AIPC

Public input sought on scenic roadway

Public input sought on scenic roadway

Daily News staff, 9/30/06

PORTSMOUTH - A proposal to create a "shoreline drive" using Burma Road will be the focus of a public hearing Tuesday at Town Hall.

The Aquidneck Island Planning Commission is seeking public comment on the proposal to reconfigure Burma Road, also known as Defense Highway, as part of a plan for the west side of Aquidneck Island.

The shoreline drive concept is a key recommendation of the commission's West Side Master Plan. The plan calls for developing Burma Road as a scenic roadway and as an alternative route to West Main Road.

Tuesday's meeting will be the first of three public sessions on the proposal. The planning commission's consultant, Pare Engineering, will deliver an overview of the project.

Reconfiguring the northern entrance to Burma Road would be an important catalyst for growth in the Melville marina district in Portsmouth, according to the plan.

The commission was awarded a $30,000 grant for a feasibility study to explore creating a shoreline drive. The study will focus on the realignment of the hairpin intersection at Stringham and Burma roads, and it will explore the opportunities and constraints related to opening the Simonpietri Drive connector to Coddington Highway. The connector, at the southern end of the west side corridor, lies within the boundaries of Naval Station Newport between Gates 10 and 11 and is not open to the public.

Besides marking the northern "gateway" to the shoreline drive corridor, the Stringham/Burma Road intersection is critical to providing access for the Melville Marine Village in Portsmouth.

The West Side Master Plan identifies this area as a "growth center" and the intersection realignment is viewed as an important catalyst for creating a mixed-use marina village in Portsmouth.

To go

What: Aquidneck Island Planning Commission public hearing on 'shoreline drive' proposal.

When: Tuesday, 7-9 p.m.

Where: Portsmouth Town Hall, East Main Road.

Info: Call Teresa Crean, the commission's land-use planner, 845-9299.

Daily News staff, 9/30/06

PORTSMOUTH - A proposal to create a "shoreline drive" using Burma Road will be the focus of a public hearing Tuesday at Town Hall.

The Aquidneck Island Planning Commission is seeking public comment on the proposal to reconfigure Burma Road, also known as Defense Highway, as part of a plan for the west side of Aquidneck Island.

The shoreline drive concept is a key recommendation of the commission's West Side Master Plan. The plan calls for developing Burma Road as a scenic roadway and as an alternative route to West Main Road.

Tuesday's meeting will be the first of three public sessions on the proposal. The planning commission's consultant, Pare Engineering, will deliver an overview of the project.

Reconfiguring the northern entrance to Burma Road would be an important catalyst for growth in the Melville marina district in Portsmouth, according to the plan.

The commission was awarded a $30,000 grant for a feasibility study to explore creating a shoreline drive. The study will focus on the realignment of the hairpin intersection at Stringham and Burma roads, and it will explore the opportunities and constraints related to opening the Simonpietri Drive connector to Coddington Highway. The connector, at the southern end of the west side corridor, lies within the boundaries of Naval Station Newport between Gates 10 and 11 and is not open to the public.

Besides marking the northern "gateway" to the shoreline drive corridor, the Stringham/Burma Road intersection is critical to providing access for the Melville Marine Village in Portsmouth.

The West Side Master Plan identifies this area as a "growth center" and the intersection realignment is viewed as an important catalyst for creating a mixed-use marina village in Portsmouth.

To go

What: Aquidneck Island Planning Commission public hearing on 'shoreline drive' proposal.

When: Tuesday, 7-9 p.m.

Where: Portsmouth Town Hall, East Main Road.

Info: Call Teresa Crean, the commission's land-use planner, 845-9299.