Last week the City announced that Toole Design Group has been selected for the development of the Newport Transportation Master Plan (TMP). This process began in 2019 with two public workshops that gathered the community’s concerns about getting around Newport, which helped inform the language in the RFP that was sent out for bid. The City partnered with State Planning to issue the RFP last summer for a plan that would specifically build on the Rhode Island Long-Range Transportation Plan for our local streets. The Planning Department will be giving us an update on this project during the City Council meeting on Wednesday night.
An important part of the development process will be public participation. The Council will be working with the Planning Department to put together the Citizens Advisory Committee. We are looking for community members with backgrounds in diverse areas such as accessibility and the ADA, pedestrian access, water transportation, and more. If you are interested in serving on the Committee, please let me know.
Finally, we are continuing with our department budget workshops this month. I hope you are able to join us:
Thursday, April 15: Zoning/Inspections, Planning/Economic Development, Public Services/Beach
Thursday, April 22: City Council, City Manager, City Solicitor, Canvassing, City Clerk, Finance, Harbor