Letter: How many more will die with lack of bridge barriers?

Posted 8/22/22

To the editor:

The Portsmouth Times of (Aug. 18) announced the timeline for the study of anti-suicide fences on our island’s bridges. The study will be complete in 18 months.  

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Letter: How many more will die with lack of bridge barriers?

Posted

To the editor:

The Portsmouth Times of (Aug. 18) announced the timeline for the study of anti-suicide fences on our island’s bridges. The study will be complete in 18 months. 

How many will die between, not only now and then, but how many will die before a solution is implemented? Neighboring Massachusetts has had fences on nearby bridges for years. 

Perhaps RIDOT and RITBA can enlighten us. Think of how fast our legislature moved in the matter of tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge. Think how fast a previous Portsmouth Town Council and the Rhode Island legislature moved to authorize sewers in Portsmouth. There weren’t lives at stake in those case. 

Portsmouth has experienced a 50-year delay in the promised upgrade of East Main Road. The promised Town Center is about 20 years in the making. Kudos to Sen. DiPalma for trying. What does Massachusetts have that we don’t have?

Philip Driscoll

169 Immokolee Drive

Portsmouth

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.