Members of the Barrington Town Council are hoping to enact measures that will help slow down speeding cars and make Barrington streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The council …
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Members of the Barrington Town Council are hoping to enact measures that will help slow down speeding cars and make Barrington streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The council discussed the issue during a meeting on Monday night, Jan. 13. The discussion follows a year that saw police and firefighters respond to 279 accidents in town, and more than a half-dozen pedestrian-vs-vehicle crashes.
Last year also marked a grim milestone for Barrington — the town experienced its first pedestrian fatality in more than 60 years. The accident occurred on Thursday morning, March 21 near the Riverside town line in Barrington, on Willett Avenue.
Barrington Police responded to seven other accidents in 2024 that mixed motor vehicles and pedestrians or bicyclists.
The first of 2024 occurred last January near the intersection of Rumstick Road and Chachapacassett Road — a teenage driver struck two women who were out for a walk a little after 8 a.m. The crash sent both women to the hospital with serious injuries.
In June 2024, a vehicle struck a child near the intersection of Massasoit Avenue and Bowden Avenue — Massasoit is traversed heavily by local students as they make their way to and from school each day, but much of Massasoit Avenue does not have sidewalks.
In late June 2024, a vehicle struck a bicyclist near the intersection of the East Bay Bike Path and South Lake Drive. In October 2024, a school bus struck a construction worker on Lincoln Avenue near the middle school. In both cases, the victims were rushed to the hospital.
In late October 2024, two kids riding to and from school were struck by vehicles in separate accidents. Both crashes occurred on Federal Road — one was at the intersection with County Road, while the other was at the intersection with Upland Way. Federal Road is also heavily traveled by students riding their bikes and walking to local schools.
In November 2024, a vehicle collided with a bicyclist near the entrance to the Barrington Shopping Center.
Barrington Police Chief Michael Correia said he believes Barrington’s roadways are unique — “We have something that many communities don’t have: Our roadways are multi-use,” Chief Correia said. “I think we have more people, pedestrians and bicyclists, on our roadways than any other community in the state… There are a lot of people on the roadways. People walking. People jogging. I think we have people in this town, in their 80s, who routinely ride their bikes for exercises.”
Those shared roadways can, at times, create dangerous situations, Chief Correia said.
“I don’t know that we have more crashes than other communities, but my sense is we have more near-misses,” he said.
Chief Correia said he can recall one of his first days on the job in Barrington. He was driving past the middle school and noticed the large number of bicycles parked outside the school. In town, hundreds of students ride their bikes or walk to and from school each day.
The mix of cars, trucks, bikes and walkers on local roads — including some that do not have sidewalks — can create some potentially dangerous challenges on local roads, the chief said.
Chief Correia said the federal government will be funding a new push to reduce distracted driving. Police departments are expecting to receive federal money to staff additional shifts of officers who will be out looking for distracted drivers.
Danger zones
It likely came as little surprise that County Road in downtown Barrington saw more accidents than any other stretch of roadway in town last year. County Road, or Route 114, is the busiest road in town.
The Barrington Times analyzed all the police reports issued in 2024 and tallied which streets yielded the most accidents. Police and firefighters responded to 30 crashes along a stretch of County Road that runs south from the intersection with Maple Avenue to the intersection with Rumstick Road.
Second on the list was the intersection of Old County Road and the Wampanoag Trail, which yielded 18 reported accidents. The intersection, which rests just south of the Barrington Christian Academy property, serves as an on-ramp for vehicles pulling onto the Trail, some of which look to cross over the two south-bound travel lanes for a quick turnaround onto the northbound lanes.
The next busiest area in town for accidents was the Barrington Shopping Center, with 17 incidents reported to police. There were 16 accidents reported on the Wampanoag Trail.
Fifth on the list is the intersection of County Road (Route 103) and the Wampanoag Trail, located just north of the intersection of Old County Road and the Trail, which had 15 crashes in 2024.
Tied for sixth on the list was the Barrington High School campus and the intersection of County Road and Federal Road, near the White Church. Each area had 12 reported accidents in 2024.
Animals beware
Barrington Police reports for last year included 20 accidents where vehicles collided with animals — the vast majority were car-vs-deer.
A three-month span from September through November was particularly busy — Barrington Police recorded 14 accidents where motorists struck deer. Five of those reports stated that the deer were killed.
Police reports show that nine of the deer-strikes occurred on the Wampanoag Trail, while three took place on Sowams Road, and two occurred on the intersection of County Road (Route 103) and Albert Avenue.
There was also an accident reported to police that occurred in early September 2024, when a motorist swerved to avoid striking a deer on Narragansett Avenue and instead collided with another vehicle. No one was injured in the crash.
Fatal accident
Speed was a factor in a fatal car accident that occurred on Jan. 20, 2024. A police investigation showed that a vehicle carrying two people veered off the Wampanoag Trail a little after 8 a.m. and careened into a wooded area. The accident occurred just south of the Barrington/East Providence line and left two people dead.
Speeding
Chief Correia said the police department receives a lot of complaints about vehicles speeding on local roads. “I think we’re all guilty at times,” he said.