Victory!!
South County bike path saved!
Your voice made a difference!
What's happening:
Things are looking up for the next leg of the South County Bike Path. A proposed Phase 3 of the plan to bring it into Narragansett was intensely protested by a small number of residents and town officials in Narragansett. Much of the protest was of the Not In My Back Yard variety, with statements about possible crime and safety to them and bike path riders used as justification for blocking the path. They succeed in getting the path off their road, but not out of their town. Ironically enough, their intense pressure led to their failure.
When word got out that the Town Council was going to reject the proposal for the path because of neighborhood opposition, a huge rallying cry went out. For the first time, a majority of Narragansett residents had their say on the path and they said they wanted it. Numerous people from across the state packed a council meeting in the dead of winter, putting dramatic pressure on council members to take swift action. To their credit, they did what they said they would. In just a few weeks, they brokered a deal for a land swap with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to have a path run through the Chafee Wildlife Refuge.
The latest word is that the R.I. Department of Transportation is committed to Phase 4, which gets the path to its intended destination, Narragansett Town Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. This would complete the original vision of a bike path from Kingston Station (Amtrak) to the beach, connecting residents, tourists and students in a very unique way. By July, a new leg of the bike path through Wakefield should be complete, making for a 6-mile trip from the train station to Route 108. The roughly 1-mile section of Phase 3 could be complete by the fall of 2004.
As more information on this surfaces, we'll keep you apprised. The good news is the storm is over and the bike path won over fear of the unknown. All those who participated in any way in advocating for the Narragansett path deserve a healthy pat on the back!
Click here for Providence Journal article from 2-18-2004, about the Town Council approving land swap.
Click here for Providence Journal article from 5-15-2003, with DOT confirming commitment to finish bike path to Atlantic Ocean.
Click here for the Providence Journal's bike page
Contact us:
GARI Committee Chairwoman Sue Barker
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