SECoast: Correcting the Record in Charlestown, RI

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SECoast was and is our partner organization in Connecticut in the fight against the “Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass”. This post was published on their site on November 2nd.

With so much misinformation floating recently through the aether in southern Rhode Island, we just wanted to remind local residents of both the scale of their victory beating back plans for high-speed rail through Charlestown, but also the daunting challenges ahead.

To put it plainly, Charlestown was left out of the loop until late in NEC Future planning because nearly everyone in Rhode Island was so focused on the needs of Providence, that they failed to properly consider the impacts to Charlestown.

This bias towards Providence was helped along by the late announcement of plans for a Kenyon to Old Saybrook Bypass only after the initial ninety-odd proposals had been whittled down to just three; by the fact that the plan failed to mention Charlestown; by the fact that the Federal Railroad Administration withheld detailed and adequate maps from impacted communities; and by scheduling public meetings in communities benefiting, rather than impacted, by the plans.

If you wonder how Charlestown could have remained in the dark until December 2016, well it’s likely because you have never actually taken an opportunity to look through 1000+ page planning documents. No one has ever called our organization behind the curve — indeed we were the first people along the Northeast Corridor to raise the alarm and recognize the seriousness of the plan — but still we did not understand the impacts to Charlestown until we were contacted by Charlestown resident Cliff Vanover during the Christmas holiday.

Although our organization did reach out to officials in Rhode Island, and to the Westerly Town Council, and others, earlier in 2016, realizing that Providence was more likely a proponent of the Bypass — indeed there are indications that Providence interests quietly worked against a Hartford to Providence route — our organization made a strategic decision to beat the bypass in Connecticut. And in fact, we might just have done that…

But what’s remarkable is that once Charlestown became involved in late December 2016 — in just a matter of weeks — the entire conversation across southern New England was flipped on its head. We’d like to say that we offered crucial early advice and support, but don’t underestimate just how much Charlestown accomplished on their own.

Incredibly (and we do not use that word lightly) Charlestown managed to back down potential supporters of the Bypass in the federal delegation, enlist the support of key environmental groups which stayed on the sidelines in every other state on Northeast Corridor, and most importantly, they convinced Governor Raimondo to oppose the plan.

Along with representatives from Westerly and Charlestown, in fact, we were meeting with Federal Railroad Administration officials in Springfield, MA when Raimondo made the announcement after a protest rally in Providence. The impact of the announcement on federal rail officials was immediate, and frankly devastating. It was like a hurricane hit.

You have to understand the Kenyon to Old Saybrook Bypass was meant to benefit Providence, to prevent Providence from becoming a dogleg of Boston, and as an alternative to a Hartford to Providence Route. Without the support of Rhode Island — the prime beneficiary of the plan — there really wasn’t much else going for the planned Bypass.

Talking later to a top senate staffer, he nearly crowed that “Providence got rolled” in his words. Quite an accomplishment for Charlestown. Charlestown only realized they were in they fight of their lives in the eighth round, and in less than a minute, they (you!) scored a TKO. No exaggeration.That good.

BUT… if you think that Charlestown rolls Providence is the final word, and that this fight is over, you’re kidding yourself. It’s an unsustainable result. And frankly, whether you live in Chariho or on College Hill, the idea that Rhode Island’s largest city “got rolled” should give you pause.

NEC Future is not going away… it’s a legally-binding blueprint for funding the Northeast Corridor, with a circle and question mark and without a settled solution between New Haven and Providence. Once we find an acceptable solution, which protects southern Rhode Island, and satisfies Providence, then… yes… victory. Until then…

SECoast is an advocate of historic preservation, environmental protection, and open and honest government across the southern New England coastline from Greenwich, CT to Charlestown, RI.