Transportation 2035 - State of Rhode Island: Division of Planning

December 2012HOUSING PLANAs directed by the General Assembly, the cities and towns in Rhode Island have prepared plans to address the local shortages of affordable housing such thateach municipality achieves 10 percent. The state has also adopted a Five-Year Strategic Housing Plan and has recently completed a map that identifies suitablelocations for higher density development that are consistent with Land Use 2025. The Center for Neighborhood Technology has a website that identifieslocations in the Providence – Fall River Metropolitan Area where combined housing and transportation costs are affordable (45 percent or less of medianincome), and only a small portion of Rhode Island (mostly in inner city areas) is considered as such. 1HURRICANE EVACUATION ROUTESAs recommended by the 2004 plan, hurricane evacuation routes have been identified through a joint RIDOT/RIEMA effort and in coordination with cities andtowns. The routes have been mapped and posted on RIEMA’s website. As a next step in producing a complete evacuation plan,evacuation times on the identified routes have been estimated using the Rhode Island Statewide Model (RISM). To date, therehave been no recommendations for specific roadway improvements as a result of the Evacuation Plan. The project evaluationcriteria used in the development of the Transportation Improvement Program allow extra points for projects on evacuationroutes.See Map # 1-3HurricaneEvacuation RoutesFREIGHT PLANNING NEEDS ASSESSMENTA Freight Planning Needs Assessment was completed by Statewide Planning as a technical paper in 2006 that provided an overview of multi-modalfreight facilities in the state and a summary of local and regional planning efforts. The paper further identifies what additional steps that StatewidePlanning and RIDOT could be taking to improve freight planning. Key recommendations include the designation of state points of contact at bothagencies, and also exploring the possibility of folding Rhode Island’s Freight Rail Plan into the long range surface transportation plan.TRANSIT 2020 AND SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION ON TRANSITMuch attention has been paid in recent years to the future of transit in this state. A Special Legislative Commission was established in 2006 to investigatefunding issues. A group called Transit 2020, sponsored by the City of Providence, has been meeting to establish a new vision for transit in the Providence1 http://htaindex.cnt.org/map_toolTransportation 2035 (2012 Update)State Guide Plan Element 611Rhode Island Statewide Planning ProgramPage 1-15