East Bay Bike Path

The East Bay Bike Path is a 14.5-mile (23.3 km) paved rail trail in Rhode Island. The path begins at Providence and India Point Park, crosses the Seekonk River via the George Redman Linear Park (opened September 2015^[1]) and Washington Bridge and continues southeast to Bristol along the shoreline of Narragansett Bay. The path passes through the city of East Providence, the hamlet of Riverside, and the townships of Barrington and Warren. It is part of the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile system of trails connecting the Canada–US border in Maine to Key West. and provides access to Haines State Park, Brickyard Pond (Barrington), and Colt State Park. It is used annually by 1.1 million people.

History

The former Riverside train station still stands next to the former tracks, which are now the East Bay Bicycle Path.

What is now part of the East Bay Bike Path was originally part of the Old Colony Railroad.^[2] The line was built in the mid-1800s to take trains from Providence to Bristol. The line changed hands several times through the years, and all passenger service was discontinued in 1937.^[2] Freight service continued intermittently until the railroad went bankrupt, and the branch was completely abandoned in 1973.^[2]

The plan for what would become Rhode Island's first major bike path was approved in April 1983 by Governor Edward DiPrete. It was built from 1987 to 1992,^[3] following the abandoned rail bed of the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad. The property was acquired and constructed in four phases:

1. Riverside Square to Barrington County Road (4.17 miles or 6.71 kilometres)
2. County Road, Barrington to Franklin Street, Warren (2.38 miles or 3.83 kilometres)
3. Franklin Street, Warren to Independence Park, Bristol (3.87 miles or 6.23 kilometres)
4. Riverside Square to India Point Park, Providence (3.98 miles or 6.41 kilometres)

The completed path was dedicated on May 31, 1992, by Governor Bruce Sundlun. An 8.5 mile on-road, via bike lane, was completed in 2011, linking the East Bay Bike Path with the south tip of the Blackstone River Bikeway, a 48-mile (77 km) trail, which will link Providence with Worcester, Massachusetts. Rhode Island's next project will be connecting the East Bay Bike Path with the Washington Secondary Rail Trail.

Repairs

Tree roots, erosion, and weather have necessitated repairs to the asphalt in 2002, 2007 and 2009.^[4] Repairs scheduled for mid-2016 will target the most hazardous areas of the path.^[4] Pavement will be repaired, destructive tree roots removed, eroded areas reinforced, and new planks installed on the Barrington bridges.^[4]

George Redman Linear Park

Bicycle and pedestrian traffic are separated on the George Redman Linear Park (looking east)

The bike path on one of the coves in East Providence

A abandoned rail bridge on the path with Providence in the background

The entrance of the path under India St.

Part of the George Redman Park crossing over the Seekonk River

A WWII memorial on the path in Riverside, RI

A view of Providence, RI from the East Bay Bike Path

Looking north on the path in Riverside, RI

From 2012-2015, the section of the bike path along the Washington Bridge was renovated and rebuilt.^[5] The park, christened the George Redman Linear Park, opened in September 2015, at a total cost of $21.8-million.^[1] The park consists of an 11-foot-wide bicycle lane, a separated footpath paved with stamped concrete, and several seating areas.^[1] The path is completely separated from I-195 automobile traffic.

The linear park is named in honor of East Providence cyclist^[6] and park activist George Redman.^[7] A plaque honoring Redman can be seen on the west end of the park.

Crossings

County	Town	Intersection	Notes
Providence	Providence	Tockwotton St.	Terminus as of 2016
		Gano St.	Overpass Parallel: I-195
	Providence/ East Providence	Seekonk River	River Crossing Parallel: I-195
	East Providence	Waterfront Dr.	Overpass Parallel: I-195
		Valley St.
		Warren Ave.
		First St.	Overlap
		Teofilo Braga Way
		Watchemoket Cove	inlet crossing
		Unnamed Cove
		Squantum Rd.
		Unnamed Cove	inlet crossing
		Mobil Oil Pipeline	Underpass
		Private Dr.	owned by Mobil
		Route 103	Underpass
		Washington Ave.
		Lincoln Ave.
		Unnamed Cove	inlet crossing
		Route 103A
		Vintner Ave.
		Metropolitan Park Dr.
Bristol	Barrington	Unnamed Cove
		Bay Spring Ave.
		Alfred Drowne Rd.
		Washington Rd.
		S. Lake Dr.
		Middle Hwy
		West St.
		Route 114
		Runnis River	river crossing
		East Meadow Rd.
		Sowams Rd.
	Barrington/ Warren	Barrington River	river crossing
	Warren	Kelley St.
		Brown St.
		Nobert St.
		Hope St.
		Wood St.
		Market St.
		Route 103
		Cherry St.
		Route 114
		Campbell St.
		Halie St.
		Bridge St.
		Beach St.
		Bradford St.
		Maple St.
		Locust Terrace
	Bristol	Clubhouse Ln.
		Beach Rd.
		Peck Rock Rd.
		Aaron Rd.
		Gibson Rd.
		Mulberry Rd.
		Fales Rd,
		Asylum Rd.	Access to Colt State Park
		Poppasquash Rd.
		Thames Rd./Oliver St.	Terminus

See also

• Greenways Alliance of Rhode Island

References

External links

• "East Bay Bike Path". TrailLink. Rails to Trails Conservancy. Retrieved 15 June 2016. 
• East Bay Bike Path Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Parks and Recreations Division
• East Bay Bike Path Rhode Island Department of Transportation
• East Coast Greenway Greenways Alliance of Rhode Island