Projo — East Bay Bike Path bridges are finally getting replaced, but will fishermen lose out?

A bicyclist travels over one of the two wooden bridges on the East Bay Bike Path. Both bridges have been closed since 2019. Mark Reynolds, the Providence Journal

Oct 26, 2023

By Antonia Noori Farzan

Key Points:

• RIDOT initially said that "fishing accommodations will not be provided" on the new East Bay Bike Path bridges, but now says that it doesn't intend to prohibit fishing.

• The new bridges would only have two feet of sidewalk space, and the transportation agency previously said that their design is "not conducive" to fishing.

Fans of the East Bay Bike Path were thrilled when the Rhode Island Department of Transportation announced that it could finally afford to rebuild two decrepit bridges that have been closed since they were deemed a safety hazard in 2019.

But the Coastal Resources Management Council is now raising concerns about one aspect of the plan that's flown under the radar: Anglers could find themselves squeezed out of a prime fishing spot.

The original wooden bridges spanning the Barrington and Palmer rivers were extremely popular with fishermen — especially in spring, when herring lure the first striped bass of the year into Narragansett Bay. Under RIDOT's plan, they'd be replaced with new, narrower bridges that would only have a meager 2 feet of sidewalk space on either side of the busy bike path.

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