The Westerly Sun — 'It's getting out of control'…
Work continues on establishing an access path for fishermen from the DEM lot off of Weekapaug Road on Monday, January 4, 2021. The previous path used crossed the lot of the private Fire District Beach lot. The new path closely parallels the breakaway. Harold Hanka, The Westerly Sun
Nov 20, 2021
By Dale P Faulkner
WOOD RIVER JCT — The measurement approach suggested by a landmark court decision is useless to determine where the public portion of the beach begins, rights of way or paths to the shoreline are often blocked and are hard to reach, and enjoying the beach is more difficult than ever, residents of Washington County told a state committee Wednesday.
About 60 residents gathered Wednesday for a meeting conducted at Chariho Middle School by a special legislative committee formed to study coastal access rights in Rhode Island. Residents of Westerly, Charlestown, Narragansett, and members of the Narragansett Indian Tribe described problems in those towns as well as in South Kingstown, Middletown and Newport. They pleaded for and sometimes demanded action by the committee.
"We need a well-defined boundary to distinguish between public and private property. One that is easy to explain in layman's terms and by visual inspection," said Cinna Zerquera-Martin, who chairs the town of Narragansett's Coastal Access Improvement Committee.
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