Quonset Point/Davisville Industrial and Commerce Park (QPD), a 3000-acre decommissioned naval base in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, has been labeled as a key industrial development zone in the State of Rhode Island by state agencies. In 1997, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) released a Draft Master Plan (DMP) for the development of QPD into an industrial park and intermodal load center container port. The employment and traffic levels at "build out" in 2010 proposed in the DMP made the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Improved Access to Quonset Point (FEIS-403) obsolete. This study revisits the Technical Memorandum 8 of the FEIS-403 to determine whether opportunities for commuter rail exist based on projected development levels for QPD.

The FEIS-403 predicted that there would be 12,930 employees and 21,205 daily work trips at QPD in the year 2010. Based on these predictions, 12 different mass transit options were analyzed for QPD and a Transportation Management System (TSM) or vanpool program was determined as the best-fit alternative. However, the DMP predicts that there will be 26,928 employees and 71,671 daily work trips in 2010, a 208% increase in employment and a 338% increase in vehicular traffic over the FEIS-403. Based on these development levels, a commuter rail appears to be the best-fit transportation option to QPD. Commuter rail ridership could range from 1,560 to 3,398 daily trips by the year 2010 and costs per rider could be as low as $460 per year including capital as well as operation and maintenance costs or 40% of the TSM option.

In sum, the FEIS-403 is obsolete and should be reanalyzed for traffic flow based on "build out" projections in the DMP. The full-build alternative for the Freight rail Improvement project should be re-examined since the partial build "Third Track" rail project may be unable to support the projected flow of freight and commuter traffic to QPD. Commuter rail appears to be a commercially viable public transportation option to QPD and requires further analysis. QPD development could be a boon to the State of Rhode Island, but to fail to address traffic problems by providing adequate public transportation options could undermine the overall success of the project.