On Tuesday, February 28th, the RI Senate Finance Committee will hold an “Advice and Consent” confirmation hearing for RIDOT Director Peter Alviti. The hearing will take place in the Senate Lounge at the State House at the Rise of the Senate, which usually takes place about 4:30pm. (The Rise is when the House or Senate finishes with their formal business for the day in the chamber.)
The public is invited to attend and address the committee and to submit letters in writing to: Senate Finance Committee members at SenateFinance@rilegislature.gov.
There are several priorities that we are championing along with other active transportation advocates in the best interest of road user safety and carbon reduction. At the hearing, we will share with Director Alviti how RIDOT can help to achieve these goals and ask for his commitment to work together to expedite progress, including:
– re-instating quarterly roundtables for the Director with community stakeholders
– prioritizing and accelerating implementation of the Bicycle Mobility Plan which features connected and consistently safe/separated bicycle routes statewide
We are asking the Department of Transportation to deepen our state’s commitment to promising outcomes of bicycle investments and to join the cities, states, and countries that are investing in bicycles as fully-fledged modes of transport. We believe that with this commitment, Rhode Island can likewise embrace and benefit from the low-cost and high-returns of bicycle infrastructure to meet our carbon reduction mandates and to improve the health and well-being of our people and our economy.
In Case You Missed It
(with thanks to Grow Smart Rhode Island)
Here is a very informative video from August 2022 of the gubernatorial candidates sharing their responses to the question: “A few days ago 36 transportation-focused groups wrote to all of you saying Rhode Island can and must join forward-looking states in widening our mobility choices rather than our highways. For example, the letter criticized the Department of Transportation for planning to widen five miles of I-295 using $85 million in federal money that was supposed to help reduce emissions and it called for fully funding a state match for the Bicycle Mobility Plan. As governor, would you want to change the DOT’s priorities for transporation? Is so, how?”
Bike Newport