Running Cranston

by Josh Wood Friday February 20, 2009

Here are some general notes about running around the city of Cranston, Rhode Island. Start with a bigger headband for your 20 foot hair. And then…

Some Places to Incorporate Into Your Routes
Here’s a short list of the already obvious streets and parks that can be used in your routes. These are the areas of Cranston that are low on cars, where the scenery is appreciably more interesting than the city’s strip malls and plazas, and where trees will offer shelter from the elements. Some of these places aren’t always plowed in the winter, so alternate routes might be needed.

Roger Williams Park If you live anywhere on the east side of the city, and you run, you probably already have a route that uses this park. Most of the park is officially in Providence, but it sits like an island completely surrounded by Cranston’s love, so it has to be included in a story about running here. Along with quiet roads, the park also offers trails around its cluster of lakes.

The Cranston Bike Path This is Cranston’s only rails-to-trails project; a 5.5 mile paved trail that stretches from the Providence line to Warwick. It’s also a part of the East Coast Greenway, the 3,000 mile bike path (in various stages of completion) that stretches from Canada to Key West. Trail etiquette applies here: pedestrians on the left and bicyclists on the right.

The Cranston Cross-City Bike Path The City of Cranston has designated and marked 20 miles of lightly trafficked roads as The Cranston Cross-City Bike Path. Unfortunately many of the signs are now missing, but this map should help. The path traverses a wide range of landscapes, from the dwindling farmlands of the west side of the city, to some interesting industrial neighborhoods on the east side.

Narragansett Boulevard This is a great street that offers sweeping bay views and dedicated bike lanes. In Warwick the route changes to Narragansett Parkway, retains generous shoulders and is no less scenic. That stretch of the road also doubles as the Gaspee Days 5K route. In Providence the route becomes more industrial as it morphs into Allens Avenue, but it retains the bike lanes. Be wary of vehicles that cheat into the lanes.

Dean Parkway This winding, hilly road that connects Budlong Road to Oaklawn Avenue is forested, and as such it remains particularly cool on even the hottest summer days. This road is only about a mile long, but it’s got a decent hill. Hills are hard to find in Eastern Cranston.

The Tracks The City of Cranston lists 7 tracks on their web site. There is one standard 400 meter track on the grounds of Cranston West High School, and several tracks of varying lengths scattered throughout the city. Two of the tracks, Cooney and Tate, are essentially one small track looped inside another larger track that measures just under a half mile. Every year the Park View track gets a fresh coat of informal but seemingly accurate marks on every 400 meter segment. The Doric track is an irregular track of undetermined length that’s visible from Route 95. Most of the tracks are beginning show signs of wear, and tree roots are heaving certain surfaces, so be careful. The city occasionally plows these tracks.

Some Places to Consider Avoiding
Cranston is bisected by many commercial arteries, led by the anti-pedestrian trio of Reservoir, Park and Atwood. I can’t really think of a reason to intentionally include any length of Cranston’s commercial streets in a run, but it’s pretty much impossible not to intersect at least one of them along the way.The best time to tackle one of these is early in the AM when the traffic is light enough not to effect on your pace, the noise, the air and your safety. Summer presents another problem along these commercial streets. Because they’re treeless and generally surrounded by asphalt deserts that absorb the heat like ovens, the air can feel 5 – 10 degrees hotter.

Run Defensively
Many drivers are not used to sharing the road bicyclists and runners. Be careful crossing driveways and outlets onto main arteries, especially when cars are pulling up to take right-hand turns. Many drivers won’t look to the right to check for pedestrians. I’ve been almost hit on more than one occasion. Always assume that the driver doesn’t see you.

These are the initial thoughts about running in the Cranston Rhode Island area. Chime in with any additional advice, comments or suggestions.

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