No decision made in parking time limit around Narragansett seawall

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WLNE) — No decision was made Wednesday with the proposal to implement a three-hour time limit at the Narragansett seawall.

In a contested meeting with members of the public, the opposition to the proposal made their opinion known.

Frustration came from some Narragansett residents Wednesday morning at a state traffic commission meeting, as the house committee heard a proposal to implement a three-hour parking limit for spots on the Narragansett seawall between May 15 and Sept. 15.

The committee ultimately voted to continue the hearing to a later date so the town can offer more reasoning behind their proposal.

“If there is a proposal to come back, I think we would like to know the rationale behind this. What is your reason behind making people have to move their car?” asked one resident.  

The town says the proposed parking limit is to allow for more people to be able to park along the sea wall during Narragansett’s busy summer months, giving businesses more customers.

But the committee read emails from several businesses along the water in Narragansett that opposed the proposal.

One of the main concerns from the committee is how the time limit will be enforced and if cars can move to other open spots along the seawall after their time is up.

“How’s it going to be enforced? How’s a police officer going to go by check a cars time and then come back 3 hours later?” another resident asked. “Usually a community service officer is trained and they issue proper tickets in that short window from Memorial Day to Labor Day.”

If approved, signs will be put up along the sea wall signaling a three-hour parking limit, and cars parked longer will be ticketed.

“This is a slippery slope. We might open ourselves up to 70 or 100 or towing. We in Narragansett want Narragansett as it is,” said one resident.

The three-hour parking limit will now be heard again at a later traffic commission meeting, and a decision could be made then.

Some of the public speakers Wednesday asked Narragansett’s town manager to instead put this up for a vote among town residents in an an election instead of leaving the decision to the board.