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‘Status quo roadmap’: Critics say new RI transportation plan fails climate, transit goals

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‘Status quo roadmap’: Critics say new RI transportation plan fails climate, transit goals


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  • Attorney General Peter Neronha wrote that the transportation plan “fails to take a forward-looking approach to achieving the state’s long-term goals.”
  • Of the $11.5 billion in the plan, 76% would go to roads and bridges.
  • The plan, which is required for federal funding, was approved on a 18-1 vote.

Rhode Island planners have approved a new version of the state’s 10-year transportation funding plan over objections that it is too focused on automobiles and will not do enough to meet the state’s climate goals.

The State Transportation Improvement Plan for 2026-2025 lays out $11.5 billion worth of spending over that period, including construction, maintenance, highways, streets, sidewalks, bridges, buses and ferries.

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It was approved by the State Planning Council 18-1 on Thursday, Sept. 11, with only Scott Wolf of Grow Smart RI opposed. The Planning Council includes many state employees, including members of Gov. Dan McKee’s Cabinet.

But outside the Planning Council members, there were loud objections to the plan.

AG: Plan fails to address targets set by Act on Climate

Attorney General Peter Neronha wrote to the Planning Council saying the transportation plan “fails to take a forward-looking approach to achieving the state’s long-term goals, and falls far short of meaningfully furthering compliance with the Act on Climate.”

The Act on Climate requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030 (from 1990 levels) and achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or be subject to legal action.

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It is not clear how close Rhode Island is to being on track to meet its Act on Climate goals, but President Donald Trump’s orders to halt incentives for electric vehicles and carbon-free power projects have created new challenges.

“While the importance of safely maintained roads and improved roads and bridges throughout the state cannot be stressed enough, steps should also be taken to further investments that expand public options, promote mode shift away from single vehicle travel and reduce emissions,” Neronha wrote.

Federal law requires all states to have an approved plan, by the start of October, for the next four years of transportation spending, and later years of the plan are more tentative.

Criticism of RIPTA service cuts

In explaining why he would vote against the plan, Wolf said that “although there are some excellent projects, looking at this as a whole … we think this [plan] is mostly a status quo roadmap.

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“At a time that for multiple compelling reasons we believe we need to move in a more transit and bike and pedestrian friendly direction,” Wolf said. “And instead we’re still facing proposed transit service cutbacks … service cutbacks which could be completely avoided, through a reallocation of 1 tenth of 1% of the current state budget.”

The vote comes after the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority earlier this month approved a reworked spending plan that reduces trip frequency across the statewide bus network to close a budget gap.

The new 10-year plan also includes, at best, modest funding to execute RIPTA’s 2020 Transit Master Plan, including a planned “metro connector” or high frequency and capacity rapid transit line from Central Falls to Warwick. (RIPTA was expected to release the results of a planning study for the corridor in “summer 2025.”)

Meredith Brady, secretary of the Division of Statewide Planning, said if more money was going to be spent on non-highway projects the money would need to be taken from something specific that it is currently budgeted for.

“But given our need to meet this deadline, unless there are specific proposals that we can consider … we would need to have very specific information about what was going to be removed,” she said.

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Of the $11.5 billion in the plan, 76% is ticketed for roads and bridges, 4% for transit and 6% for bicycle and pedestrian projects, which are often incorporated into road projects.

Bright spots in the transportation plan

Despite his big-picture opposition, Wolf said positive projects in the new 10-year plan included the Kingston Station Mobility Hub, Westerly Train Station platform upgrades, Mount Hope Bay Greenway and Wakefield Main Street improvements.

Grow Smart RI is part of a dozen-group coalition, including the Acadia Center, Save RIPTA and the Conservation Law Foundation, that wrote with a series of requests to the Planning Council including:

  • A detailed account of how the state DOT plans to reduce carbon emissions and take steps to reduce driving instead of relying on a transition to electric cars
  • A separate plan section on how the state intends to execute the Transit Master Plan
  • Shift some flexible federal transportation funding toward RIPTA
  • Put funding behind plans to electrify the MBTA’s Providence Line
  • Build dedicated bus lanes on existing highway lanes and include a carpool lane on the new westbound Washington Bridge.



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Bodycam footage shows moments police respond to Pawtucket shooting

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Bodycam footage shows moments police respond to Pawtucket shooting


Police bodycam footage shows the moments officers arrived to the scene of a deadly mass shooting in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

The shooting on Feb. 16 at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena killed Rhonda Dorgan and Aidan Dorgan, the ex-wife and son of the shooter, who died by suicide.

Gerald Dorgan, Rhonda’s father, died from his injuries this week. His wife, Linda Dorgan, and family friend Thomas Geruso remain hospitalized.

Around five minutes after the first officer arrives, he beings helping paramedics with a man who identifies himself as Aidan. Twelve minutes in, Aidan Dorgan is transported to the hospital, where he would later die from his injuries.

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For the last 10 minutes of the footage, the officer then begins helping paramedics transport the other three gunshot victims.

The video ends with police prepping witness interviews.

The shooting rocked the Pawtucket community. Chris Librizzi, head coach of the Blackstone Valley Schools hockey team impacted by the shooting, said the players and coaching staff “are devastated over the events that took place at Lynch Arena on Monday and intimately affected one of our teammates.”

As authorities continue investigating the shooting in Pawtucket, three patients remain in critical condition.

“We will lean on each other and support one another, as we have always done as a team,” he added.

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Pawtucket police said two handguns were found at the scene after the shooting, a Sig Sauer P226 and Glock. Other weapons have been seized at the suspect’s storage unit in Maine.

Investigators continue reviewing all video evidence from before, during and after the shooting, including surveillance footage from the Dennis M. Lynch Arena, police body-worn camera footage and other records — a high school sports livestream captured the shooting from a distance — police said.



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Man killed in RI shooting; suspect involved in Mass. car crash that killed 2 others

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Man killed in RI shooting; suspect involved in Mass. car crash that killed 2 others


A man has died after a shooting in Cranston, Rhode Island, and investigators say a suspect was later involved in a car crash in Swansea, Massachusetts, that killed two other people.

The shooting victim was found Thursday on Legion Way, shot multiple times in the chest, Cranston police told NBC affiliate WJAR-TV. He was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he later died. His name has not been released.

The suspect initially fled on foot, setting off a shelter-in-place order while investigators searched the area.

Police said Friday that investigators identified a suspect vehicle, which was later spotted by Massachusetts State Police. A trooper followed the car down Route 6 and Interstate 195, but stopped when it crossed back into Rhode Island. The car was later involved in a crash on Route 136 in Swansea, Mass.

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Swansea police say that crash on Route 136 (James Reynolds Road) resulted in the deaths of two other people.

According to the Swansea Police Department, two officers saw a white Infinity G37 speed past them around 12:18 a.m. Friday on Route 6, otherwise known as Grand Army of the Republic Highway. Moments later, officers observed that the vehicle had crashed into the side of a blue Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136.

Both vehicles sustained catastrophic damage, police said.

The vehicle that was struck was fully engulfed in flames. First responders and bystanders tried to extinguish the fire, but both occupants — a man and a woman — were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Their names have not been released.

The 28-year-old Infinity driver, who struck the victims’ Subaru, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with serious injuries and later into custody by Cranston Police. They have not been publicly identified at this time.

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Swansea police said they are aware that the Infinity was the subject of a police pursuit, and know the driver was wanted in connection to the Rhode Island homicide investigation. While Swansea police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect’s vehicle, however, they say they were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the deadly crash.

The crash in Swansea is under investigation by Massachusetts authorities, including state police and the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office. Meanwhile, Cranston police said they would give an update on their investigation around 1 p.m.



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RI House speaker unveils housing bills for 2026. What to know

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RI House speaker unveils housing bills for 2026. What to know


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  • Rhode Island House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi has introduced a new package of housing legislation.
  • Highlights include allowing property owners to divide single-family lots and legalizing single-staircase, four-story apartment buildings.
  • The package also seeks to expand the Homeless Bill of Rights and streamline the creation of emergency shelters.

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is once again taking aim at the regulations he says are stifling new homebuilding.

The Warwick Democrat unveiled his sixth annual suite of housing legislation on Thursday, Feb. 26, a few weeks after announcing he would not be running for governor this year.

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“We are still trying to play catch-up for all the years that Rhode Island was dead last in the country for new housing starts,” Shekarchi said. “While Rhode Island remains a relatively affordable option for people moving here from other states, our own residents are too often priced out of the neighborhoods they grew up in.”

The legislative text of the nine-bill housing package, and with it the specifics of how it would work, were not available for Thursday’s news conference.

But highlights of the package, according to summaries, include:

  • Infill housing. Allow property owners to divide lots in single-family zoning districts, creating multiple dwellings instead of one, provided they have water and sewer service.
  • Parking maximums. Put new limits on how much off-street parking communities require for new apartment buildings.
  • Homeless Bill of Rights. Expand the state’s Homeless Bill of Rights to require 15-day notice to the occupants of encampments before local authorities clear them.
  • Emergency shelters. Let communities build temporary shelters, such as the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence, during a state of emergency.
  • Stairs. Legalize the construction of four-story apartment buildings with a single staircase.
  • Affordable housing taxes. Overhaul the tax system for income-restricted housing covered by the state’s “8 Law.”

Is land-use reform working?

Since Shekarchi was elected speaker in 2021, the General Assembly has passed dozens of bills he backed that tweaked state land-use statutes or streamlined the process for building.

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How successful this approach has been is subject to debate.

Many local elected officials wary of development in their communities continue to rail against efforts to erode their power over construction.

Others in the growing Yes In My Back Yard movement see Rhode Island’s piecemeal approach as inadequate in comparison with the scale of the affordability problem and what other states are doing.

As evidence that his changes are making a difference, Shekarchi said Rhode Island saw a 70% increase in building permits in 2023 and a more modest increase in 2024. (Statistics for last year were not immediately available.)

Gov. Dan McKee’s 2030 plan calls for 15,000 new housing units built by that year.

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Democratic primary challenger Helena Foulkes is slated to roll out her housing plan on Monday.

It is expected to include a millionaires tax to fund affordable housing, a revolving fund and target of 20,000 new homes.

What would the new laws do?

Letting property owners put multiple homes on a plot of land is one of the most direct ways that lawmakers can encourage the construction of more homes, but it is also one of the most controversial.

That’s especially true in areas zoned for large lots and single-family homes.

How far the new bill allowing lots to be subdivided in single-family zones goes is unclear. It is sponsored by Rep. Stephen Casey, D-Woonsocket.

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Legislation setting maximum parking requirements for new developments, introduced by Rep. Joshua Giraldo, D-Central Falls, would apply to areas accessible by public transit.

Critics of off-street parking requirements say they make it harder to build new apartments and make the units that are built more expensive.

Shekarchi proposed the emergency shelter bill last year. It passed the House and died in the Senate.

It was the result of how long it took state officials to navigate Rhode Island’s building code and open the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence.

The staircase bill, sponsored by Rep. June Speakman, a Warren Democrat and chair of the House’s home affordability study commission, follows a wave of cities and states relaxing rules on how many exits are required in new construction.

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Currently, the state building code requires two stairways in buildings with more than three stories, and fire officials have opposed all efforts to change that.

Speakman’s bill would allow four-story buildings with a maximum of 16 units with a single staircase.

Supporters of single-stair buildings say they allow development of small sites that would otherwise sit vacant and allow family-sized units with more light and better ventilation.

A previous Rhode Island single-stair bill would have allowed six stories, but it died in committee.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order in mid-February to study the idea.

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