Christopher Burich, Advocacy Associate, Bike Newport
BPACs are Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committees. A BPAC is a municipally-designated committee made up of local residents and is a vital part of community progress.
On Wednesday April 23rd, participants from Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth came together at the Middletown Fire Department for a valuable discussion about BPAC progress in the three island municipalities.
A program of “Ride Island University”, presented by Bike Newport, this event was the second gathering in the series. Part 1 took place in January and provided information on how a BPAC efficiently operates. Part 2 allowed for more discussion among the participants, which included 6 from Newport, 7 from Middletown, and 6 from Portsmouth.
UPDATES
Since the last meeting, the Newport BPAC has held two meetings, welcomed new members, and chosen officers. They are in the process of establishing priorities and relationships with City Council members and staff. Tara Zambrotta, the advocate behind the Instagram handle “Newport Needs Sidewalks”, is Newport’s new BPAC Chair. Members of the Middletown BPAC shared histories and strategies that are useful to those new to the process. Portsmouth residents who are gathering and preparing their strategy to request a BPAC in Portsmouth received helpful feedback from the Newport and Middletown members to back up their efforts to gain support from council members, staff, and business leaders.
DISCUSSION
A discussion about collaboration sparked numerous ideas of what common priorities the three groups want to tackle. Topics included enforcement of Green and Complete Streets policies, gathering timelines for paving schedules, island-wide support of select state transportation projects, and standardizing paving protocol to avoid dangerous roadside dropoffs from new pavement.
TRAININGS
Numerous participants expressed interest in learning more about the required practices for municipal commissions. We learned that there are two upcoming public workshops taking place at Newport City Hall, both in Council Chambers, both open to anyone to attend:
- Ethics Workshop May 7th at 5:30pm
- Open Meetings Act workshop May 21st at 5:30
If you are interested in learning more about BPACs on Aquidneck Island, please fill out this form and we’ll keep you up to date.
Bike Newport