The stretch of Ocean Road between Monahan's and the Coast Guard House is one of the most walked pieces of pavement in town, and it is also a long run with no crosswalk. That isn't a new complaint. It shows up word for word in the town's own safety planning, and this fall it finally reached a state design.
On September 8, 2026, the Narragansett Town Council reviewed a project notification from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration for pedestrian improvements on Ocean Road. As Uprise RI reported, the council backed most of it and objected to one piece, the flashing warning poles, especially the one proposed on the seawall side.
That one objection explains how this stretch of road works. Ocean Road at the Pier is a state highway and a scenic overlook at the same time. When the town got its chance to weigh in, it gave up some parking and accepted a narrower roadway. What it guarded was the clear line of sight over the wall.
What RIDOT Put on the Table
The proposal had three main parts, according to Uprise RI's account of the meeting.
- Curb extensions, or bump-outs. These push the sidewalk out into the breakdown lane so a person waiting to cross can see oncoming traffic before stepping off the curb. A town official told the council the bump-outs would eliminate roughly eight to 10 parking spaces.
- Crosswalks. The council's recommendations mentioned four, which suggests that's how many the state drew.
- Flashing warning poles, including one on the seawall side of the road.
The paperwork matters here. Uprise RI explained that a project notification is a state notice inviting local comment, not a request for permission. The council didn't vote to approve or reject anything. It voted to tell the state what it wanted changed, and comments were due before the end of September.
The Four Things Narragansett Asked For
Members supported the bump-outs. Their reasoning was safety: people crossing should be able to see traffic. They balked at the poles, saying the one on the seawall side would block ocean views. The motion that passed directed a letter to the state recommending:
- No lighted poles along the seawall, on either side.
- Crosswalks installed, possibly two rather than four.
- Alternative striping to keep parking losses as small as possible.
- Pedestrian flags in place of lighted poles.
All votes that night were taken by voice and announced as passing 5-0.
The order of the list reflects the town's priorities. The first request is the only one with no room to bend, since "either side" leaves nothing to negotiate. The second and third are about fitting the crossings in at a lower cost to parking. The fourth offers the state a replacement for what the first takes away. Put together, the recommendations say yes to crossing the road safely and asks that the hardware that makes it safe stay off the wall.
Why the Gap Exists in the First Place
This plan didn't come from nowhere. In June 2025, Narragansett finished a town-wide Safety Action Plan, and Ocean Road in the Pier area appears throughout it.
In the stakeholder feedback section, the plan names Ocean Road in the Pier area as one of the key corridors for safety concerns. It also records this:
"Major corridors popular with people walking lack crosswalks for long distances, including Ocean Road between Monahan's and the Coast Guard House, and Boston Neck Road between the Dunes Club and Bridgetown Road."
The crash analysis points to the same place. Among crashes involving people walking and cycling, the plan lists the areas around the Pier Marketplace and Ocean Road at South Pier Road among the locations with the highest crash densities in town. It adds that other parts of the Pier are hotspots at lower densities.
The plan also notes that summer congestion makes the problem worse. Tourists unfamiliar with the area mix with heavy walking and cycling traffic. On Ocean Road, that means drivers looking at the water while people on foot try to get from the sidewalk to the wall.
The plan's ranked priority matrix puts three Ocean Road locations on the list.
Rank | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|
7 | Ocean Road @ Memorial Square | 17.0 |
10 | Ocean Road @ South Pier Road | 16.9 |
13 | Ocean Road between Congdon & Central Streets | 14.9 |
For comparison, the five locations tied for first place, at 18.4, are all a block or two inland on Kingstown Road, Boon Street and South Pier Road. So the seawall isn't the town's top-ranked problem, but it accounts for three of the top 13 spots, and every one of those spots has the ocean on one side.
Two State Line Items With Ocean Road in Their Names
The state's 2026–2035 Transportation Improvement Program, in its Revision 1 file dated May 26, 2026, already includes Ocean Road work in two separate places.
- STIP 5413, "HSIP Statewide Safety Improvements – 2027 C-2." This is a statewide federal safety program. Among its listed assets are three Narragansett entries, each marked "Install crosswalk and ADA ramps": Ocean Road at Central Street, Ocean Road at Congdon Street, and Ocean Road at Rodman Street.
- STIP 5093, "Ocean Road Beautification – Phase 1 & 2 (South Pier Rd. to Beach St.)." This covers sidewalks and pedestrian improvements along Ocean Road between Beach Street and South Pier Road. It shows $1.44 million in construction funding from the federal Transportation Alternatives Program and a $0.36 million state match, for $1.80 million total.
Neither line item has been publicly tied to the September notification, and the council's discussion was reported as four crosswalks while the safety program lists three intersections. Even so, the overlap with the town's own rankings is hard to miss. Congdon and Central are the two cross streets that bracket the 13th-ranked stretch in the Safety Action Plan, and South Pier Road, the 10th-ranked spot, is where the beautification project's limits begin.
What Changes on the Wall, and What Is Still Open
Some outcomes are settled no matter how the state responds to the town's comments. The town supports crossings on this stretch, and it supports bump-outs that shorten the distance across the road. Bump-outs take curb space, and the town's own estimate is eight to 10 spaces. Anyone who parks along Ocean Road should expect fewer spaces near the new crossings, with the exact count depending on whether RIDOT adopts the striping alternatives the council suggested.
Other questions belong to the state:
- How many crosswalks. The town floated two. The design under discussion appears to have had four.
- What warns drivers. Lighted poles, flags, or a mix, and whether anything at all ends up on the seawall side.
- When. RIDOT has not published a construction schedule for the notified work. The safety program's name points to a 2027 cycle, and the beautification project's funding is listed in the 2026–2035 program.
The council has met since then, on September 21, October 5 and October 19, according to the town's meeting index. The next public sign of where this is going will most likely be a revised notification or a design presentation from RIDOT that shows whether the seawall side stayed clear.
The motion the council passed in September sets out the town's position in four recommendations, and the first and firmest of them is about the view over the wall.
Changes like this on a state road shape how the Pier works every day, from where you can park to where you can cross. If you own along Ocean Road or are weighing a property near the seawall and want to understand how road and streetscape plans affect value and use, The Agency Narragansett follows these decisions block by block. Schedule a Private Consultation, and we will walk you through what is planned near the address you care about.
