The Greenhouse Gas Process
According to the Rhode Island Greenhouse Gas Action Plan, Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in Rhode Island is one of the main strategies used in reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) from transportation. The plan was produced by the Greenhouse Gas Stakeholder Project, which was first convened in the fall of 2001 by the Department of Environmental Management, the RI State Energy Office and the Governor's Office.

The Greenhouse Gas Process list of stakeholders includes more than 30 stakeholder groups who have worked together on a plan to reduce Rhode Island's production of greenhouse gases. The stakeholders represent business, industry, citizen groups, environmental organizations and government agencies. They have endorsed the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers' regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction targets of 1990 levels by 2010 and 10% below 1990 levels by 2020; these goals are the foundation of the Rhode Island Greenhouse Gas Action Plan. The Stakeholders’ Group completed Phase 2 of the Plan in the summer of 2003 and is currently in Phase 3. In this, the final phase of the Action Plan, the goals are to implement the most important options and to develop implementation plans for other options.

This Study
In the Fall of 2002, at the onset of Phase 2 of the Action Plan, a group of graduate students from Brown's Center for Environmental Studies explored the potential for TOD in Rhode Island. Their feasibility study was centered on TOD occurring at three sites: Wickford Junction, located within North Kingstown; East Greenwich, located in Kent County; and Quonset also located with North Kingstown. In the fall of 2003, another group of Brown graduate students conducted this website’s TOD feasibility study, examining the possibility of extending the commuter rail to South Kingstown and Westerly and creating TOD around the stations. The South Kingstown station is located in the village of West Kingston – right near the larger village of Kingston – and the Westerly station is located in downtown Westerly.

Sites and Their Settings
Both South Kingstown and Westerly are fast-growing and sprawling shore towns in Washington County. These sites were picked for this feasibility study because TOD can potentially help them address three problems that are common to most of the towns of Washington County:
• Loss of open space
• Congestion
• Affordable housing
From 1990 to 2000, Washington County grew from 110,390 to 123,970 people, a growth rate of about 5%, making it the fastest growing county in the state. Business in Washington County is growing at a faster rate than in the state as a whole, but housing is growing at an even faster rate. Generally, the commercial and residential growth is not focused in dense, urban centers. There is a trend towards suburbanization of the region; Rhode Islanders are moving to “rural” homes and eating up open space. And this trend is set to continue. According to Taintor Associates, the overall rate of housing growth in Washington County will increase by 13% in the next two decades. By concentrating growth more densely, TOD can help counteract and channel these growth trends – thereby protecting open space and saving towns from having to pay for expensive dispersed infrastructure – sewer/water lines and roads.

Such rapid growth has also increased congestion is both South Kingstown and Westerly, especially along I-95, Route 1, and other commuting corridors. Over the past few decades, Rhode Islanders have become increasingly car-dependent. As of 2000, 81% of commuters drove to work alone. TOD can help reduce this car-dependency, both by enabling communities to access commuter rail and by developing these communities into walkable, vibrant areas.

The composition of potential TOD communities is of special interest to South Kingstown and Westerly because Rhode Island law dictates that 10% of each of their housing sets must be affordable housing. As defined by federal law, housing is affordable if the households pay no more than 30% of their income for mortgage or rent. Currently, there is only enough affordable housing for 21.5% of Rhode Island’s ~163,000 low/moderate income households. (HUD-RI)

Neither South Kingstown nor Westerly are close to the 10% goal, and they are supposed to have concrete plans in place to arrive at that number. A legal loophole for developers provides extra incentive to reach the 10% goal; if a developer proposes development with 20% or more affordable housing, their proposal can bypass much of the review process. This law is unpopular with the towns because it has resulted in some sprawling projects with affordable housing tacked on the side.

TOD and 10% affordable housing can be complementary objectives. Both require density to be successful, and locating affordable housing near commuter rail stations gives transit options to those who need them most. By reducing car dependency, TOD also reduces the need for low and moderate income families to invest the money needed to maintain a car. Cars are always a fast depreciating investment, as opposed to homes. With fewer car payments in a walkable, dense community, a household can sometimes qualify for a bigger mortgage; lenders count their reduced car payments as increased income and in turn provide a “location-efficient mortgage.”

TOD is a powerful tool for reducing greenhouse gases, but clearly it has broader effects than reducing single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) trips. This type of development addresses the very way we structure our communities and lives. Especially for the growth problems that Washington County is facing, TOD could be an essential catalyst for change.
(Rhode Island Statewide Planning)

Commuter Rail
In the case of South Kingstown and Westerly, TOD would be centered within a ¼-mile radius of the train station and commuter rail. According to RI DOT, the earliest that the system would service W. Kingston and Westerly is 2008. The timing of the extension of rail service depends largely on a successful extension down to Warwick (T.F. Green Airport) and Wickford Junction in 2006. The high ridership estimates – which could account for as much as 70% of the operating costs down to Wickford Junction – suggest that the 2006 extension has a high likelihood of success.

Another issue to be worked out is how to pay for the capital investments that commuter rail will need. These could include five or more bi-level trains, a layover yard in Westerly, and new side tracks at W. Kingston. A major capital investments funding source, the federal New Starts program, may receive funding cuts or a reduction in the ratio of federal dollars to state dollars from 80:20 to 50:50, imperiling the timely extension of commuter rail. At some point in the future, however, it is highly probable that commuter rail will arrive at W. Kingston and Westerly.

Commuter rail could help South Kingstown and Westerly concentrate their growth around the stations. However, if these towns do not plan carefully for commuter rail, its arrival could also exacerbate growth pressures in these areas. Both towns are popular with commuters who want to move to “the suburbs.” With 8-12 commuter rail round trips daily, they would become even more popular destinations. Commuters wouldn’t have to fight traffic and could still have their home on two acres. (Public transit in Rhode Island)