Establish working partnerships with RIDOT, RIEDC, RIPTA, Town/City Planning Offices to gather “building block” information on the sites they deem preferable to establish nodes in a Narragansett Bay High Speed Ferry Network.
High School student design projects shall assemble existing and historical information about the proposed sites into case studies. Each case study shall be accentuated with Collegiate student design projects working as a collaborative consortium to design prototype site plans, architectural building layouts, cost estimates, renderings, marketing plans, etc
Intermodal
Consulting with the RI Department of Transportation (RIDOT), RI Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), and the RI Department of Economic Development (RIEDC), this demonstration project shall collaborate with several cities and towns lining the shores of Narragansett Bay to locate potential sites for ferry terminal buildings and docks.
PHASE 1 of this project will be delivered in 2 coordinated reports comprised of data created and assembled by student design programs in several schools located throughout the State of Rhode Island. Site specific site plans & landscape layouts will be created for a minimum of 6 sites (12 sites maximum) from the approx. 40 candidate sites.
9/1/03 Establish streamlined list of “candidate” sites with Cities/Towns, State Agencies & Planning Depts. Gather site specific info for each site ie) topo maps. Start development and execute student assignments such as student design project website development and creation of project database for each site plan.
1/2/04 Start landscape architecture site plan design
6/1/04 Finish site plan design and project website development with all designs posted to project websites.
7/1/04 Print & submit Final Report for Phase 1.
$89,770.60 ($89,771.00 Yearly)
Existing student design programs at the participating high schools & colleges will focus their efforts onto a common subject matter, "Narragansett Bay High Speed Ferry Network - Phase 1". Students are undergraduates fulfilling their required coursework. The new concept this project initiates is the idea of a common subject matter throughout a statewide network of students focusing on a transportation solution and opportunity for economic development.
The research and studies completed to date shall be the building blocks from which students are exposed to the ferry concept; therefore, enabling them to contribute to furthering the concept.
Interacting with high speed ferry manufacturers, state agencies, and local planning offices shall enable the students to consolidate past & current research/ideas/expertise into one comprehensive statewide plan accentuated with internet accessible graphics & animations.
The Town of East Greenwich and the Town of Warren have constructed or plan to construct ferry landings in anticipation of a Narragansett Bay based public transit network. Their project justifications, budget estimates, and construction documents will contribute greatly to this project. Options to travel to Block Island have been accentuated with the addition of a high speed ferry service. The Business Plan of this service and the expertise from high speed ferry manufacturers located in Rhode Island will be referred to in developing options and design scenarios for cities and towns that haven’t considered itself a possible node in a Narragansett Bay based public transit network.
A Federal Grant was awarded to the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority to establish a testbed ferry service between Pawtucket-Providence and Newport-Providence; respectively. The results of these pilot program ferry services shall provide valuable input to the pros/cons of operating the service.
The internet will be the primary delivery mechanism of displaying the student generated designs, renderings, and animations. Site specific project websites shall be established and organized to allow general public access to information the students find relevant to the site and subject matter. Existing studies & reports, historical maps, and photographs will be made available on the project website to compliment the student generated information posted to the website.
This project shall focus the list of candidate sites into a coordinated implementation plan and operations plan in an exercise that will accentuate the current research regarding developing a Narragansett Bay based public transit network. State/Town/City Planning Offices can use the project websites, prototype designs, (Phase 2) marketing plans, and formal reports as catalysts to generate public interest as they deem necessary.
Mobility and Economic Growth