For that matter, there were historically train stations in Auburn (Cranston), Apponaug (Warwick), and East Greenwich – all of which are still relatively dense, walkable areas that could easily support commuter service. But RIDOT opted to leapfrog all those communities in favor of building a station out in the woods of North Kingstown. It shows they wouldn’t understand good transportation policy even if it was barreling down on them at 79mph, horns blaring.

Well-maintained infrastructure costs money. Unfortunately we just lost a good chunk of our road maintenance budget in the truck tolling lawsuit. And folks in here were more worried about their own cars getting tolled—which isn’t likely to happen—than they were about the fact that RhodeWorks program now has an uncertain future. Shows where our priorities lie.

Have you talked to SunWatt or SolPower? They’re both local companies who do the work themselves vs. subcontracting it. I don’t know if either does ground-level installs, but it might be worth reaching out.