Restricted parking signs on Narragansett's Ocean Road went up. Why they're already down

NARRAGANSETT – Residents and long-time visitors in Narragansett may have done a double-take this past week when driving along scenic Ocean Road: one moment, signs advertising that parking was restricted to three hours were posted along the road – the next, they were gone.

The reversal happened between Thursday and Friday last week. A now-archived post on the Town of Narragansett’s website published Friday, June 28, advised that the town had begun installing signage on Narragansett Avenue and Ocean Road, with work scheduled to be completed on or about Wednesday, July 3.

The sudden appearance of parking signs prompted concerned calls and emails from residents to Rhode Island’s Department of Transportation, according to social media posts and comments at the most recent Town Council meeting. For months, Narragansett and RIDOT have been locked in a wrestling match over whether the coastal town has a right to restrict parking – currently unlimited – on Ocean Road, which is state-owned.

Shortly after Narragansett announced on Friday it was posting signs, the DOT sent a cease-and-desist letter to Town Solicitor Mark Davis advising the town to stop installing parking signs on Ocean Road.

“Please be advised that the Town of Narragansett … is not authorized to install any parking restriction signs on Ocean Road in Narragansett because that is a State owned road, and Narragansett’s request for the 3 hr. parking limit has not been granted by the State Traffic Commission,” said the letter, which The Journal obtained through a public records request.

The letter also stated that the DOT would remove any signs installed on Ocean Road, but Charles St. Martin, DOT’s spokesperson, said Narragansett appeared to be complying and signs were being taken down.

The ordinance to post signs on Ocean Road – as well as other roads in Narragansett – passed last June with four council members voting for it and one abstaining. The town has argued that rotating spaces would benefit businesses in the area, but residents and business owners in the community have opposed the idea.

“Businesses voted against it – only one business supported it – and yet for whatever reason this Town Council, town manager, town solicitor are putting it up, even prior to getting approval. Doesn’t make sense to me,” said Al Alba, a resident of Narragansett, at Monday’s council meeting.

Susan Cicilline-Buonanno, a Town Council member and former president, said she was “embarrassed” and baffled by the decision to post the signs, especially ahead of Fourth of July.

“I cannot believe that the town of Narragansett – the town I love and so have enjoyed – that when the state hadn't rendered a decision … that we went and put them up anyway,” Cicilline-Buonanno said.

Making a unilateral decision to post the signs without approval from the State Traffic Commission sent the wrong message, she added.

“The message should be we work together because we all care about the state, we care about the town, and you can't just do your own thing without being partners with the other,” Cicilline-Buonanno said.

Town Council president defends decision to post signs

In an email to The Journal, Town Council President Ewa Dzwierzynski defended the decision to post parking signs on Ocean Road.

“The Town of Narragansett passed this ordinance through appropriate vetting and procedures and it is a valid and enforceable ordinance intended for more access to our beautiful community. I find it odd that no other community that has signage for parking on state roads has ever had to go through this process,” Dzwierzynski said.

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She added that Narragansett’s Town Manager James Tierney consulted with town managers from Westerly, South Kingstown and Jamestown, and they said that parking restrictions on state roads in their towns did not have to go through approval by the DOT’s State Traffic Commission.

According to Dzwierzynski, the State Traffic Commission told the town last year that the commission only gets involved “when there are requests for ‘No Parking’ based on a safety concern,” thus the parking limitations on Ocean Road would not require approval.

“There is no safety concern with timed parking as per the ordinance, and per STC parking limits can be handled at the municipal [level] through local ordinance as many municipalities have done and have never had to get permission from STC/DOT.”

The DOT, however, maintains that Narragansett needs permission first from the State Traffic Commission before moving forward. The matter will be discussed at the commission’s next meeting on July 10, according to St. Martin, though a meeting agenda has not yet been posted online as of Tuesday afternoon.