West Warwick adopts no-parking rule after resident details speeding, cut-through traffic

The West Warwick Town Council gave final approval Wednesday to a no-parking ordinance covering both sides of a residential street in the town's Cedar Drive area, after a resident who has lived there for 50 years told the council that parked cars, speeding and cut-through traffic have made the block dangerous.

The vote came on the second reading of Ordinance 2026-8, which amends Appendix C of the town's traffic ordinances, according to the West Warwick Town Council's published meeting recording. A second reading is the final step in the town's two-step ordinance process, meaning the parking restriction is now adopted rather than pending. The council approved it on a roll-call vote, in which each member's vote is recorded individually.

Before the vote, a council member said the intent was narrow. "I never want to restrict the parking of residents, but I certainly don't want businesses parking in front of residents' homes," the member said during council discussion. "And that's where this is targeting." Council members said during the discussion that the restriction affects roughly three to four homes fronting the stretch in question.

A resident's account: "a dangerous place to live"

The only member of the public to speak on the item said he has lived on the street since November of 1975 — "50 years this past November," in his words. He told the council the parking situation is "out of control" and that emergency vehicles have struggled to get through.

"You can't get through half the time," he said. "Even rescue vehicles have a problem getting through."

He said the more serious problem is speed. He told the council that drivers travel 50 to 60 miles per hour on the road, and that vehicles routinely ignore the stop sign at Cedar Drive. "Speed limit means nothing. Stop sign at Cedar Drive means nothing," he said. "It's a dangerous place to live." He said the noise is audible from inside his home at night.

Asked by council members whether the speeding drivers were neighbors or outsiders, the resident said the traffic comes from residents of streets behind him using his road as a shortcut. "It's not a question. It's a pass-through," he said.

The resident said he supports the no-parking rule as a safety measure, while drawing a distinction between occasional gatherings and habitual on-street parking. He said he understands cars lining the street for cookouts and graduation parties, but told the council that some households park in the road despite having open driveway space. "I don't want to block people from parking, but when there's spots in your driveway, use it," he said.

Council points to GPS routing and a radar trailer

Council discussion went beyond the parking restriction itself to the broader speeding complaints, which the ordinance does not address.

A council member said the town has received significant resident contact about speeding in the area, including from another resident farther up the same road who has been in communication with the town manager, the council member and the police department. That member said a police official has committed to rotating the department's radar trailer — a portable unit that displays and records vehicle speeds — through the area, starting at one nearby street before moving it onto the road covered by the new ordinance, around the corner, and onto Pine Orchard Road.

The same council member, who said he lives on Pine Orchard Road, was careful to separate impression from measurement. "I don't have a radar gun. I can't tell you if they're doing 26 or 36 or 46," he said, "but I can tell you that the general feeling I get is that people are going through there a lot faster than they usually would."

He also said he believes non-local heavy truck traffic is using the residential streets, and tied the pattern to a nearby road project that pushed drivers onto detours, along with navigation apps. "I think GPS systems are sending people the shortest possible routes, and that's where we're getting a lot of that," he said.

Council members said the same explanation has surfaced elsewhere in town. After a partial one-way restriction was adopted on another street, they said, drivers stopped for violating the restriction told officers their GPS had directed them that way. The recording does not include any data from the police department on citations, measured speeds or crash history, and no department representative spoke on the item.

What changes, and what does not

The practical effect for the affected block is that parking will be prohibited on both sides of the street. Council members acknowledged during discussion that the rule will apply even when a household hosts an event that overflows its driveway; one member said there is no permit or exemption that excuses violating a traffic ordinance, and that guests would need to park legally on a side street.

The ordinance does not change the speed limit, add stop signs or authorize new enforcement. Council members noted that police can only do so much, and that enforcement has previously included stationing officers out of sight near the stop sign, which they said produced tickets several months ago. The council also indicated the town manager was taking notes to relay the complaints to the police chief and patrol officers.

Residents with continuing speeding or parking complaints can raise them during public comment at the council's next regular meeting, scheduled for August 18, or at the following regular meeting on September 1, 2026. The full ordinance text and vote are part of the town's meeting record.