Projo — Barrington got a grant to improve shoreline access. Is it holding up its end of the deal?

Dec 2, 2021

By Antonia Noori Farzan — Located in Barringtons’s Najat neighborhood, Bluff Road comes to a dead end near the water’s edge. The paved road turns into a well-trodden footpath, leading to a sandy stretch of beach.

But if you’re hoping to get out of your car and take a closer look, you’ll find yourself stymied by “No Parking” signs.

It’s a scenario that’s replicated at every shoreline access point in the neighborhood, and in waterfront communities throughout Rhode Island.

Several decades ago, the state came up with a solution: Towns could get grants to improve rights of way by clearing away brush, laying down walkways, and putting in amenities like picnic tables and bike racks. In exchange, they had to take steps to ensure that those sites would be accessible to the public — including providing parking whenever possible.

One of those Gants went to Bluff Road. But parking remains banned on nearly every street in the waterfront neighborhood — which has become an increasingly controversial topic in Barrington.

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