Public Engagement Summary

Public Engagement Summary Easton’s Beach: Planning for a Resilient Future May 16, 2025

Table of Contents ˃ Project Website

˃ Beach Use Survey ˃ Public Listening Session

˃ Summary of Written Input ˃ EBRC ˃ Public Workshop

Project Website • A website was developed to host project

information, including: • Historical Photos and Information about the Beach • Background on the Easton’s Beach Project • Reports and Presentations • Public Event Information • Public Surveys

www.CityofNewport.com/FutureBeach

Beach Use Survey • Online survey to gather data on how the community

uses Easton’s Beach and what their priorities are for the beach.

• Timeframe: January 7 through April 15, 2025

• The survey was made available on the project

website and advertised in the following places: •

The City of Newport’s Official E-Newsletter

•

The City of Newport’s Social Media Pages

•

News Articles

•

On Posters at the Public Listening Session

•

Social Media Posts and Email Notifications from Easton’s Beach Resiliency Committee members

• Paper copies of the survey were made available at

City Hall, the Public Library, and Edward King House.

Beach Use Survey: Questions • Demographic Info • Beach Access •

Transportation

•

Impacts to Access

• Beach Uses and Priorities •

Rank Importance: Swimming, Surfing, Lounging, Eating, etc.

•

Special Event Attendance

•

Use of Nearby Facilities

•

Extreme Heat Relief

• Open Response Questions •

What is one thing you love about Easton’s Beach?

•

What is one thing you would like to see changed about Easton’s Beach?

Beach Use Survey: Demographics 1,251 Responses • 1,226 online responses and 25 paper responses Where do you live?

1%

2%

How old are you?

Newport, RI

20%

Do you self-identify as any of these groups?

Middletown, RI

0.2%

1%

Portsmouth, RI

6%

17%

8%

Jamestown, RI

69%

Other RI Town/City Not Listed Massachusetts

Connecticut

10%

20-30 years 17%

6% 8%

0-20 years

17% 17%

10%

30-40 years

40-50 years

21%

15%

50-60 years 60-70 years

5% 0%

70+ years

Other State Not Listed

Percent of All Respondents

Beach Use Survey: Access How do you get to Easton's Beach?

1% 6%

Walk 21%

Drive Bike

72%

Recent Access and/or Use Impacts 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

Public Transportation

Percent of All Respondents *Write-in response under “Other”

Beach Use Survey: Activity Rankings Rank how important the following beach activities are to you.

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Swimming

Surfing

Lounging in the Sand

Eating at the Snack Bar

Very Low

Low

Walking along the Beach

Moderate

High

Visiting the Playground

Very High

Playing Sports Attending Events

Beach Use Survey: Events and Nearby Facilities Do you use these nearby facilities?

Have you attended a special event at Easton's Beach before?

Braga Park 22%

Yes No 78%

The Cliff Walk

0

No

200 400 600 Number of Responses

Yes, sometimes

Yes, frequently

800

Beach Use Survey: Extreme Heat How Much Do You Agree with These Statements?

I use the beach to get relief from extreme heat.

Extreme heat has compromised my (or my family's) health and wellbeing.

I don't have adequate air conditioning in my home and workspace.

0

100

200

300

400

500

Number of Responses

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Beach Use Survey: Open Response Questions Frequent Responses to One thing you love

Frequent Responses to One thing you want to change

• Location/Ease of Access

• Cheaper/More Parking

• The Views/Beauty

• Seaweed/Algae/Red Tide

• The Snack Bar

• Water Quality

• Volleyball

• Improvements to Restrooms

• Surfing

• Better Concessions

• Memories/Hometown Beach

• More Amenities

• Events

Written survey responses are summarized in combination with responses from the Public Listening Session in the Summary of Written Input.

Public Listening Session • Held on January 30th 5-7pm at the

Newport Public Library • Over 100 community members

were in attendance • A short presentation on the project

history was given • Input was collected through an

interactive flip chart activity

Public Listening Session: Flip Charts • What’s important to you about the beach today?

• What are your concerns about the Beach today?

• What does the future of Easton's beach look like

to you?

• What would improve the beach?

• What are the critical facilities?

• Anything else you would like us to know?

Flip chart responses are summarized in combination with survey responses in the Summary of Written Input.

Public Listening Session: Word Cloud • What were people talking about

at the Public Listening Session?

• This is a word cloud showing the

words that were mentioned most frequently.

Summary of Written Input: Themes (Written input received through flip charts at the listening session and open response questions on the survey.)

Core Themes: •

Environmental Protection and Resilience: The most prominent theme is the urgent need to address environmental challenges, particularly beach erosion, sea level rise, and water quality issues. There is a widespread understanding that the future of Easton's Beach is intrinsically linked to its ecological health and resilience against climate change impacts. This includes protecting the crucial Easton's Pond drinking water reservoir.

•

Maintaining and Improving Public Access and Enjoyment: A strong emphasis is placed on keeping Easton's Beach accessible and enjoyable for the community. This includes both physical access (bike/pedestrian paths, parking) and ensuring the beach remains an affordable and inclusive public space. Simple enjoyment activities like swimming, walking, and sunbathing are highly valued.

•

Thoughtful and Resilient Amenities: While there's a desire for certain amenities, there's a cautious approach to permanent structures due to environmental vulnerabilities. The feedback leans towards minimal, temporary, or easily replaceable structures, with a focus on essential facilities like restrooms, showers, and basic food options. The future of existing structures like the bathhouses, carousel, and rotunda is a point of discussion.

Summary of Written Input: Key Topics •

Erosion is a Major Concern: Multiple comments explicitly mention "Keeping the sand," "Protecting the beach from erosion," and "Mitigating beach erosion." The lack of sufficient sand dunes is also highlighted as a contributing factor to this problem.

•

Water Quality Issues are Problematic: Frequent beach closures due to high bacterial levels and the pervasive issue of red seaweed ("red tide," "spermothamnion") significantly impact the beach experience.

Participants repeatedly call for "Clean water," "Red algae remediation and prevention," and addressing "Reduction of stormwater influenced high bacterial events."

•

Easton's Pond and Memorial Boulevard are Critical Assets at Risk: There is significant concern about the vulnerability of Easton's Pond (the drinking water reservoir) and Memorial Boulevard to inundation and sea-level rise. Several comments emphasize the need to protect these, even prioritizing them over certain beach amenities.

•

The Future Needs to Prioritize Resilience: The concept of "resiliency" and planning for "sea level rise and ongoing erosion" is frequently mentioned as a guiding principle for future development. This includes suggestions for "nature-focused erosion control (plants, dunes, etc.)" and considering "managed retreat."

•

Amenities Should Be Minimal and Adaptable: There's a clear preference for "Less is more, minimal structures, pervious surfaces." The idea of "future structures should be very ephemeral by their nature – they preserve and temporary" is proposed.

Summary of Written Input: Key Topics •

Improved Connectivity is Desired: Participants express a need for better bike and pedestrian access and connections to Middletown, specifically mentioning "Bike and pedestrian access from and connections to Middletown," "Increased access and bike access from Braga Park," and "Improved connectivity to Middletown via pedestrian access at Dunlap-Wheeler Park."

•

Water Management is Crucial: Beyond addressing runoff, there are suggestions for improving drainage for flooding along Memorial Avenue and considering "Strategic amenities" that manage water flow.

•

Learning from Others is Valued: Participants explicitly ask, "How and to what extent are you coordinating with Middletown on plans?" and "How are you learning from Second Beach?" They also mention observing practices in other locations like Denmark and Block Island.

•

Financial Realities and Priorities are Acknowledged: Comments touch upon the cost of maintaining the beach, the potential need for private donations, and the question of how public funds should be prioritized ("Use public funds to benefit the greatest number of people"). The current financial situation (cost vs. revenue) is also noted.

•

Community Involvement is Desired: One comment specifically asks if "volunteer opportunities are available for the community to stay involved and be a part of the restoration."

Summary of Written Input: Diverging Views •

Hard vs. Soft Solutions to Erosion: Debate on the best approach to coastal resilience. Many advocate for solutions that prioritize "natural" methods like dune restoration over "big infrastructure." Others are more willing to try "hard" solutions such as sea walls and submerged breakwaters.

•

Level of Development: Differing views on how much development is appropriate. Some suggest minimal structures/amenities, while others suggest expanded, restored, or new amenities.

•

Bathhouses: Keep them or remove them? While some express sentimentality and a desire to "Keep bathhouses" as important community gathering spaces, others suggest replacing them with more general public facilities.

•

Food Concessions: Food trucks vs. permanent snack bar.

•

Carousel: Return the carousel vs. move it to a different location ("Move carousel to the library," "Move carousel to Bretton Point").

•

Parking: Add more parking vs. remove parking to make space for beach/dunes. Some suggest lowering the parking fee while others suggest alternative fee schedules prioritizing residents, early morning/evening visitors, or event/sports visitors.

EBRC (Easton’s Beach Resiliency Committee) • A stakeholder committee including community leaders • EBRC Virtual Meeting #1 • January 15, 2025

• Project Background, scope, goals, and priorities.

• EBRC Virtual Meeting #2 • February 12, 2025 • Existing conditions, literature review, bathhouse assessment, data collection

• EBRC Priorities Survey • Online survey open to EBRC members to evaluate priorities for the future design.

Responses collected ahead of EBRC Meeting #1.

EBRC: Priorities Survey Transportation, Access, & Connections 0

5

Memorial Blvd is protected and maintained to serve as an evacuation route.

Easton's Pond is protected to serve as a drinking water source.

Connections to other nearby public facilities are protected and/or enhanced.

There is public parking available at the beach.

There is a fee for beach parking.

People can walk to the beach.

People can take the bus to the beach.

People can park their bikes at the beach.

People can charge their electric scooters at the beach.

Priority Level: 1 (1=low, 5=high)

2

3

4

5

10

15

20

25

EBRC: Priorities Survey Amenites & Activities 0

5

10

There are public restrooms at the beach.

There are public changing rooms at the beach.

There are lifeguards on-duty.

People can purchase food and refreshments at the beach.

There is a picnic area with tables at the beach.

People can purchase sundries at the beach.

People can surf at the beach.

People can sunbathe on the sand at the beach.

People can attend a concert at the beach.

Special events can be hosted at the beach There is playground equipment at the beach.

There are places to get out of the sun at the beach.

Priority Level: (1=low, 5=high)

1

2

3

4

5

15

20

25

EBRC: Priorities Survey Natural & Built Environment 0

5

The natural beauty of the beach is protected and/or enhanced.

The water is visible from Memorial Boulevard.

The water is visible from the parking lot.

The habitat value of the beach is protected and/or enhanced.

Maintenance costs and needs for the beach are minimized.

Beach facilities are designed and built to be sustainable and minimize negative environmental impact.

Beach facilities are visually appealing and inviting year-round.

Beach facilities reflect or celebrate the history of the area.

Priority Level: (1=low, 5=high)

1

2

3

4

5

10

15

20

25

Public Workshop • Multi-day workshop that will be held in June 2025 • The project team will lead site walks and engagement activities with members

of the public to develop concepts for the beach. Concepts will be co-developed with stakeholders as a part of the workshop process. The results of the codesign process will be presented to gain feedback from community members before the team dives into more detailed design.

This summary will be updated with the results of the Public Workshop.