PREPARE FOR CHANGES!
Newport Folk Festival is amazing for so many reasons – three days of awesome entertainment, legendary icons, exciting new performers, and the most stunning location imaginable – no wonder the three-day event sells out in minutes!
If you’ve been to Newport Folk in recent years, then you’ve seen another famous feature – the sea of bicycles!!! Up to 1800 people pedal to Newport Folk every day – bypassing traffic and catching the salty sea breeze all the way to the premium bike parking at Fort Adams.
Folks who’ve been biking for years know the routine well – but get ready because this year there are changes in store!
Please be aware of these changes and watch for guidance from road signs, police officers, and volunteers on the route.
ROAD SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS
1) HARRISON AVENUE BIKE LANE:
Westbound from Beacon Hill Road to the Fort Adams entrance.
For this segment:
- The eastbound lane will be for BICYCLES ONLY, in two directions.
- Cars will travel westbound only.
- Cars leaving Fort Adams will only exit to the right.
- People in cars and on bicycles will be instructed by signage and by police officers.
- Everyone should always move carefully and thoughtfully to ensure safety and be aware of any police instructions.
- This traffic pattern will be in place during all three days of the Folk Festival, from about 8:00 AM until about 8:00 PM (or when all bikes have cleared the area). The eastbound lane will open if needed for emergency vehicles, in which case bicycles should move to the shoulder.
2) SAFETY ON THAMES STREET AND SPRING STREET:
THAMES STREET: Under no circumstances should you ride the wrong way on one-way Thames Street (the full length from Narragansett to Memorial). When traveling on this segment northbound, please DISMOUNT and walk your bicycle. You may also move uphill east to Spring Street or Bellevue Avenue for northbound travel.
SPRING STREET: You may have read about the planned bike lane on Spring Street. Unfortunately this will not be completed in time for the Folk Festival. You are welcome to use Spring Street as always, but be advised that there may be significant traffic and there is not always a clear channel for bicycles as cars do not position consistently right or left of center. Please use caution and patience when riding on Spring Street with vehicle traffic congestion.
3) NEW BIKE ROUTES:
The recommended bike routes have changed, too – they’ll be shorter and more direct, allowing bicyclists to choose routes that best suit their destination. Cyclists are asked to watch for the signs, follow the instructions of police officers and volunteers, and to be prepared by viewing and downloading these revised routes. These routes will get you back to the Park ‘n Bike lots, or you may choose to use Spring Street to make your way downtown after the event. Please note the cautionary information in (2) above.
- Bicycle route from Rogers High School to Fort Adams – 1.5 miles • Approx 7 mins
- Bicycle route from Fort Adams to Rogers High School – 1.5 miles • Approx 7 mins
- Bicycle route from the Y to Fort Adams – 4.6 miles • Approx 30 mins
- Bicycle route from Fort Adams to the Y– 4.6 miles • Approx 30 mins
4) ROAD RULES: People on bikes must always ride in the same direction of traffic on Thames Street and all one-way roads. Bicyclists must dismount and walk their bikes when heading in the opposite direction or move to a street going in their direction.
5) WHAT ABOUT JAZZ? Bicycle ridership diminishes somewhat significantly for the Newport Jazz Festival, so the Harrison Avenue detour for cars will not be in place. The new routing however will remain in place, providing improved opportunities for bicycles to separate from cars much earlier in their exit ride.
6) WE’RE COUNTING ON YOU: Together with the bike lanes, we will be installing counters that will help us to track use and behaviors. The counters will be installed on Harrison Avenue, Spring Street, and Thames Street. The data collected by the counters will be extremely helpful in our work to continue improving safety for people biking and walking.
BIG THANKS!
All of this work is thanks to the collaboration of many community leaders committed to improved road safety:
Rhode Island Department of Health for the “Street Transformation Demonstration Grant” that inspired and helped fund all of these improvements.
MetroCount for generously providing the bicycle counters to assist us in documenting the impact of these improvements.
Our partners in the Ride Island initiative – Toole Design, Grow Smart RI, and van Beuren Charitable Trust – for all of the technical, planning, and financial support.
Newport Police Department for being our primary partner in establishing safer streets in Newport.
And to all the Folks Who Ride Bikes! In addition to sailing past the backed-up car traffic, people on bikes get premium parking close to the Festival entrance. They save money and gas, have a great time, ease traffic, and contribute to carbon reduction. We estimate that people biking to the Folk Festival reduce the car traffic by about 750 cars each day. Here’s a big THANK YOU to everyone who rides a bike to Newport Folk Festival!
At Bike Newport, our commitment is to make biking easy, comfortable, and safe, and we hope that more and more people will choose to ride bikes to the Folk Festival each year. We help riders find their way with digital maps and on-road signage, greet the cyclists and assist their bike parking so we can fit everyone without wasting any space, provide helpful information, and adorn every bike with blinking lights at the end of the day to improve visibility.
Learn more about Bike Newport at BikeNewportRI.org.
Bike Newport