Projo — 'It just really blew up': Why shoreline access is emerging as a campaign issue in RI

In the last legislative session, Rep Terri Cortvriend introduced legislation that would have protected people from being charged with trespassing when they’re within 10-feet of the most recent high tide mark. The measure passed the House but died in the Senate. David DelPoio/The Providence Journal, File

Sep 2, 2022

By Antonia Noori Farzan — When Jennifer Douglas was a student at URI, she and her friends used to drive over to Narragansett, park on side streets near the Pier and sit on the rocks that look out over the ocean.

Roughly two decades later, she tried to do the same thing with her children – only to discover that all the streets had "No Parking" signs, she said. 

It was part of a larger trend she'd noticed, such as the "No Trespassing" signs popping up near South Kingstown Town Beach. Bit by bit, the coast was becoming "less and less accessible to people."

Douglas, of Charlestown, is now running for a state Senate seat, and she's one of a handful of General Assembly candidates who are campaigning on shoreline access– prominently mentioning the issue on their palm cards and campaign websites and bringing it up when knocking on doors. 

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A few years ago, that would have been unimaginable: Shoreline access was barely on the radar of politicians seeking state-level office. But that's changing, and candidates are realizing the issue has broad popular support among voters who otherwise don't see eye to eye. 

"I haven’t met one person yet who says, 'Oh yeah, I don't care about that," Douglas said.

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