View source for William C. O'Neill Bike Path

{{Infobox hiking trail
| name = William C. O'Neill Bike Path
| photo = South County Bike Path, Peace Dale, RI.JPG
| photo_size = 300px
| photo_alt = An asphalt path passing through woods
| caption = The William C. O'Neill Bike Path in Peace Dale in 2013
| title = William C. O'Neill Bike Path
| established = 2000 (first section)
| length = {{convert|6.8|mi|km|0}}
| location = [[South Kingstown, Rhode Island|South Kingstown]] and [[Narragansett, Rhode Island|Narragansett]], [[Rhode Island]], [[United States]]
| designation =
| trailheads = [[Kingston station (Rhode Island)|Kingston station]], [[West Kingston, Rhode Island|West Kingston]]<br />Mumford Road, [[Narragansett, Rhode Island|Narragansett]]
| surface = Paved
| ROW = Former [[Narragansett Pier Railroad]]
| website =[http://southcountybikepath.org/ southcountybikepath.org]
}}

The '''William C. O'Neill Bike Path''' (also called the '''South County Bike Trail''') is a paved [[rail trail]] extending from [[Kingston station (Rhode Island)|Kingston station]] [[parking lot]] in [[West Kingston, Rhode Island]], to Mumford Road in [[Narragansett, Rhode Island]]. The whole path is in [[Washington County, Rhode Island]]. The trail is {{convert|6.8|mi|km|0}} long, largely on the former right of way of the [[Narragansett Pier Railroad]]. An extension opened up to the [[University of Rhode Island]] in 2019. A future extension will bring it to Boston Neck Road [[Rhode Island Route 1A|(RI 1A)]].

== History ==
[[File:Peace Dale station 1909 postcard.jpg|thumb|left|An early-20th-century postcard of [[Peace Dale, Rhode Island|Peace Dale]] station]]
The [[Narragansett Pier Railroad]] opened in 1876 to connect mills in [[Wakefield, Rhode Island|Wakefield]] and [[Peace Dale, Rhode Island|Peace Dale]] to the [[New York, Providence and Boston Railroad]] at [[West Kingston, Rhode Island|West Kingston]].<ref name="lewis">{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Edward A. |year=1975 |title=American Short Line Railway Guide |publisher=The Baggage Car |page=87 }}</ref> Passenger service ended in 1952, though freight service continued until the 1970s and the line was not fully abandoned until 1981.<ref name="lewis"/>

In 1968, the line was proposed for use as a public school rail line, taking children to and from schools along the route, but this "visionary concept" failed to gain the requisite support.<ref name=friends_history>{{cite web |url=http://southcountybikepath.org/?page_id=8 |title=A Brief History of the William C. O'Neill Bike Path |date=2009 |publisher=Friends of the William C. O'Neill Bike Path |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221154814/http://southcountybikepath.org/?page_id=8 |archive-date=February 21, 2015}}</ref> In 1981, Anthony Guariello—a local mill owner and town councilman—purchased the line with the possibility of conversion into a bike path for school children.<ref name="friends" />

[[Rail trail|Conversion to a bicycle path]] was studied in 1991; in 1995, the Friends of the South County Bike Path was started to create the path.<ref name="friends">{{Cite web|url=http://southcountybikepath.org/|title=South County Bike Path |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905184648/http://southcountybikepath.org/ |archive-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref> The first phase of the trail, running {{convert|4.2|mi|km}} from Kingston station to Rodman Street, was completed in 2000. The {{convert|2.9|mi|km|adj=on}} Phase II was opened to [[Rhode Island Route 108|Route 108]] in 2003. Phase III, started in 2009, and opened in 2011, extended the trail a further {{convert|0.8|mi|km}} (including a short section on a residential street) to the intersection of Mumford Road and Riverside Drive in [[Narragansett, Rhode Island|Narragansett]].<ref name=ridot>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dot.ri.gov/travel/bikeri/southcounty.php |title=South County Bike Path – Rhode Island  |publisher=Rhode Island Department of Transportation |access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.traillink.com/trail/william-c-oneill-bike-path.aspx|title=William C. O'Neill Bike Path |website=www.traillink.com|access-date=2016-08-17}}</ref> According to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, at 7.8 miles, the South County Bike Path is the fourth longest bike path in the state.<ref name=ridot/> 

The last section of railroad right-of-way through Narragansett is not as well-preserved as the rest of the route; several parts are used for roads or residential developments. Instead, Phase IV will be routed through the Canonchet Farm, a local park, and reach the waterfront north of where the railroad did.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://southcountybikepath.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/3-SCBP-Site-Maps2.pdf |title=Completion of the South County Bike Path via Canonchet Farm, Narragansett, R.I. |author=Rhode Island Department of Transportation |publisher=Friends of the William C. O'Neill South County Bike Path |date=January 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027144805/http://southcountybikepath.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/3-SCBP-Site-Maps2.pdf |archive-date=October 27, 2016}}</ref> Although more expensive than on-road alternatives, it will provide the safest route. The approximately-1-mile long extension was entered into funding proposals in early 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.narrowriver.org/bikepath|title=Bike Path |website=Narrow River |access-date=2016-08-17}}</ref>

A bond approved by RI voters in 2016 provided $10 million in funding to various bike path projects throughout the state. Included in the bond was funding for two new sections of the path: a {{convert|2.1|miles|adj=on}} connection from the [[University of Rhode Island]] to the path, and the first {{convert|0.26|miles}} of Phase IV, connecting the existing path to the Narragansett Community Center.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://southcountybikepath.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Release_Bike-Investments-GE-Bond_0313171.pdf |title=Raimondo, Moffit, DEM Announce First Wave of Investments Under Green Economy Bond |website=William C. O'Neill Bike Path |date=March 13, 2017 |access-date=April 5, 2017}}</ref>{{Dead link|date=May 2024}} The connection to the University of Rhode Island opened in 2019 along with the short eastward extension.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=South County Bike Path - Rhode Island Rhode Island Department of Transportation |url=https://www.dot.ri.gov/travel/bikeri/southcounty.php |access-date=2022-04-13 |website=www.dot.ri.gov}}</ref> As of 2023, there have been no construction plans to extended the trail beyond its current termini. 
<!--
[[File:Route 1 underpass, South County Bike Path, South Kingstown, RI.JPG|thumb|right|The trail passes under the [[U.S. Route 1|Route 1]] freeway in a tunnel]]
[[File:William C. O'Neill Bike Path Rhode Island.jpg|thumb|right|The trail's northern terminus, near the Kingstown Amtrak station]]
<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://southcountybikepath.org/8.5x11map.pdf|title=Map of the Willam C. O'Neill Bike Path|last=Spliner|first=Steve|website=Willam C. O'Neill Bike Path|access-date=July 27, 2016}}</ref>
-->

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}
{{commons category inline}}
*[http://southcountybikepath.org/ William C. O'Neill Bike Path]

[[Category:Rail trails in Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Washington County, Rhode Island]]