William C. O'Neill Bike Path

The William C. O'Neill Bike Path (also called the South County Bike Trail) is a paved rail trail extending from Kingston station parking lot in West Kingston, Rhode Island, to Mumford Road in Narragansett, Rhode Island. The whole path is in Washington County, Rhode Island. The trail is 6.8 miles (11 km) long, largely on the former right of way of the Narragansett Pier Railroad. A future extension will bring it to Boston Neck Road (RI 1A), and a second extension will provide a connection to the University of Rhode Island.

William C. O'Neill Bike Path
The William C. O'Neill Bike Path in Peace Dale in 2013
William C. O'Neill Bike Path
Length	6.8 miles (11 km)
Location	South Kingstown and Narragansett, Rhode Island, United States
Established	2000 (first section)
Trailheads	Kingston station, West Kingston Mumford Road, Narragansett
Hiking details
Surface	Paved
Right of way	Former Narragansett Pier Railroad
Website	southcountybikepath.org

History

An early-20th-century postcard of Peace Dale station

The Narragansett Pier Railroad opened in 1876 to connect mills in Wakefield and Peace Dale to the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad at West Kingston.[1] Passenger service ended in 1952, though freight service continued until the 1970s and the line was not fully abandoned until 1981.[1]

In 1968, the line was proposed for use as a public school rail line, taking children to and from schools along the route, but this "visionary concept" failed to gain the requisite support.[2] In 1981, Anthony Guariello—a local mill owner and town councilman—purchased the line with the possibility of conversion into a bike path for school children.[3]

Conversion to a bicycle path was studied in 1991; in 1995, the Friends of the South County Bike Path was started to create the path.[3] The first phase of the trail, running 4.2 miles (6.8 km) from Kingston station to Rodman Street, was completed in 2000. The 2.9-mile (4.7 km) Phase II was opened to Route 108 in 2003. Phase III, started in 2009, and opened in 2011, extended the trail a further 0.8 miles (1.3 km) (including a short section on a residential street) to the intersection of Mumford Road and Riverside Drive in Narragansett.[4][5] According to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, at 7.8 miles, the South County Bike Path is the fourth longest bike path in the state.[4]

The last section of railroad right-of-way through Narragansett is not as well-preserved as the rest of the route; several parts are used for roads or residential developments. Instead, Phase IV will be routed through the Canonchet Farm, a local park, and reach the waterfront north of where the railroad did.[6] Although more expensive than on-road alternatives, it will provide the safest route. The approximately-1-mile long extension was entered into funding proposals in early 2016.[7]

A bond approved by RI voters in 2016 provided $10 million in funding to various bike path projects throughout the state. Included in the bond was funding for two new sections of the path: a 2.1-mile (3.4 km) connection from the University of Rhode Island to the path, and the first 0.26 miles (0.42 km) of Phase IV, connecting the existing path to the Narragansett Community Center.[8]

The trail passes under the Route 1 freeway in a tunnel

The trail crosses Rhode Island Route 108, with the restored Wakefield station at left

The trail's northern terminus, near the Kingstown Amtrak station

Street crossings

The William C. O'Neill Bike Path crosses the following streets:[9]

Town	Road	Notes
West Kingston	Railroad Avenue (Kingston station)	Western terminus of path. Parking lot located off Route 138.[9]
	Liberty Lane
	Route 110 — Ministerial Road
	Larkin Pond Road North
South Kingstown	South Road
	Curtis Corner Rd.
	Unnamed driveway	Dirt road
	Asa Pond Road
	Rodman Street
	Route 108 — Kingstown Road	The trail crosses Route 108 twice in short succession
	Railroad Street	Concurrent with street
	Church Street
	Cemetery Lane
	Route 1A — Main Street
	Woodruff Avenue	Overhead bridge – no connection to trail
	Prospect Street
	Robinson Street
	Route 108 — Kingstown Road
	McArthur Street	Concurrent with street
Narragansett	US 1 — Tower Hill Road	Overhead bridge – no connection to trail
	Mumford Road	Eastern terminus of current path[9]

Phase IV junctions (as of 2016)

The proposed fourth phase of the bike path is planned to cross the following streets:[6][10]

Town	Road	Notes
Narragansett	Riverside Drive	Overlap
	Route 1A — Boston Neck Road	Future eastern terminus of path. Short walk to town beach.

Planned URI connector junctions

The future URI connector (construction expected in 2018) is planned to cross these following streets:[11]

Town	Road	Notes
South Kingstown	William C. O'Neill Bike Path	Southern terminus
	Route 138 — Kingstown Road
	W Independence Way
	Keaney Road
	Fraternity Circle
	W Alumni Avenue
	Flagg Road	The northern terminus will be at the back end of the parking lot on the north side of Flagg Rd

References

1. Lewis, Edward A. (1975). American Short Line Railway Guide. The Baggage Car. p. 87.
2. "A Brief History of the William C. O'Neill Bike Path". southcountybikepath.org. Friends of the William C. O'Neill Bike Path. 2009. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
3. "South County Bike Path". southcountybikepath.org. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
4. "South County Bike Path – Rhode Island". Rhode Island Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
5. "William C. O'Neill Bike Path". www.traillink.com. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
6. Rhode Island Department of Transportation (6 January 2016). "Completion of the South County Bike Path via Canonchet Farm, Narragansett, R.I." (PDF). Friends of the William C. O'Neill South County Bike Path.
7. "Bike Path". Narrow River. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
8. "Raimondo, Moffit, DEM Announce First Wave of Investments Under Green Economy Bond" (PDF). William C. O'Neill Bike Path. March 13, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
9. Spliner, Steve. "Map of the Willam C. O'Neill Bike Path" (PDF). Willam C. O'Neill Bike Path. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
10. "William C. O'Neill Bike Path | West Kingston Rhode Island Rails-To-Trails | Trails.com". www.trails.com. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
11. "URI Transportation Improvement Program" (PDF). www.planning.ri.gov. Retrieved 2017-04-05.

External links

• William C. O'Neill Bike Path