The third response we’ve received for our request to gubernatorial statements on bicycles:
I love to bike, and I’m glad to live in Rhode Island, where the natural beauty of the state can be enjoyed through its bike paths. About once a week, I bike from my house in Warwick around a loop of a few miles out to the Quonset bike path. It’s a great way to stay in shape, relax, and enjoy the view.
When I was in the Senate, I made sure that part of transportation bills that were up for a vote would include money for bicycles as well as other types of alternative transportation. In the 2005 Highway Bill, I secured $10 million for the Blackstone River Bikeway, which connects historic sites in the Blackstone Valley historic area named after my father, John Chafee. Other bike trails that received funding in that bill include the Northwest Bikeway, the South County Bike Path, and the Colt State Park Bike Path.
As Governor, I would continue to support biking–from safety education measures to bicycle path creation and maintenance, to making our cities more bike-friendly. With new energy and health challenges on the horizon, I think biking has a great future in Rhode Island.