They are made of plastic, stand four feet tall, cost about $400 each, and are designed to save lives.

Barrington officials recently installed eight new traffic signs at some of the town's busiest intersections with the East Bay Bike Path. The bright neon signs stand in the centers of the intersections and warn motorists that bicyclists and pedestrians could be nearby.

Barrington Police Chief John LaCross said the new signs should serve as a reminder to drivers that they need to stop if they encounter a cyclist or pedestrian crossing the road in a cross-walk.

"You're supposed to stop for any people walking or cycling across that crosswalk," said Chief LaCross. 

The rules are different, however, where there is no crosswalk at a bike path intersection. The Barrington Police Chief said pedestrians, cyclists, joggers and everyone else using the bike path needs to stop for the motorists at those intersections.

"They're supposed to stop for oncoming traffic," Chief LaCross said of bicyclists and pedestrians. "Sometimes they fly across the intersection… They're supposed to obey the rules of the road." He said there are also small stop signs placed along the bike path, facing pedestrians and cyclists as they approach road intersections.

Chief LaCross said he has made it a habit to slow down whenever he approaches a bike path intersection in his car, just in case.

"Once in a blue moon someone goes zipping across," he said.

The rules surrounding the bike path and roadways have gained more attention following a fatal accident in Bristol earlier this summer. A car struck and killed a young boy while he was riding his bicycle near the intersection of the bike path and Poppasquash Road in Bristol on Tuesday, July 24. The tragic accident prompted a review of the bike path by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, but results from that study are not expected for weeks.

Immediately following the accident, Barrington officials conducted their own study of the bike path intersections in town. Then crews from the department of public works cleared back bushes and trees that had impeded visibility around the intersections. 

Chief LaCross said the landscaping work has helped make the intersections a bit safer.

The town also ordered the traffic signs. One was placed at the intersection of New Meadow Road and the bike path, and another was installed at Bay Spring Avenue. 

The hope, said town officials, is to create a safer environment for pedestrians and bicyclists as well as for motorists. Chief LaCross said Barrington has held the distinction of avoiding a single pedestrian fatality for nearly six decades. He hopes to continue that trend for as long as possible.

The police chief said one of the more dangerous roads for bicyclists in Barrington does not cross the bike path.

"My biggest fear is with Nayatt Road," he said, adding that there is no shoulder on the side of Nayatt and in some sections, the utility poles are located very close to the travel lane. 

"Anyone who rides a bicycle or runs on Nayatt Road is taking their life in their hands," he said.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is planning to re-construct Nayatt Road this year; part of the plans call for new sidewalks along the road.