LOCAL

URI reverses course; says Kingston Library patrons can use parking lot

Antonia Noori Farzan
The Providence Journal
Supporters of the Kingston Free Library feared that URI's decision to take away many of the parking spots used by patrons could force the closure of the 1775 building and allow it to slip into disrepair.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN — The University of Rhode Island has agreed to temporarily let Kingston Free Library patrons park in a college-owned lot, following an outcry from supporters who feared that a sudden loss of parking spaces would threaten the historic library's survival. 

The reversal came shortly after The Providence Journal published an article detailing the concerns raised by library officials and community advocates. Timothy Murphy, president of the South Kingstown Library Board of Trustees, said that he was notified of the change by URI's vice president for administration and finance at 6:09 p.m. Tuesday. 

More:URI parking changes could be 'crisis' for historic Kingston library, supporters say

The arrangement will allow library patrons to use four parking spaces in the lot outside the Gateway Apartments, which is used for graduate student housing and located across the street from the library.

For at least 30 years, library patrons were allowed to use six spaces in the Gateway Apartments lot because the library has only two spaces of its own. But URI said this year that those spots would no longer be available because they were needed for students. 

That change, coupled with plans to dramatically overhaul Upper College Road and remove a number of street parking spaces in the process, led library officials to fear that visitation numbers would dramatically plummet.

Murphy, a former editor at The Providence Journal, said in an email that URI plans to let the library use the four Gateway Apartments spaces until June 30, 2022. The idea is that the temporary arrangement will buy time for the library and town of South Kingstown to explore other potential solutions. 

Advocates for the library had warned that the loss of parking spaces could jeopardize the library's future in a suburban community where many patrons do not live within walking distance. Some worried that the town would no longer be able to justify the upkeep of the nearly 250-year-old building that houses the library, and once served as a home for Rhode Island's General Assembly. 

URI officials were not immediately available for comment. 
https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2021/08/11/uri-provide-parking-kingston-free-library-amid-closure-fears/5566168001/
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