Sea Grant RI — Preserving Access to the Shore

The boat ramp in Wilson Park, one of the state’s newly designated shoreline rights-of-way in North Kingstown.

Oct 29, 2021

By Amanda Valentine — Spaces along Rhode Island’s beautiful coastline are highly coveted. Determining just how to share these spaces can be a significant source of confusion and conflict. Rights-of-way (ROWs), defined by the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) as “a piece of land over which the public has right to pass on foot, or if appropriate by vehicle,” help secure public access to the shore and balance public and private interests. ROWs often include features like beaches, boat ramps, historical sites, and bike paths.

“All cities and towns are required by the CRMC to have a harbor management plan, and considering rights-of-way is part of the harbor management plan,” said Barbara Ray, public access representative for the North Kingstown Harbor Commission, during a recent webinar hosted by CRMC and Rhode Island Sea Grant on the role of municipalities and nonprofit groups in establishing and protecting ROWs to the shore. “When a project on the waterfront of any town is being developed, the CRMC requires them to have a public access plan.”

As people move to and develop property along the coast, previously open areas diminish, and along with them access to the shore. Securing public access to these areas is accomplished, according to CRMC, through “a continuous process of discovery and designation of ROWs using a standing ROW subcommittee.”

…