SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — The University of Rhode Island will allow Kingston Free Library patrons to continue to use four of URI’s nearby parking spaces at least until the end of next June.
New URI President Marc Parlange has agreed to a nine-month lease with the library for visitors to keep using spaces in the Gateway Apartments parking lot, across the street from the library on Upper College Road.
URI said it agreed to the arrangement in the interest of helping the library “develop solutions to its parking issues,” it said in a statement.
“The university has been a good neighbor to the Kingston Free Library, a valuable and historic institution, by being able to provide library patron and staff parking on university property to access the library for many years,” URI said.
Patrons and supporters of the library have been worried that a summer road improvement project on Upper College Road will remove dedicated parking spots and that a proposal to reconstruct Route 138 would further reduce parking for the library, which occupies the old King’s County Courthouse built in 1775.
Since its founding in 1895, the library has mostly relied on on-street parking. In addition to two of its own parking spaces – one general spot and one handicapped spot – the library has had use of three dedicated spots on Upper College Road and spots along Kingstown Road.
But available on-street parking along Kingstown Road in the village is occupied by URI students for nine months of the year.
The spaces allocated to the library in the Gateway Apartments lot were the result of a verbal agreement made years ago, according to Kingston Improvement Association President Susan Axelrod. The library has come to rely on those spaces for parking when it hosts events.
The new agreement cuts the number of available spaces by two, down to four usable spots. In addition, the Upper College Road construction will reduce the number of streetside spots from three to two.
Timothy Murphy, chairman of the Kingston Library Board of Trustees, said that URI and the town could work on a better agreement.
“I think there’s still room in my opinion for pushing ahead and trying to get those six spaces permanently dedicated for library parking,” he said. “The community have provided a lot of support to URI over the years.”
He said a former URI library science professor noted that for many years, the library provided children’s library resources, before URI’s library had a children’s collection.
“There’s been a lot of that sort of cooperation going back many years,” he said. “For six parking spaces, it’s not too much to ask, in my opinion.”
URI said over the past decade, its enrollment has increased by 1,332 students who either live on or drive to campus, while fewer than 400 parking spaces were added in the same period.
“The Gateway Apartments, which houses 83 students and has 66 spaces in its parking lot, is at 100% capacity for the coming year, and access to parking for our students is of major importance,” URI said. The next closest resident student parking lot is 1.3 miles away.
URI had noted several weeks ago that a new crosswalk system at the intersection of Route 138 and Upper College Road would allow patrons to use the Kingston Congregational Church parking lot, on the opposite side of 138, as a parking area and safely cross the busy state road.
But library supporters like Axelrod said that negotiating granite steps at the church and crossing Route 138 could be problematic for those with mobility issues or parents with children or a stroller.
Axelrod said the town had explored the possibility of buying land to the north of the library, but that the private property in question has a complicated title history with several owners and also is the site of a colonial burial ground, according to the local historical society.
One of the main goals of the new $2.1 million Upper College Road project is to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, URI said.
Since 2016, there have been more than 22 traffic accidents in the Upper College Road area, including those involving the parking of vehicles and vehicle and pedestrian collisions, according to the university.
“The Upper College Road project separates bicycles and pedestrians from vehicles and removes parking, a major factor in accidents. The number of spaces for those with disabilities next to the library on Upper College Road has been reduced from three to two to address code issues, but the actual space for parking has not changed.”
URI noted that its move to accommodate the Kingston Library is temporary.
“The mission of the university is to serve its students. We are extending this license in a spirit of neighborliness and trust it will be of assistance to the library and its patrons,” URI said.
The library building was built in 1775 and was one of the five original Rhode Island State Houses. It was transformed into a library in 1895, three years after the founding of URI.
The library uses the first floor to house its collections and the second floor (originally the courtroom) to provide auditorium-style meeting space. Book clubs, meetings, yoga classes, children’s story time, history lectures, craft workshops and book signings are among the events it hosts. Also, the semi-annual Kingston Village Fair centers on the library lawn.
URI, Kingston Free Library reach temporary parking deal - The Independent
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