John Shevlin and Amy Archer of Pare’s Transportation Division presented a workshop on the East Bay Bike Path in celebration of its 30th anniversary at the East Coast Greenway Alliance’s New England Bike-Walk Summit.
Pare completed the original feasibility study, which included extensive public outreach, and the design of the path which runs 14.5 miles to connect eight parks together across five communities in eastern Rhode Island. It was the first bicycle path undertaken by the State of Rhode Island and one of the first in the Northeast. It is now considered by many to be the most popular project ever completed by the RI Department of Transportation. At the time, however, there was formidable public opposition with concerns that the path would increase crime, noise, & vandalism, lead to the loss of loss of privacy, and decrease property values. We continue to hear these objections today from abutters in communities considering similar rails-to-trails projects. Overlooked was the potential for dramatic benefits in the areas of recreation, transportation and economic development.
The presentation gave an overview of the path and shared the lessons learned regarding the design. Download a pdf copy of the presentation here or view the presentation here. To learn more about the presentation, the project, and additional rails-to-trails projects, contact John Shevlin.