City Council and Energy and Environment Commission Joint Workshop on Hazard Road Resilience - August 25, 2026
City Council and Energy and Environment Commission Joint Workshop on Hazard Road Resilience - August 25, 2026
This joint workshop of the Newport City Council and the Energy and Environment Commission (EEC) was held on August 25, 2026, at 6:30 PM in City Council Chambers. The purpose was to discuss the future of Hazard Road, a low-lying coastal road prone to flooding and adjacent to the ecologically sensitive Gooseneck Cove salt marsh. The city has received a $50,000 grant from the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank (no municipal match required) to explore long-term resilience strategies, but no funds have been spent. The meeting included presentations on the history of the road and marsh, current challenges, and potential data collection methods. Public input was solicited through verbal comments, sticky notes, and maps. No decisions were made; the workshop was the first phase of public engagement.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Veronica Thomas (abutter): Noted water stagnation between small and larger marsh due to insufficient culverts, and observed speeding traffic on the road. She did not comment on frequency of flooding.
- Barbara Chapman (abutter at Hazard and Ocean): Thanked staff and Save the Bay, highlighted that GPS navigation directs many vehicles (including large trucks and Ubers) onto Hazard Road, and urged preserving the fragile environment. Expressed desire to see the area enjoyed without driving through.
- Reagan Siebold (frequent visitor): Expressed strong emotional attachment to the area, reported increasing trash and dumping from landscapers, opposed lighting due to wildlife concerns, and recommended against adding trash cans.
- Tanner Jackson (attorney for Edith McBean, 75 Hazard Road): Raised concerns about litter and ticks in vegetation along the road, asking that data collection include monitoring of these issues.
- Lori Love (former EEC member): Noted that most cars on the road are from out of state, suggested curtailing commercial traffic with weight restrictions, and advocated for mindful use of the area.
- Paige Bronck (24 Weatherly Avenue): Recalled involvement in the 2009 restoration, described using the road by multiple modes, and stressed the importance of maintaining access for seniors and all users.
Discussion Items
- Presentation by City Staff: Teresa Creen (Director of Resilience), Hayden McDermott (City Planner), and Christina Truitt (Resilience Planner) presented the history of Hazard Road and Gooseneck Cove, including the 2009 $1.1 million restoration that raised the road and improved tidal flow. They noted that the road currently floods during king tides and is vulnerable to sea level rise (projected to be underwater at high tide with 1 foot of sea level rise by 2035-2040). The grant scope includes evaluating existing conditions, data collection, public engagement, and later concept design and alternatives analysis. No decisions have been made on road reconfiguration.
- Councilor David Carlin (3rd Ward): Stated he had not received constituent complaints about flooding but had received many concerns about potential road closure, which he called “unnecessary.” He suggested the grant money could be better spent in other wards with real flooding issues. He requested the number of complaints about flooding in the last four years.
- Councilor Gina Politano: Opposed closing the road, emphasized the need for a notification system when flooding occurs, and expressed concern about safety at night due to lack of lighting and guardrails. She also noted the risk to the high-pressure sewer line under the road.
- Deputy City Manager Mike Carulo: Acknowledged that the initial abutter notification may have caused alarm, but reiterated that public safety is paramount. He stated that closing the road should not be an option unless absolutely necessary, and that the grant money could be returned if the council decides not to proceed.
- EEC Members: Emily Conklin (Chair) asked about restoring tidal flow as a nature-based adaptation strategy; Wendley Ferguson (Save the Bay) explained that restoring tidal flow improves marsh health and resilience. Andy Bayork asked about the road’s requirement for emergency access; staff confirmed that three houses on the southern side have alternative routes that add 2–4 minutes. Avery Robertson asked whether fish and wildlife habitat restoration could be pursued without addressing the road; staff said it could be scoped separately.
Key Outcomes
- No decisions were made on the future of Hazard Road, road closure, or expenditure of the grant funds.
- Next steps: The city will continue data collection, including potential installation of water level sensors and use of the My Coast app for photo documentation. Public input gathered at the workshop (via sticky notes and maps) will inform the next phases of the project.
- Directives: Councilor Carlin requested a report on the number of flooding complaints received in the last four years. The city will consider developing a policy for closing the gates during predicted high tides and improving public notification.
- Funding: The city has the option to request an amendment from the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank to redirect the grant to other locations, or to return the funds entirely.
Meeting Transcript
Being here, I know that this is a big topic of discussion for people, particularly in the um hazard road area. Um, we're gonna have a little presentation and a couple of presentations, and then we'll have the public speak. So, first of all, I'd like to us could we please just stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the public stand. One nation under God, maybe this global with liberty and justice are often. Thank you. Okay, so we're going to be starting it off uh with Teresa. Where is Teresa? Right. Here you are. Oh, and I just wanted to say uh David Carlin. Um, of course, he's a third ward representative. He will be here. He's running a little bit late as well, so it's a busy night. Okay, thank you. Great, thank you, uh, Chair Sagley and uh Chair Conklin. Uh, my name is Teresa Creen. I am the director of resilience and sustainability for the city of Newport, and we really appreciate everybody taking the time out of their schedules on a beautiful evening to be here tonight to talk about Hazard Road. Um, due to the frequent flooding and the fragile ecology of the surrounding marsh, the city of Newport selected Hazard Road to explore potential long-term strategies to improve roadway resilience and maintain access along the section of roadway connecting Wickham Road and Ruggles Avenue to Ocean Drive. The city is working with Project Partners Save the Bay, and Wendley Ferguson from Save the Bay is here tonight to kick off this initial phase of the project, which focuses on existing conditions and data collection. To date, no grant funds or municipal funds have been spent on this effort. This joint City Council Environment and Energy Commission workshop will provide the city council and the EEC an overview and the public, excuse me, of why this project was selected and will provide an opportunity for residents and property owners to share thoughts, concerns, and ideas as part of the data collection process. As immediate abutters, input and for the general public, input is important to us, and we welcome your ideas for preserving the scenic roadway and wildlife hotspot in the community while we work to improve its long-term resilience and protect the surrounding natural environment. We have several maps that you'll see in the slide presentation. We also have sticky notes and pens, and we want to welcome everyone to write down any knowledge, thoughts, comments, um opinions that you have related to this project. This is really meant to be inclusive. We really want to hear what you have to say, and we want to share the knowledge that we've pulled together so far in making sense of what the future of this area of the city will look like. So with that, we have a short slide presentation. I'm gonna hand it over to City Planner Hayden McDermott. Hayden will then hand it over to resilience planner uh Christina Truitt, and then I'll wrap us up and then we'll answer any questions that the commission, the council and the commission have, and then they can um uh facilitate the public input from there. Great, thank you. Hayden, take it away. Hi everyone, thanks for coming. My name's Hayden. I'm as Teresa said, I'm a planner with the city planning department, and I'm gonna go over a brief history of Gooseneck Cove and Hazard Road and previous restoration work. All right, I'm sure everyone here today knows where Hazard Road is, but to orient us, uh we're looking at Hazard Road is between Wickham Road by the high school and connects to Ocean Av by Hazard slash Gooseberry Beach. Um from pictures and maps that we're gonna use today. We'll be referencing a few points here. Today we're looking at about a quarter mile segment of Hazard Road that's one way. It's bounded by a north gate, a southern gate, and we'll reference a culvert this in the midsection. So hazard Road and Gooseneck Cove history, human activity has impacted the water flow and health of the salt marsh here for 150 years. Around 1870, the about 500 foot natural mouth of Gooseneck Cove was filled in for the construction of Ocean Av and the Greenbridge area was constructed with two undersized culverts, which severely restricted the tidal flow. About 20 years later, Hazard Road was applotted with a number of roads in the area during the height of construction of the Gilded Age summer cottages along Ocean Drive. Hazard Road was constructed across marsh peat, decaying spongy plant material, which contributed to roads settling and flooding a century later. Around 1942, the central dam here is reconstructed. It's unknown what the original date of the dam was before that, but it further restricted flow between the upland freshwater and the uh southern salt water in the middle of the marsh basin. So these impacts over a century of tidal restrictions. So the three water flow restrictions reduced salt water flow into the cove, creating a brackish, which is less salty, more freshwater, warmer environments. The reduced salinity and prolonged flooding caused the loss of the native salt marsh plants and reduction of the natural marsh area.
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