(above) Signs in Portsmouth are already guiding bicyclists on and off the Sakonnet River Bridge bikeway

Helping bicyclists safely navigate around our Island while giving a boost to tourism – that is the goal of AIPC’s Bicycle Wayfinding Signs project. While seasoned bicyclists know the best ways to get around our Island, casual cyclists, visitors, and families cycling with young children may not know the best and safest routes to access beaches, historic sites and other attractions. The project was first proposed in the Aquidneck Island Transportation Study, and is intended to link destinations of interest via signed routes along the most suitable roadways – generally low traffic back roads and residential streets. Over the past year, AIPC worked with Bike Newport, city and town officials, and the engineering firm VHB to identify destinations and map suitable routes connecting them. The project identifies cycling loops in each Island community for near-term implementation, with an ultimate goal of linking the loops into an Island-wide system as future highway improvements are made. Once approved by the municipalities, the RI Department of Transportation will install the signs under its Traffic Safety Improvement Program. Watch this space for more details… AIPC will be holding public meetings in each community over the summer to get input on the proposed system, working towards presenting the proposal to the three municipal Councils in the fall.