Narragansett Bay is cleaner than it has been in decades, while the cost at state, Middletown and Newport beaches continue to climb (when you can find a parking spot). So why not swim right here in downtown Bristol? Many do, and always have, but for others, the rocky road into the water is a bit of a turnoff.

Some months ago, Bristol’s Community Development office along with Town Administrator Steve Contente looked into ways to make the rocky beach at the end of Walley Street more accessible to swimmers. The idea was to look to the Azores for inspiration, where well-designed pathways at many shore access points allow a comfortable route to the beach with minimal impact to the natural shoreline.

Plans were drawn to improve the existing pathway and open two other pathways for water access, and both the Historic District Commission and the Coastal Resources Management Council approved. The town solicited bids, but when they came back a few weeks ago, they were well over budget.

Creative funding

When the project went to bid, the town had budgeted $150,000, but bids came back close to twice that amount. Undeterred, Mr. Contente looked into whether the town could use American Rescue Plan (ARP) resiliency funds for the project.

“Our design had three accessible pathways through the seawall … it would be more resilient for sea rise, but at the same time much more accessible for all ages to get in the water,” he said at a recent Bristol Town Council meeting. Unfortunately, the plan did not pass muster as an ARP expenditure.

Now Mr. Contente is hoping that he will be able to use money from the town’s own Capital Projects Account, and simply have the town loan the money to itself to get this project done. The Capital Projects Account is funded from the recent sale of the shopping plaza on the corner of Hope Street and Gooding Avenue, which netted the town about $2.8 million.

This would entail a short-term borrow, which would allow the project to move forward sooner than later, unlike a bond, which can take many months.

“We haven’t rejected any bids,” said Mr. Contente. “We’re still trying to figure out the funding.”

The town has approximately $124,000 left from the allocation that included both the Independence Park and Walley Beach seawall repairs. The plan is for Mr. Contente to request to borrow about $150,000 from the town’s Capital Projects Account at the next council meeting on July 7. Provided his request is met with approval by the council, the project will get underway in September.