For some Aquidneck Island residents, finding transportation to public beaches that others take for granted is no easy task. Whether for physical or financial reasons, simply getting to the sunny sand can be a frustrating experience.
This summer, a cohort of local nonprofits, in concert with the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, will be making a day trip to the beach easier for city residents, particularly those in the North End, by moving forward with the expansion of bus service that will add weekend routes from the North End to Easton’s and Sachuest beaches.
The initiative was spurred by requests from Newport Health Equity Zone, Bike Newport and Clean Ocean Access, who lobbied the state for expanded routes to popular summertime destinations that are currently out of reach. This is especially true of Middletown’s beaches. The distance from the new bus route’s starting point at Miantonomi Park to Sachuest Beach is more than four miles.
“As a pilot program, the schedule is fairly limited, but if successful, this route could be expanded in future years,” said Scott Avedisian, RIPTA CEO. “Our goal is to look closely at where there are gaps in service. We now have lots of different community partners [looking] at ways that we can connect everyone.”
The draft proposal includes two-morning weekend outbound trips beginning at Miantonomi Park. There would be six stops before arrival at Easton’s Beach, before continuing to Sachuest Beach. Inbound buses would return passengers from Sachuest Beach at either 4 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. The route will run from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Avedisian said ridership numbers will be monitored and routes will be increased if needed. “If we see that we don’t have enough [passenger] capacity, then we’ll either add more buses or get bigger ones,” he said.
With beachgoers competing for limited parking spots, especially on weekends, and annual beach stickers too costly for some residents, the added bus routes could open the door to an affordable weekend day trip. Avedisian said the agency is also in the process of applying for foundation grants that could be matched with state funding to finance the program. If awarded, this would make the bus service free of charge.
A transportation working group established by HEZ and Bike Newport was already lobbying state transportation planners to fill gaps in the city’s public transportation infrastructure. “We sat down and we mapped out which areas were not connected directly to the beach,” said Allyson McCalla, Bike Newport director of community relations and administration, who also serves as lead facilitator for the transportation working group.
The bus route will make stops at the city’s housing developments that have historically lacked access to the beaches. McCalla said that RIPTA officials were receptive to the group’s plan. A public meeting officially announcing the proposal is scheduled for April 29.
“There has never been bus service directly to the beach from the North End,” McCalla said. “They can see the water, but they cannot get to it. We are not only the Ocean State, but we are the City-by-the-Sea. And we have residents that can’t get there.”
McCalla spoke with some Newport youth at last summer’s inaugural Bike Newport summer camp who had never been to the beach. “That was very heartbreaking,” she said. “There are some kids who don’t know how to swim because they don’t have access to the water.”
This initiative is but one piece in a larger push toward a more interconnective city, she said.
“We knew we couldn’t wait any longer,” she said. “These conversations need to be had. And the time is now.”
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April 15, 2021 at 11:57PM
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RIPTA to Test Options for Beach Bus Route - Newport This Week
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