EastBayRI — DEM grant will pay for Barrington shoreline improvements

People launch a boat at Walker Farm in this 2016 photo. The town is planning to make a series of improvements at Walker Farm, including a new area to launch human-powered boats.

April 24, 2020

By Matt Hayes — BARRINGTON, RI — Grant for $230,745 will pay for Walker Farm work

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management recently awarded $5.79 million in recreational grants to 21 towns in Rhode Island, including $230,745 to Barrington for improvements at Walker Farm.

The matching grant will help officials expand the gravel parking lot, construct an accessible walkway to a new boat launch, and improve shore access for kayakers and rowers. The grant, which is considered a large DEM grant, will also pay for a new platform next to the dock, new benches, educational signs and some plantings.

Barrington officials have been planning the Walker Farm improvements for months. Town officials discussed the Walker Farm project during the Dec. 2019 council meeting.

Officials said the work was crucial to helping the Walker Farm area cope with seal level rise.

One of the key upgrades is the reconstruction of the access road. Officials plan to raise up the gravel road by about eight inches. That would prevent the road from being flooded out during high-tide events. Climate change and rising sea level have a direct impact on Walker Farm, said officials, as the town-owned property is located very close to sea level.

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