There’s a new cell phone app designed to make getting to the ocean easier for people in Rhode Island. The shoreline access app maps exactly how far you are from all public ocean access points.
The project is part of the Rhode Island Sea Grant, a federal program attached to the University of Rhode Island. Sea Grant spokeswoman Monica Allard-Cox says the app builds on a guide written in the 90s.
“We realized we didn’t need to do a printed guide this time with the technology being what it was,” said Allard-Cox. “It was probably more helpful for us to create something for the public that could actually help them find these rights of way through a wayfinding app.
Allard-Cox says the app maps a variety of access points, from the well-known to the hard to find.
It also includes things like state boat ramps. It includes any private property that allows the public to have access, and then anything that may be owned by a town, so there are town beaches and state beaches in there.
Rhode Island guarantees public access to the Ocean in the state’s constitution.
