Boston Globe — Shoreline regulator and partners to canvass R.I. communities about what they need and want on shore access

In this November 2021 photo, property owners had erected fences and posted signs on Charlestown Town Beach.LANE TURNER/GLOBE STAFF

Oct 6, 2022

By Brian Amaral — Powered by a federal grant, the effort will lay the groundwork for long-term goals including a 5-year shore access management plan, and one right-of-way for every mile of Rhode Island’s coastline.

PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island’s shoreline regulator and other groups are starting work this month on a project to improve the state’s coastal access, funded by a $206,300 federal grant.

US Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse announced the grant Wednesday. It’ll bring together the state Coastal Resources Management Council with the Rhode Island Sea Grant, the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the consulting nonprofit Impact by Design.

Under the grant, the CRMC and its partners will be able to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive plan to manage shoreline access.

Rhode Island right now has more than 230 state-designated rights-of-way to the shore, or properties where the public has a right to get to the coastal areas of the state. The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council designates, but doesn’t own, those rights-of-way.

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