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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0632 |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC002228 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 15 | 15 | | RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THE GOVER NOR, THE DIRECTOR OF THE RHODE |
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| 16 | 16 | | ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (RIDOT), AND THE RHODE ISLAND |
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| 17 | 17 | | DEPARTMENT OF TRANSP ORTATION TO EXPLORE INCREASING THE |
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| 18 | 18 | | MASSACHUSETTS BAY TR ANSPORTATION AUTHORI TY’S (MBTA) EVENING |
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| 19 | 19 | | SERVICE TO THE WICKFORD JUNCTION/PROVIDENCE/STOUGHTON LINE ON |
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| 20 | 20 | | WEEKDAYS AND INITIATING A WEEKEND SCHEDU LE |
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| 21 | 21 | | Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, DiMario, Valverde, Euer, Kallman, and Pearson |
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| 22 | 22 | | Date Introduced: March 07, 2025 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Referred To: Senate Commerce |
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| 24 | 24 | | |
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| 25 | 25 | | |
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| 26 | 26 | | WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) coordinates with 1 |
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| 27 | 27 | | transportation partner agencies such as RIPTA, Amtrak and the MBTA to promote driving 2 |
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| 28 | 28 | | alternatives through public bus and rail service; and 3 |
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| 29 | 29 | | WHEREAS, Currently, The MBTA Providence/Stoughton Line and RIPTA bus routes 4 |
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| 30 | 30 | | are the main ways to travel between Providence and Wickford Junction, Rhode Island; and 5 |
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| 31 | 31 | | WHEREAS, The MBTA’s Providence/Stoughton Line connects Providence, T.F. Green 6 |
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| 32 | 32 | | Airport, and Wickford Junction to Boston and is the longest and busiest line on the MBTA 7 |
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| 33 | 33 | | Commuter Rail system; and 8 |
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| 34 | 34 | | WHEREAS, On weekdays, as of February 2022, the Providence/Stoughton Line runs 20 9 |
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| 35 | 35 | | round trips between Boston and Providence, with approximately half of those trips continuing on 10 |
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| 36 | 36 | | to Wickford Junction; and 11 |
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| 37 | 37 | | WHEREAS, On weekends, the Providence/Stoughton Line runs nine round trips between 12 |
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| 38 | 38 | | Boston and Providence, but does not serve Wickford Junction; and 13 |
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| 39 | 39 | | WHEREAS, Taking the commuter rail avoids highway traffic, parking in downtown 14 |
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| 40 | 40 | | Providence or Boston, and means less congestion on the busy Route 4 and I-95 highways and in 15 |
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| 41 | 41 | | downtown Providence, and helps to minimize commuters' environmental footprint; now, 16 |
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| 42 | 42 | | therefore be it 17 |
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| 44 | 44 | | |
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| 45 | 45 | | LC002228 - Page 2 of 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby requests the Governor, 1 |
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| 47 | 47 | | the Director of RIDOT, and the General Manager of the MBTA to explore the potential for 2 |
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| 48 | 48 | | increasing the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Wickford 3 |
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| 49 | 49 | | Junction/Providence/Stoughton evening line on weekdays, initiating a weekend schedule, and to 4 |
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| 50 | 50 | | report their findings to the Senate on or before June 1, 2025; and be it further 5 |
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| 51 | 51 | | RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized ad directed to 6 |
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| 52 | 52 | | transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Governor of Rhode Island, the Director of 7 |
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| 53 | 53 | | RIDOT, and the General Manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 8 |
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| 54 | 54 | | ======== |
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| 55 | 55 | | LC002228 |
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| 56 | 56 | | ======== |
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