and
Prospective Fishing Pier
Public Perception and Opinion
Preliminary Study
ES 125 – Environmental
Communications
Course Project, Fall 2003
Executive Summary
Prepared by
Lauren E. Oakes ’04
Center for
Environmental Studies
401-863-2715
February 2004
BRIEF HISTORY
In 1987, State legislation mandated
the demolition of the old
For over a decade now, finances, politics, and public debate on the future of this state land, have delayed significant progress in the project. Recently, however, with increased pressure from the U.S. Coast Guard to demolish the bridge and the allocation of funds for demolition by Governor Carcieri, momentum is gaining, and so is the public debate. With the proximity of this project to residential areas, there are a number of public concerns about maintenance, management, aesthetics, and user groups of the prospective fishing pier.
This study, a
portion of a larger research project still in progress, involved interviewing
19 representatives from stakeholder groups in November and December of 2003 to
gather information on the opportunities and obstacles in communications
planning for the old
METHODOLOGY
Under the supervision of Professor
Christina Zarcadoolas, undergraduate and graduate
students from
The goal of this primary and
secondary research was to identify current attitudes towards plans for the old
FINDINGS
• The fragmented nature of the state mandate for demolition of the old bridge, construction of the pier, and management of the public space makes planning difficult, as it requires extensive cooperation between two separate state agencies, DOT and DEM.
•
Effective management plans and the funds to sustain both management and
maintenance are a necessity. The lack of these firm plans and funding has
lowered support for the pier and created anxiety amongst some
• Representatives from a variety of stakeholder groups have expressed their concerns on the need for adequate and accessible parking, lighting, guardrails, benches, wheelchair access, and regular trash pick up.
• Lack of trust between citizens and state agencies acts as a barrier to successful planning. This sense of distrust emerges from the long duration of planning for demolition of the old bridge and construction of the new bridge, which has been highly publicized in local newspapers since the early 1990’s.
• Local opposition, a not-in-my-back-yard sentimentality, exists amongst abutting residents, who hold political weight with North Kingstown Town Council. The Town Council has publicly expressed a variety of concerns, mainly who will bear the financial burden of maintenance once the pier is built and who will bear the social burden of ensuring the pier is managed properly.
• Despite local opposition to the prospective fishing pier amongst abutting residents and the Town Council, there is a breadth of support for the project within a number of state and local organizations and stakeholder groups, from sport fishing associations like the Rhode Island Bass Federation to non-profits such as Save the Bay or the Audubon Society to North Kingstown small businesses, and minority groups such as the South East Asian community in Rhode Island.
• Citizens’ knowledge of project plans comes primarily from local news sources and word of mouth within their stakeholder groups. Local bait shops have high contact with non-affiliated and affiliated fishers and are a potential source of information dissemination.
• Immigrants and speakers of other languages represent a distinct potential user group. There is no present infrastructure for DOT and DEM to communicate with this population on present plans or prospective management issues.
• Communication theory suggests that local interests and concerns will peak when the dramatic event of demolition begins.
PRELIMINARY
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Developing direct lines of communication between stakeholders and planning state agencies DEM and DOT can potentially broaden support for the prospective fishing pier, raise financial and social resources to contribute to effective management, and establish a strong infrastructure for the dissemination of information about the project.
• Two clusters recommended establishing a “Friends of the Fishing Pier” umbrella organization as means of channeling information and resources between citizens, stakeholder groups, and the planning stage agencies. This umbrella organization can ultimately help organize events at the pier for both fundraising and educational purposes.
• DEM and
DOT can effectively communicate plans with the news-reading public by
cultivating media relations with those reporters who have consistently covered
news related to the old
• Direct
mailings to the abutting community have the potential to foster trust between
residents and the planning agencies as well as increase acceptance of the pier
project. Low cost given the size of
• Shop owners and clerks from local bait and tackle can and should serve as a method of disseminating information about the pier. These locations are appropriate for postings on pier regulations and community activities and can target English speakers as well as speakers of other languages.
• A multi-lingual informational hotline, various print media such as press releases, direct mailings, or brochures adapted for different languages and literacy levels, as well as local advertisements on public transportation were recommended as methods of disseminating information to speakers of other languages. These modes of communication were secondary, however, to the chief recommendation for human contact and grassroots education elements for successful integration of non-affiliated fishers and speakers of other languages. Using existing community organizations as sources for distributing information could easily break down language barriers as well as trust issues to best disseminate information to this potential user group.
• Planning
agencies should seek citizen input and strengthen communication efforts with
the public as demolition nears. The heightened interest in the future of the
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
• Researching other local or out-of-state partnership organizations such as “Friends of India Point Park” could further reveal how a “Friends of the Fishing Pier” public space group can pull resources together and garner support for the project.
• Looking into whether or not any one organization is willing to spearhead a “Friends of the Fishing Pier” umbrella organization could also help streamline support and pull resources together. Further contact with Save the Bay on this topic is recommended. How ‘political considerations’ may influence the involvement of state planning agencies in orchestration of the supporting NGO’s is also a topic of further investigation.
• More extensive qualitative research of the perceptions of abutting communities could provide a better understanding of the ranging levels of opposition and potential levels of support for the prospective pier. Cultivating relations with representatives within the abutting community who may be able to advocate his/her opinion aligned with DEM/DOT goals could help foster local support of the project.
• Further research into what R.I. immigrant and ethnic community organizations are directly involved with non-affiliated fishers and speakers of other languages is critical to bringing this stakeholder group into the planning process and ensuring that the future pier is accessible to everyone who would like to use it.
CONTINUING ON
Lauren Oakes, a senior undergraduate student in Environmental Studies, is presently expanding upon the preliminary work of ES125. Her thesis research will address:
• What are the possible scenarios for a strong collaboration between various user groups to plan for a public space on the North Kingstown Waterfront?
• Where are stakeholders aligned, and what are the real barriers to the success of a public fishing pier or bike path?
This is being accomplished through more extensive interviews with representatives from stakeholders and potential user groups, background research, as well as in-depth review of related media coverage over the past fifteen years.