CRMC spotlights rights of way

THE RIGHT TOOLS: Emily Robinson, an intern with the Coastal Resources Management Council, at the North Street ROW in Bristol. / COURTESY COASTAL RESOURCE  MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
THE RIGHT TOOLS: Emily Robinson, an intern with the Coastal Resources Management Council, at the North Street ROW in Bristol. / COURTESY COASTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COUNCIL

Bristol has 37 rights of way that lead to the shoreline and at least 11 of them are now linked to an online mapping tool created by the Coastal Resources Management Council for public use.
The CRMC’s new Geographical Information System map of Rhode Island, launched in late April, features orange dots pinpointing 221 state-designated rights of way all over the coastline, from Westerly to Little Compton, and north to Warwick and East Providence.
With a click of the mouse, a host of details about the paths to the water, some commonly used as boat launches, comes up.
Some of the rights of way have pictures of the site and associated stone monuments as well as links to legal information accompanying the verbal descriptions, and the CRMC staff is working to add photos to every link.
“It’s a great tool for the public,” said Edward M. Tanner, principal planner/zoning officer for Bristol. “It’s an important issue. We occasionally get inquiries and complaints – ‘Someone’s blocking a right of way’ – [so] it’s great to let the public know these are there for everyone to use. I’m glad to know that this is there.”
There are a host of rights of way to the water with different types of public and private access, compared with the 221 public rights of way that the state is responsible for protecting, said Kevin Cute, marine-resources specialist and policy analyst for the CRMC, and Pam Rubinoff, coastal-management specialist for the Coastal Resources Center and Rhode Island Sea Grant at the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island.
Rubinoff pointed out that the Sea Grant program features a “Daytripper’s Guide” online, a more traditional website that is not GIS-based but nonetheless gives residents and tourists alike a sense of waterfront access in coastal towns.
What makes the mapping tool so valuable, Cute said, is that Rhode Island is the only state that has shoreline privileges written into its constitution.
“One of CRMC’s most important tasks is to find a way to provide public access to the shore,” said Cute. Many of these small pathways and boat launches are sandwiched between private parcels, and many are municipal roads that lead to the shore, he said.
The mapping tool enhances access to these spots, which are not always easy to find, he added.
Its value is evident in the potential use by public planners when nearby development occurs. The tool also has value since rights of way that are public provide access for beach cleanups, Cute said.
“They’re extremely valuable for that type of environmental protection,” he said. “And when people have the opportunity to access the shore, it tends to cultivate a sense of ownership and responsibility and appreciation for this public property that needs all of us to protect it when you [try to] get to the shore.”
The tool can be useful when developers are applying for permits in municipal planning offices, Cute added, a value Tanner likewise acknowledged.
“Permit applicants are often not aware of rights of way and they might propose a development innocently, not knowing the right of way was there,” Cute said. “Now, using this tool, we remove hopefully all doubt about the possibility that any right of way would be impacted in the future.”
Opinions differ as to whether the mapping tool will be useful to tourists. Rubinoff thinks it will.
“Because we’re a tourist center as well,” she said, referring to the Coastal Resources Center, “we do have people who come in and want to know where they can put their boat in the water or access the water.”
But Jody Sullivan, executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, said she didn’t think tourists would seek out the mapping tool, since the designated rights of way it covers tend to be smaller and not associated with tourist attractions or destinations.
Nonetheless, she added, “I see a huge value in protecting the rights of way. … We live in the Ocean State. We need to be able to reach the water.” •

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