Downtown Right Turns on Red Face Council Floor Vote

November arrives under spotless blue skies this morning, offering crisp walking weather before the afternoon wind picks up.

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The Lead

Drivers navigating the city center may soon have to keep both hands on the wheel and their foot on the brake at every red light. The City Council’s Committee on Public Works advanced a targeted ordinance this week that bans right turns on red across downtown intersections, pulling back from an earlier proposal that envisioned extending the restriction citywide by 2028. Crafted in coordination with the Providence Streets Coalition and municipal traffic engineers, the refined policy seeks to curb vehicle-pedestrian collisions along high-traffic corridors like Washington and Dorrance streets. Under the amended measure, first-time violators receive written warnings, while subsequent infractions carry a $50 fine. The ordinance carves out discretion for traffic engineers to grant exemptions at intersections where visibility is clear and pedestrian crossings are rare. The legislation now heads to the full council floor for a formal vote later this month.

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Local Pulse

• Ward 11 Residents Shape Neighborhood Infrastructure Projects City Hall Neighbors can submit sidewalk and lighting improvement ideas to direct municipal capital investment funds through local participatory budgeting.

• Hospital Resident Physicians Ratify First Labor Contract Health Hundreds of training physicians secure wage increases and workload caps to stabilize patient care across local acute healthcare facilities.

• Friars Open Centennial Men’s Basketball Season Monday Community The men’s team begins its hundredth year at Amica Mutual Pavilion against Maine, celebrating a century of court history.

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Today's Outlook

• High 58°F · Low 32°F — Clear
  • Keep a warm coat handy before heading out into the brisk evening chill.

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What's On Around Town

Today

• The Providence Flea Fall Indoor Market Farm Fresh RI Market Hall (10 Sims Ave), 11:00 AM–3:00 PM · Free Browse seventy local makers, vintage stalls, and food trucks indoors.

• Mercadito and Giant Kite Installation WaterFire Arts Center (475 Valley St), Noon–6:00 PM · Free Celebrate Día de los Muertos with handcrafted artisan goods and massive kites.

• Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular Roger Williams Park Zoo (1000 Elmwood Ave), 6:00–10:30 PM · $23 Catch thousands of intricately carved pumpkins on their final glowing night.

Tomorrow

• One Love Mondays JA Patty (1577 Westminster St), 11:00 AM
• Día de los Muertos Community Procession Grace Church Cemetery (10 Elmwood Ave), 6:15 PM · Free
• Centennial Men's Basketball Season Opener Amica Mutual Pavilion (1 LaSalle Sq), 7:00 PM · Paid

Tuesday

• Knitting, Crochet & Needlework Gathering Mount Pleasant Library (315 Academy Ave), 5:30–7:00 PM · Free
• The Great Gatsby Musical Opening Night Providence Performing Arts Center (220 Weybosset St), 7:00 PM · Paid
• Jeff Tweedy Solo Performance Uptown Theater (270 Broadway), 7:30 PM · Paid

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Spotlight & Story

• George Coleman
  • Stationed behind the Phillips Memorial Library circulation desk since 1988, the Providence native began checking out volumes when patrons used mechanical imprint machines. He still prefers the tactile stacks to computer screens, tracking baseball on the radio while nursing a 1998 Camry.

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