Frequently asked questions

Many terms are used to describe bike infrastructure, including bike lanes, bike paths, bike routes, and bike trails. Sharrows (shared lane arrows) are painted on the roadway and are not infrastructure. Each type of infrastructure has a specific technical meaning, but perhaps the most important thing to know is that bike infrastructure or “bikeways” should be designed to ensure people of all ages and abilities feel comfortable and safe riding there. Generally, this means that the higher the volume and speed of traffic on the road, the greater the degree of separation is needed to create that low-stress riding experience most people enjoy.

The focus of Ride Island is encouraging more people to bike. Aquidneck Island is the perfect size to get around on a bike, and there are very few places to safely ride today. Biking, walking, and transit are all part of a multimodal network and help expand beyond the focus on cars.

Walking is also important, especially for local trips in each of the communities. The commercial and retail areas of Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth depend on foot traffic; sidewalks and crosswalks are essential to community and neighborhood enjoyment.

Generally, the more bike-friendly a place is, the more walkable it is, too. This is due to less car traffic and a buffer between the sidewalk and the car lanes. Plus, proposed changes to major corridors like East and West Main Road include shared use paths for people on foot and bike together.

You will still be able to get everywhere on the island by car if you want or need to do so – we are not asking anyone to give up their cars. Right now, part of the challenge for Islanders is that driving is the only option for most trips, and that causes congestion and parking issues, especially in the summer. Providing infrastructure for those who want to ride will help make the whole system work better. Riding to the beach, to the shops, or to dinner a couple of times a week instead of driving can make all the difference.

It’s true, there aren’t many people riding on Aquidneck Island today because it doesn’t feel safe. Many of those who do ride every day – who are often invisible – may have no other choice.

However, survey after survey tells us that most people would welcome the opportunity to ride their bike more if they felt like there was a safe place to ride. And we know from communities across the world that if you build safe bike infrastructure, people will use it.

Aquidneck Island is a perfect size for biking – many destinations are very close by, and you can quickly get out of town to the quiet countryside or beach. Out of all trips that begin and end on Aquidneck, 80% are four miles or less. More than half are two miles or less, which is a very quick and easy bike ride.

The vast majority of the 137 miles of island’s roads will remain as they are today. Ride Island focuses on the handful of main roads that are the biggest barriers to safe biking. Many important destinations that people want to get to by bike are located on these roads.

In some locations, there is enough space to add a shared use path or protected bike lanes to the existing roadway. In other cases, there are opportunities to reduce the number of travel lanes while keeping – or even improving – the current capacity or flow of traffic (for example, on Coddington Highway).

Most of these roads have no on-street parking to begin with, so there are no parking spaces to lose.

There may be a handful of locations – especially at intersections – where a small number of on-street parking spaces may be removed; this will be more than made up for with additional bike parking and fewer car trips.

Yes. Traffic is already strangling the Island in the summer. Building wider roads and more car parking will only destroy the very things that make Aquidneck Island a great place to live and visit in the first place. Encouraging more people to walk and bike will increase foot traffic in shops and restaurants, support more locally owned and operated businesses, and keep money in the local economy.

Examples throughout North America have shown that Individuals and households in communities with well-designed infrastructure for walking and biking can save thousands of dollars annually on transportation costs. Individuals can also benefit from new jobs that are created as a result of these investments.

The proposed changes are based on proven safety countermeasures, tried and tested bikeway designs, and best practices drawn from decades of experience in communities across the country.

You can see examples of what’s being proposed in Providence, in nearby Provincetown, and in popular places for biking such as Hilton Head Island.

One of the great things about bike infrastructure is that you can quickly install a pilot or demonstration project using temporary barriers, paint, and flex-posts, collect data and community input, and adjust the final design as necessary.

There are a wide variety of Federal, state, and local funding sources that are available to implement Ride Island. The most recent Federal transportation law, the Inflation Recovery Act, and remaining pandemic recovery funds have made an extraordinary amount of money available for local transportation investments focused on safety, sustainability, access, health, connectivity, and community development.

The Ride Island plan identifies relevant funding sources for each segment. In addition, several funded roadway and infrastructure projects can help deliver segments of the Ride Island network.

The ultimate goal of Ride Island is to create a safer, healthier, resilient, and more equitable community where people and businesses will thrive. More people riding bikes more often helps achieve those goals, whether you personally ride a bike or not. And if more people ride bikes, that means there are fewer people driving and there’s less competition for that parking space.

The reality is that very few people choose to ride today because it’s just not safe, comfortable, or convenient enough to make sense. Ride Island will change that, and everyone on the island will benefit.

One of the primary benefits of the Ride Island network is to relieve congestion in the crowded summer season. The bike network will provide residents and visitors a quicker and more convenient choice than driving for a lot of short trips. And while the number of people riding bikes will drop off in the winter (just like the rest of the transportation system), international experience suggests that good infrastructure will encourage and enable people to ride year round in all but the most extreme weather conditions.

Plus, Ride Island isn’t trying to force people into getting rid of their cars – most people on bikes are also drivers, and vice versa. The key is giving people a genuine choice of travel modes so they can pick the most appropriate one for the purpose, time of day, and month of the year.

The Ride Island network is designed to make every destination accessible by bike, just as it is by car. A lot of local streets and quiet island roads are already comfortable to ride on…it’s riding on or trying to get across the main roads that is a challenge. Those main roads also have a lot of the shops, restaurants, services, government offices, schools, and so on that people want to access safely. The Ride Island network is focused on making the main roads safe to ride along and safe bike connections from one quiet neighborhood to the next.

You are exactly the person that Ride Island is designed to help! Very few people are comfortable riding in traffic on busy roads like Broadway and East/West Main Road. And those who have no choice but to ride opt for the sidewalk or in the gutter (which is far from ideal).

Ride Island will establish a connected network of priority paths for people on bikes (and often on foot) that is separate from traffic. Paths will have a physical barrier between them and motor vehicle lanes, or they will be raised to the same level as the sidewalk to prevent people from driving or parking on them.

Building a safe, comfortable bike network that encourages more people to bike (and walk) is one of the very few investments the community can make that meets long term goals around safety, health, community and economic development, climate resilience, equity, and accessibility. It will also dramatically improve the experience of residents and visitors alike – giving them a fun and relaxing way to enjoy the world class shopping, dining, beaches, festivals, and attractions on the island. The network will enable people of all ages and abilities to travel independently to work or school, to run errands, and to visit family and friends – especially benefiting those too young, unwilling, or unable to drive.

Thank you for asking. The eventual success of Ride Island depends on people like you asking for the initiative to happen. So:

Join the Friends of Ride Island Mailing list and check back to this website for project updates.

Support Bike Newport andGrow Smart RI.

Talk to your local elected officials about Ride Island; tell them what it would mean to you to be able to ride a bike safely on Aquidneck Island.