Public Safety Committee

Public Safety Committee Draft Meeting Minutes March 18, 2026 6:00 PM Council Chambers Members Present Members Absent Councilor Chuck Creteau, Vice Chair Councilor Timothy Fontneau, Chair (excused) Councilor Christine Gianotti Others Present Councilor Les Horne Deputy Chief Andrew Swanberry, PD Councilor John Larochelle Jarrod Norris, P.E. Assistant City Engineer Gina Golden-Silvestro, GIS/AM Technician Councilor Creteau brought the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 1. Pledge of Allegiance Councilor Larochelle led the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. Roll Call Ms. Boisvert took the call attendance. Councilor Creteau, Councilor Gianotti, Councilor Horne, and Councilor Larochelle were present for roll call. Councilor Fontneau was not present. 3. Approve Minutes from February 18, 2026, Public Safety Meeting Councilor Larochelle MOVED to approve the minutes from February 18, 2026. Councilor Gianotti seconded the motion. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous voice vote. 4. Public Input No members of the public were present for public input. 5. Downtown- Bike Lanes Councilor Creteau asked Councilor Horne if he would like to discuss this item. Councilor Horne said that this item was brought to the committee to discuss the PD and DPW thoughts on the bike lanes. He said if they are going to be changed this would be a good time before the lines are repainted in the spring. Mr. Norris said that DPW does repaint the lines in the spring. Mr. Norris asked if the safety concerns are for bicyclist using the lane and parked cars opened doors and not noticing there is a bicyclist in the lane. Councilor Horne confirmed that is correct. Mr. Norris providing background said the bicycle lanes downtown did not exist prior to 2018 and plans were discussed publicly in February of 2018 at the Public Safety Committee meeting and the Public Works Committee meeting and other meetings before the striping was placed. Mr. Norris said that design guidance from a Federal Page 1 of 3 Public Safety Committee Meeting March 18, 2026  Highway Administration document does state bicycle lanes can be problematic if enough space is not provided to prevent bicyclists from riding into an open door. The recommended width of the parking space and bike lane to be 13 feet to mitigate this issue. Mr. Norris reviewed the plans and the width of the parking spaces and bike lane downtown and this minimum width is provided for or exceeded. This does meet the design guidance for addressing the concern. Councilor Horne spoke about the bike lanes on Union Street going on to North Main Street and you do not know the direction the bike is heading. Mr. Norris said the plans show that the right-hand lane and middle lane are shared lanes and vehicles should be giving them the room to use these lanes. Deputy Chief Swanberry said that bicyclists are expected to follow the same rules that a vehicle is such as stopping at red lights and stopping at stop signs. He said that the vehicles need to be given appropriate safe space to the bicyclist. Deputy Chief Swanberry reviewed bicycle crashes for the whole city for a two-year period there were 35 crashes and none of them were related to any of the bike lanes. Councilor Larochelle asked if the bike lanes are being used. Deputy Chief said he seldom sees them used but he believes the people that do use them are very passionate about them. He said that it is based on him driving in the city and does not have any data to support it. Councilor Creteau said he received an email from a constituent asking for the bike lanes not to be removed. Remove the item from the agenda was then discussed. 6. Downtown- Double Lane at China Palace Councilor Creteau asked Councilor Horne if he would like to discuss this item. Councilor Horne said that vehicles that are in the left lane are trying to race the vehicles in the right lane. Councilor Larochelle said that there is a bump out there that makes you merge. He asked why there is a bump out making the merger necessary. Mr. Norris said he is unsure what the design was, that he would have to research how it came to be. Mr. Norris said that there is a lane ends warning sign located where lanes merge. Deputy Chief Swanberry said the bus stop would impact the ability to change the bump out. He said the data for 2024 and 2025 there have been 10 accidents there. One was someone coming out of Dunkin Donuts taking a right and they collided with a vehicle. This was not due to the racing but somewhat attributed to the merging. He said he did discuss with DPW to see if there are alternatives to improve this like making the right-hand lane a turn only. There is not a left-hand turn arrow for the left-hand lane so traffic must stop if someone is coming in the other direction. This would cause a queuing issue that would back up towards the library. The ideas would take a problem that does exist and move the problem to somewhere else. He said he does not have any suggestions on how to eliminate it. It is poor driving behavior that we see everywhere. 7. Other Mr. Norris said that the RRFB for the crosswalk that crosses Union Street near the Page 2 of 3 Public Safety Committee Meeting March 18, 2026  Union Street parking lot project is set to go active next month. Mr. Norris said that the school signage for the schools that have closed will be removed in the spring when the ground thaws. Mr. Norris said they are still working on placing the two new regulatory speed limit signs along Washington Street. Councilor Creteau had a constituent reach out to him this week asking if there is a plan to repave or patch Old Gonic Road. Mr. Norris will provide an update at next month’s meeting. Councilor Creteau said that in the summer months on Thursday’s, Friday’s, and some Saturdays they see that traffic backs up to the roundabout from the light that is at the corner of Union Street, Bridge Street, and North Main Street. He asked if the timing of the light can be reviewed to help the congestion that is happening. Councilor Creteau ADJOURNED the meeting at 6:30 PM. The minutes were respectfully submitted by Ronda Boisvert, Business Coordinator Page 3 of 3 Public Safety Committee Meeting March 18, 2026