On Nov. 15, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation submitted a of its Carbon Reduction Strategy to the Federal Highway Administration. If the plan is approved, RIDOT is eligible to receive an estimated $35.7 million from the federal government to spend on carbon reduction projects over four years.听
The revisions resulted from an October public comment period. The original proposed plan was met with backlash from community organizations, which criticized its emphasis on highway expansion, The Herald previously reported.听
The plan鈥檚 current version includes $20 million to be used to encourage a shift from cars to other modes of transportation. Revisions also increase funding for 鈥渂ike path construction and improvement鈥� from $1.5 million to $6.6 million, according to the press release. The submitted version also adds $1.5 million 鈥渢o support RIPTA by providing better access to bus stops and (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance at these stops.鈥澛�
鈥淭hese are positive changes that will provide the necessary actions for RIDOT to accomplish its part of the goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Public input made this plan better,鈥� said RIDOT Director Peter Alviti in a announcing the revisions.
While representatives from both the , a non-profit dedicated to climate solutions, and ., an organization focused on 鈥渘eighborhood revitalization, environmental stewardship and economic opportunity,鈥� believe the new plan is more effective, they still share concerns about its ability to help the state meet the goals outlined in the 2021 R.I. Act on Climate.听
鈥淥verall, I鈥檓 glad to see that RIDOT responded to the public鈥檚 demand for more investment in non-car infrastructure,鈥� said Emily Koo 鈥�13, senior policy advocate and R.I. program director of the Acadia Center. 鈥淏ut the core issues of not meeting the Act on Climate targets, nor measuring project level emissions reductions, remain.鈥�
While Acadia was 鈥済lad to see that there鈥檚 significantly more funding for bike paths, it is still for resurfacing and preservation and maintenance of existing bike paths and not (establishing) new bike infrastructure,鈥� Koo said.
John Flaherty, deputy director of Grow Smart R.I., is not sure the plan successfully tackles the shift from single-occupancy vehicles toward bikes 鈥渨hen you鈥檙e (only) improving upon an existing piece of infrastructure鈥� rather than funding new biking structures, he said.
鈥淢any advocates would agree that the DOT doesn鈥檛 have the best public engagement strategies. And in this case, the process got started very late and only after several of us complained that there was no process,鈥� Flaherty said. According to him, increased public engagement would have made the plan more effective in reaching state goals.听
According to the plan, the strategies outlined in the plan are 鈥渏ust the first step in a larger process undertaken as part of EC-4鈥檚 actions to meet the goals and requirements of the 2021 R.I. Act on Climate.鈥澛�
鈥淎 complete plan to decarbonize Rhode Island鈥檚 transportation sector is being developed through a multi-agency, stakeholder-driven process to meet the state鈥檚 more ambitious 2025 Climate Action Plan update,鈥� the plan reads.听
For Koo, RIDOT is 鈥減utting the onus of the transportation sector planning and analysis on the state鈥檚 2025 climate strategy.鈥�
鈥淲hat they have effectively done is given up,鈥� said R.I. Attorney General Peter Neronha in a on The Matt Allen Show. 鈥淭he idea is not to give up. It鈥檚 to do things.鈥�
Neronha鈥檚 suggestions included the incentivization of green vehicles within the DOT. He pointed out that the state has a , proposed in 2020, that has yet to be implemented.
鈥淭here are practical things that can be done and the DOT is ignoring them,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n fact, they鈥檙e ignoring their own plans.鈥�
Flaherty believes the state must focus on infrastructure changes to its transportation system if it wants to push residents to switch their habits and opt out of using personal transportation. He urged RIDOT to increase public transportation in the state with extended hours of availability.
鈥淲e (understand) that the kinds of changes that need to be made are difficult. Many of the kinds of changes that we鈥檙e advocating for are going to require behavior changes and that鈥檚 inherently difficult,鈥� Flaherty said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e also facing (climate change), an existential threat that requires difficult decisions to be made.鈥�
For Neronha, these behavioral shifts are not impossible.听
鈥淲e give up far too often in state government,鈥� he said, but achieving our state climate goals is 鈥渘ot a pipe dream if we commit ourselves to it.鈥�
