Background

Rhode Island’s dependence on automobiles is damaging our health, our special places, and our economy. Even while the price of gasoline continues to soar, Rhode Islanders have little alternative but to drive cars. Our public transportation system is overburdened, and with annual budget deficits, the need for additional routes is not even discussed. Bicycle commuting tends to be dangerous in our urban areas, since few designated bicycle lanes exist. And many of our communities and markets are not walkable.

However, the need for transportation choices could not be greater, given the adverse impacts that automobiles have on our health, environment, and economy. Global warming pollution caused by automobiles is linked to asthma and other health problems, as well as degraded oceans and woodlands. While the entire state of Rhode Island continues to fail federal air quality standards, one in ten Rhode Islanders suffers from asthma, which is exacerbated by pollution from automobiles. With more than 100,000 asthmatics (nearly 10 percent of the state’s population), Rhode Island is ranked by the American Lung Association as having the third highest asthma rate in the country.

Rhode Island’s transportation sector is the largest single contributor of global warming pollution in the state. Personal cars alone create as much greenhouse gas pollution as the entire electricity sector. Over the past decade, the water temperatures in Narragansett Bay have warmed enough to change the marine wildlife in our waters. Warming oceans are accompanied by a rise in sea level that threatens our beaches and the tourist dollars they attract.

From an economic standpoint, Rhode Islanders spend up to $1.5 billion every year on imported gasoline to run their cars, and urban sprawl continues to drain our infrastructure, from gas lines to electric lines, roads, and highways.

In the face of such problems, Rhode Islanders are motivated to find cleaner, more affordable transportation choices. But those choices are lacking in the Ocean State. Every year, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) fights against projected budget deficits. Rising fuel costs and inflation weaken the budget of this underfunded agency, which, even with the overcrowded bus lines, poor public information, and yearly budget cuts, still serves Rhode Island reasonably well. Clearly, with only a small investment, RIPTA could be a world-class transit system.

Some Rhode Island leaders have begun working toward this vision. The Aquidneck Island Planning Council has recently launched a multi-modal transportation study that will impact the future of transportation choices on Aquidneck Island. Last year, Providence Mayor Cicilline’s Transit 2020 Working Group has resulted in the Providence Metropolitan Transit Study, whose final report is due in October 2009. In addition, a commuter rail extension from Boston through Providence to South County was approved in 2006. Last year, the Rhode Island General Assembly published the findings of its Special Legislative Commission to Study Public Transit in Rhode Island, which led to redefining RIPTA as the state’s mobility manager. Finally, leaders from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut are discussing designs to create a regional rail system connecting communities throughout Southern New England.

But these ideas have not yet been implemented in Rhode Island. Even the popular West Side Master Plan for Aquidneck Island is held up by a lack of funding. However, 2010 presents a golden opportunity as demand for transportation choices reaches an all time high. As the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority develop plans to repair and renew the state’s transportation system, it is crucial that these ideas be incorporated into a single plan with sustainable funding over the next year. A visionary plan to give Rhode Islanders clean, affordable transportation choices will help to reduce automobile pollution and protect air quality, as well as Narragansett Bay, from the impacts of global warming. Such a plan will:

• Strengthen Rhode Island’s existing bus system with increased service and special lines like streetcars or trolleys;
• Develop a Rhode Island rapid transit system to link commuters with the state’s two economic centers;
• Connect a regional rail system to ensure that commuters and visitors from across Southern New England can travel efficiently without automobiles; and
• Link together the larger public transit system with pedestrian and bicycle-commuter infrastructure.