RI Sea Grant launches new web-based public access app featuring CRMC rights-of-way

August 22, 2016, NARRAGANSETT – There’s a new app that makes it easy to find the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council’s (CRMC) 222 designated rights-of-way. Rhode Island Sea Grant recently launched the web-based app that makes getting to Rhode Island’s public access points even easier than before.

Discovering the Rhode Island Shore is designed to help both residents and visitors find their way to pathways, boat ramps, scenic vistas, parks, beaches, wildlife refuges, and fishing sites along Rhode Island’s 400 miles of coastline. The app is a digital update of Public Access to the Rhode Island Coast, published in 2004 by RISG with the cooperation of the CRMC. (That original guide can be found here.)

In addition to providing the most up-to-date information on more than 300 public access points all over the state, the app is much more flexible than a publication in its utilization as a resource. Users can search for access based on town or type of activity, or can view all of the sites, listed in order of the nearest location.

The new app also offers photos of each site, daily tide information based on the Newport tide gauge, real-time local weather conditions, a list of public amenities, and directions to each location that can be synced to the user’s smart device. The app states that sites chosen for the app are either owned by federal, state, or municipal government and managed for the public; owned by private organizations who welcome the public; or designated rights-of-way by the CRMC or by the municipalities, and are suitable for public use.

“This app is a great extension of the printed guide that includes, but goes far beyond, CRMC’s 222 public rights-of-way to the shore, and will help residents and visitors take greater advantage of Rhode Island’s shoreline, said CRMC Marine Resources Specialist Kevin Cute. “We hope that as more people become aware of and utilize these various access points that we’ll get greater feedback to help manage and preserve public access for future generations.”

For more information on CRMC’s right-of-way designation process, its annual right-of-way status report, and information on public access, go to http://www.crmc.ri.gov/publicaccess.html. For more information on Rhode Island Sea Grant, go to http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/.