Ongoing Transportation Projects

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this project. The final Long-Range Transportation Plan, Moving Forward RI 2050, was adopted by the State Planning Council on November 13^th, 2025. You can find the final plan documents on the Long-Range Transportation Plan page.”

Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning (RIDSP), in partnership with Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and Rhode Island Public Transit Agency (RIPTA), is developing a plan and guide for both State and municipal governments to build transportation projects that are “complete” – user friendly, safe, and accessible for all roadway users, thereby creating a healthier, greener, and more equitable roadway system. The plan will include Complete Streets policy recommendations, implementation guidance, and design guidelines.

Project Manager: Roberto Echevarria,  RIDSP, roberto.echevarria@doa.ri.gov

Difference between Complete Streets and Safe Streets for All

Complete Streets is focused on guiding the way our governments operate day-to-day, providing guidelines and recommended processes that will help ensure each road in our state becomes a complete street. Every time a road is re-paved or re-designed is a chance to make it a complete street. This Guide won’t identify specific streets or intersections for complete streets projects – instead it will help staff incorporate complete streets elements into every project that gets implemented. On the other hand, Safe Streets for All (SS4A) is intended to produce action plans that set up specific projects and policies that cities and states can undertake to make streets safer for all road users. RIPTA is working with municipalities across the state to develop these action plans, as well as a statewide action plan that will identify priority corridors for safety projects.

Complete Streets is a priority area for the federal government, but it doesn’t have a set funding stream like SS4A. Instead, all MPOs and States must spend at least 2.5% of their planning funds on complete streets projects each year, and do not have to provide match on those funds. SS4A is also focused largely on safety, whereas Complete Streets has multiple goals. Safety is still central to Complete Streets, but other goals include reducing climate emissions, integrating climate resiliency, promoting economic development through making attractive business districts and ensuring people can access jobs, and helping rectify inequities and public health impacts from our transportation system.  These two programs work together to ensure we have a transportation system and culture that supports the implementation of streets that work for all users. 

In 2022, RIPTA was awarded funding from the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) program [transportation.gov] to develop roadway Safety Action Plans on behalf of the state of Rhode Island, and in collaboration with 31 municipalities. The project included a three-tiered analysis of road safety, including both past crash analysis and predictive analysis, and a wide-reaching community engagement process, with a statewide survey, interactive website, and on-the-ground outreach in each participating community. Ultimately the data analysis and public engagement informed the Safety Action Plans and their recommendations for transportation system improvements in each community.

The project was completed in November 2025. This planning process set up the participating municipalities to be eligible for future implementation funding through the federal SS4A program.

Contact Information:

Julia Evelyn - Long Range Transit Planner 

Email jevelyn@ripta.com 

Website (or other links as available):

Transit Forward RI 2040, Rhode Island’s statewide Transit Master Plan, was adopted into the State Guide Plan in 2020. The Plan identified that much of metropolitan Providence has very high underlying demand for transit which rivals that found along existing light rail and bus rapid transit corridors in much larger cities across the US. Two corridors were identified that connect such areas of high demand and that run north-south across the Providence metropolitan region, extending from the Central Falls/Cumberland border through Pawtucket, downtown Providence, Cranston and Warwick.
 

The purpose of the Metro Connector Study is to consider options for providing fast, frequent and reliable transit that connects regional activity centers, neighborhoods, and major transportation hubs in the metro Providence area while supporting other State goals related to climate, sustainable growth, public health, and economic development in an equitable manner. 
 

The goal of this Study is to determine a locally preferred alternative (LPA) for High-Capacity Transit on the possible corridors. These LPAs would identify a preferred alignment, mode, stop locations, approximate ridership, and construction and operational costs. The LPAs should be implementable and developed to the point where they can move into project development.   
 

Contact  Information:
Zachary Agush - Principal Planner for Capital Development at RIPTA
Email: MetroConnector@ripta.com 

Website (or other links as available): In development 

Public outreach:  RIPTA will be engaging at the community level and holding focus groups with major stakeholders. Next round of public meetings anticipated for January/February 2025. Stay tuned for potential hybrid or digital interactive opportunities.

RIDOT undertakes a rail passenger survey every two to three years in order to better understand demand for services and performance. Rail passengers can expect to be asked to take a short online survey about where they began their journey, where they are traveling to, how often they take the train, their experience, and a little about themselves.

Contact: – Lillian Picchione

Public Outreach: – Surveys and sampling will take place between April and October 2025.

The City’s first Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan takes a comprehensive look at East Providence’s active transportation network, uses best practices and objective analysis to determine how public rights-of-way can be used to achieve City goals more effectively, and develops an implementation strategy that sets a clear and achievable path for future multi-modal investments. The Plan reflects the goals and objectives of Moving Forward RI 2040, the State’s Long-Range Transportation Plan. It is also consistent with the long-term vision and builds upon the guidance from the RI Bicycle Mobility Plan (2020). 

This plan is designed to help East Providence become a community where people of all ages and abilities are safe and comfortable and can choose to walk, and bike to everyday destinations like schools, bus stops, grocery stores, parks, and jobs. Developed with support from the Rhode Island Department of Administration’s Division of Statewide Planning, this Plan reflects the vision of the people of East Providence, shared between the summer of 2024 and the autumn of 2025.

Public Outreach Highlights:

• 4 stakeholder interviews with 20 residents, advocates, city staff, and key stakeholders
• 5 community events (public workshops and pop-up events) at Cresent Park, Borealis Coffee Shop at Riverside Square, and Weaver Public Library
• 160 event attendees
• 185 survey responses
• 280 comments received

Walking and Biking in East Providence Today: 

• 8.55 miles of bikeways (3.7 miles planned)
• 140 crashes involving people biking or walking from 2019 – 2023
• 71% of survey respondents who want to bike more in East Providence
• 66% of survey respondents who want to walk more in East Providence
• Less than 10% of survey respondents think it is safe for a child in middle school to cross a multilane road in town unattended

Feature Recommendations: 

• 14.8 miles of new, short-term bicycle improvements
• 40% fully protected or off-road
• Connecting Ten Mile Greenway to the East Bay Bicycle Path (EBBP)
• Improving access to the East Bay Bike Path and crossings on Veteran’s Memorial Parkway
• Connecting commuters to Providence by closing gaps in the bicycle network and improving access

New Policies and Programs 

• Reclassifying the Southern section of Wampanoag Trail as an arterial to improve crossing safety
• Establishing a Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee
• Creating a fund to improve sidewalk continuity and maintenance

This Master Plan project began in August of 2024 and has recently been completed in January of 2026

• Project contacts:
  • Josh O’Neill, AICP, Supervising Planner RI Division of Statewide Planning
  • Quinn Molloy, PhD, Project Manager the Toole Design Group
• Project website: 

The Final Plan can be found on the City of East Providence Planning Department website here: https://eastprovidenceri.gov/departments/planning-economic-development

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is developing and implementing a Rhode Island Department of Transportation Rail Plan. It will be a visionary plan to guide rail investments in the state over the next twenty (20) years. The plan will study past and existing rail infrastructure, develop potential investments for the future, and develop a comprehensive guide to both passenger and freight rail systems and services in Rhode Island. This will then serve as a blueprint for developing and maintaining a rail transportation network that meets the needs of the state, while continuing to improve our connections with the Northeast regional rail network. 

RIDOT’s goal is to engage with transportational sister agencies, municipal leaders, the general public, interested transportation groups, and our federal counterparts. These Agencies include, but are not limited to, Statewide Planning, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), other Federal and State Agencies, Municipalities, and other vested interested groups as required, including freight rail carriers, passenger rail providers, and private parties.
 

Contact Information
David Martone: Chief Program Development, RIDOT, Division of Planning
Email: david.martone@dot.ri.gov

RIDSP is selecting a proposal for assistance with two components of the Statewide Freight & Goods Movement Plan update. The first, Freight Commodity Flows & Forecast, involves investigating the current movement of goods coming into, leaving, passing through, and circulating within Rhode Island as well as 2050 estimates. The second, the Statewide Truck Parking Assessment, concerns issues related to parking shortages for commercial vehicles, an inventory of existing facilities in and around Rhode Island, possible solutions, and a strategy for implementation to overcome adverse effects on the economy. These two components will fulfill federal freight plan requirements and will complement the plan update due to be completed by August 2026.

Contact Information: Asher Eskind, Principal Planner/Freight Coordinator, RIDSP – asher.eskind@doa.ri.gov

In January of 2026 the Division of Statewide Planning is kicking off a new local technical assistance planning project with the Town of Lincoln focused on conceptual redesign of specific corridors within the neighborhoods of Saylesville and Lonsdale. The Saylesville and Lonsdale neighborhoods of Lincoln currently face several significant issues that compromise safety and accessibility. The right-of-way along several local roads are overly wide which encourages speeding, and the sidewalks are in extremely poor condition, which discourages pedestrian use. Additionally, in Saylesville the intersection with Chapel Street and Walker Street is notorious for accidents and near misses, with high vehicle speeds contributing to the frequency of these incidents. Several local roads are used as cut throughs, adding to pedestrian and bike safety concerns.

The study will improve pedestrian access and safety in an area of Lincoln with significant existing and planned residential and mixed-use development. It will also create much-needed connections to existing recreational and transportation assets, such as Lincoln Woods State Park, the Blackstone River Bike Path, and major roadways connecting Lincoln to neighboring communities.

This Plan will produce a set of conceptual redesigns alternatives for the following intersections and corridors:

• Chapel Street
• Walker Street
• Twin River Road
• Old Louisquisset Pike
• Breakneck Hill Road
• Smithfield Avenue
• Lonsdale Avenue
• Front Street
• John Street

Project contacts: 

• Josh O’Neill, AICP, Supervising Planner RI Division of Statewide Planning
• Quinn Molloy, PhD, Project Manager the Toole Design Group

Project website: 

Project information will be found on the Town of Lincoln Planning Department website here: https://www.lincolnri.gov/181/Planning