City to Re-Stripe Park East Drive to Ease Congestion at Problematic Intersection

City officials are moving forward with a plan to ease congestion at the intersection of Park East Drive and Mendon Road.

The intersection includes the entrance to Highland Corporate Park and is notorious for backups during certain times of the day.

The plan is to re-stripe a portion of Park East Drive to create one incoming lane and two outgoing turn lanes at the intersection of Mendon Road.

The center lane will allow traffic to go left or straight onto Mendon Road. The right lane will be right-turn only.

The plan is the result of a recent meeting between Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, Director of Public Works Steven D’Agostino and Scott Gibbs, president of Economic Development Foundation of Rhode Island.

“After hearing from so many individuals and also having experienced it firsthand, I felt that it was imperative to find a solution to this everyday problem,” Baldelli-Hunt said in a release.

D’Agostino said that he believes motorists will see a “significant improvement” in traffic flow once the work is complete.

Safety Marking Inc. is due to grind the existing lines and paint the new traffic pattern on the night of Aug. 2 beginning at 8 p.m.

“EDFRI has been working closely with Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt and Director D’Agostino on investigating short-term, mid-term, and long-term strategies to manage traffic concerns in Highland Corporate Park in Woonsocket,” Gibbs said. “The strategy to re-stripe the entrance and exit on Park East Drive is an intelligent and cost-effective short-term strategy to increase the capacity of Park East Drive during peak afternoon travel.”

The mayor praised everyone involved and said this project is the type of “thinking put into action” she wants to see evolving from her administration.

“This is the meaning of going beyond the status quo, and working with all stakeholders to find mutually beneficial solutions,” she said.