. 31, 2026. Beginning Jan. 1, drivers facing a steady red light would have to stop before the crosswalk, or before the intersection if there is no crosswalk, and wait for a signal permitting them to proceed.
Under the proposal, implementation at state-controlled signals would require State Traffic Commission approval. The text directs submission to the commission "upon passage or by January 1, 2027." Mastroianni said Oct. 21, citing city policy staff, and again Oct. 26 that the plan would be sent to the Traffic Commission after Council passage.
The city traffic engineer could permit right turns at individual intersections after documenting pedestrian, bicycle and sight-distance safety findings. The engineer would have to publish a list of those intersections, the reasons and sign-installation dates. Rhode Island Public Transit Authority vehicles would be exempt.
Mastroianni said ordinances require two Council passages, followed by 10 days for the mayor to sign or veto. An ordinance can take effect without his signature, she said. The current text says the ordinance itself would take effect upon passage, while the driving restriction would begin Jan. 1.
Drivers should continue to follow existing signs and signals.
Sources: City Clerk Tina Mastroianni's Oct. 19 email and attached revised ordinance, and her Oct. 21 and Oct. 26 follow-up emails; Oct. 7 Public Works meeting record; Council legislative record.