Riders: ‘Washboard’ section of Blackstone River Bikeway needs help

CUMBERLAND – On a peaceful but well-traveled section of the Blackstone River Bikeway, a handful of tree roots is giving bikers a hard time and drawing concerns about safety from the bike path’s regular patrons.

The area of concern, a half-mile section stretching north from the Ashton Mill parking lot to where the trail passes under the Rte. 295 overpass, is one of the busiest areas of the bike path, drawing a regular crowd of bikers, joggers and other recreational users seven days a week. First opened in 2001, it’s also one of the oldest, the second section created after the bike path’s initial opening in 1998.

Now, 17 years later, regular users say the section is in need of some care.

Garey Meegan, a retired safety officer from North Smithfield, has been riding the bike path since it opened. A resident of the High Rocks Condominiums, he rides the entire length of the bikeway in Rhode Island on a regular basis, traveling four miles on road routes before picking up the path in Woonsocket and continuing through Cumberland to Rte. 123 in Lonsdale, returning the same way.

“I do this bike path twice a week. It’s a nice easy ride for me,” he told The Valley Breeze during a visit to the Ashton Mill section last week.

While most of the path provides a leisurely riding experience with riverfront views, Meegan knows to be on his guard as he approaches the Ashton Mill parking lot, a section referred to by the local cycling community as “the washboard.” Throughout the stretch, the roots of nearby trees have grown beneath the bike path, pushing the asphalt up several inches and, in some cases, breaking through and cracking the pavement above. In many areas, the roots stretch the entire width of the bikeway so that riders cannot avoid them without leaving the path.

“I know it’s there. If you don’t know it’s there and you come off this bridge and you take a left and you’re on this nice flat area and then you hit this, that’s the concern,” he said.

As Meegan spoke, several groups of bike riders approached a nearby section of tree roots and slowed nearly to a stop as they bounced over the protruding roots before picking up speed on the other side. A few veered off the path entirely to avoid the obstacle. Meegan said the section poses a particular concern on high-traffic days when the roots and users’ response to them make it difficult for riders to follow bike path etiquette as they pass pedestrians and other riders.

“It’s not just the bikers. It’s the rollerbladers, it’s the mom or dad pushing the stroller,” he said.

While the path was originally paved by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, its maintenance falls to the Department of Environmental Management, which, with the exception of repaving, oversees all aspects of the bikeway’s maintenance as a state park. Gail Mastrati, RIDEM spokesperson, told The Breeze the agency is aware of the tree root issues and is working on allocating funds to perform maintenance on certain sections of the bikeway, but has not scheduled any maintenance as of yet.

A few years ago, the agency sent out maintenance workers to mark the roots with yellow paint to make them more visible to bike path users, work that was completed with the assistance of the Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone, according to Mastrati. The bike path, she said, is overseen by the same regional manager who oversees Lincoln Woods State Park and is maintained solely by DEM without assistance from local municipalities.

Meegan said he has been making his own calls to state officials regarding the Ashton Mill section of the bike path since 2015 and remains frustrated that state agencies have yet to address the hazards posed by the tree roots. Most agencies tell him they are “looking into it,” he said, though a staff worker in Rep. Brian Newberry’s office told him RIDOT had indicated there were no funds available but state agencies may work with local towns to perform the maintenance.

Meegan said he is concerned the state may not take action to fix the section until a bike path user gets hurt traveling over the roots.